Kirk & Baker is like the cool, edgy, younger aunt or uncle you go to to lighten the load. They’re easy to relate to, connect with and provide a little extra help to convince your parents to let you do something. The content producer and fine art incubator looks after emerging local artists—either mid-career that have already been putting in the elbow grease and looking for a second wind, or young artists just starting out hoping to catch that lucky break—by helping them gain more exposure. Unifying art and business, Kirk & Baker makes it more viable for these emerging artists to explore their potential and succeed in their field for a more sustainable, long-standing career. Behind Kirk & Baker is a collective of artists themselves with an understanding and empathy for the aspiring profession of artistry. Founder and former Ringling College of Art + Design grad Sarah Jane Baliotti spent the last few years traveling around major US cities—subconsciously cultivating inspiration for Kirk & Baker’s concept by working for art nonprofits or freelance creative gigs.
IMAGES COURTESY OF KIRK & BAKER.
“After seeing the current art market environment and how artists are treated, I made it my purpose to eliminate the ‘starving artist’ stigma, as well as provide access to multiple avenues that would have not been accessible prior,” she says. Alongside Baliotti is a fellow Ringling College grad and well-known figure in the Sarasota art community Joseph Patrick Arnegger. With his own impactful body of work, he’s held the helm as the exhibition curator at the Ringling Museum of Art for over a decade, and also contributed his cultural eye and passion for local groups such as S/ARt/Q. The two came together through a shared mantra centered around expression, innovation, rebellion and an affinity for the underdogs.
IMAGES COURTESY OF KIRK & BAKER.
Operating by “seasons,” Kirk & Baker curates and represents a seasonal lineup of talented area artists. In that designated time, they will connect, manage and exhibit their bodies of work to the collector’s market for a better chance they’ll end up into the hands and homes of an avid aesthete. The first exhibition kicked off in 2020 with the fall/winter season: “SZN 1: Gulf Coast”—featuring four local artists. These freelance creatives are then given the opportunity to make further revenue on their art through unique merchandising options and the ability to access the manufacturing side of the company. “We offer wholesale and limited-edition goods handmade and produced in London, UK, from an eco-friendly warehouse,” they share. “The business of merchandising art is an untapped market waiting to unfold and bloom with the next wave of fine artists.” Featured paintings, mixed-media works and photographs are transferred from canvas onto retail items such as clutches, wallets, bandanas, scarves, passport holders, keychains and other luxury accessories. Kirk & Baker will then market and provide point of sale through local pop-ups, its online showroom and e-shop, retail partnerships and more.
IMAGES COURTESY OF KIRK & BAKER.
“All of our options are free for our artists to participate in and offer them a look at options for work without ever breaking the bank.” Kirk & Baker focused on making themselves a global presence through the Artsy marketplace. The internationally regarded online platform is the largest of its kind and allows you to discover, buy and sell fine art through its website and app. Through collaborative consumption, its search engine and database draw connections and map relationships among works of art all over the world. But in order for artists to benefit from Artsy, they must be part of a greater entity—as it does not promote free agents without representation.
IMAGES COURTESY OF KIRK & BAKER.
Artists must be accepted in a gallery, auction house, museum and/or collector in order for their work to be shared on its platform through their respective representative’s profile. Accepted as a “gallery” of sorts, Kirk & Baker has the ability to upload content, have access to Artsy’s resources and ardent following to drive more traffic to their artists. By partnering with this major e-player, they’re able to give their artists a better chance to get noticed and a greater bandwidth to create potential clientele. SRQ
Shop the artists’ goods at Kirkandbaker.com.
