We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Stephanie Baptist. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Stephanie below.

Stephanie , thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Naming anything – including a business – is so hard. Right? What’s the story behind how you came up with the name of your brand?

I started Medium Tings gallery in 2017, inside of my apartment located on Eastern Parkway in Crown Heights, Brooklyn. It was very important for me to come up with a name that would embody a multitude of creativity as I planned to promote the work of early career black visual artists. Crown Heights is home to a rather large Caribbean community and annually the West Indian Day Parade takes place on Eastern Parkway which plays hosts to millions of gathers celebrating the rich diversity of the Caribbean. “Medium” is a reference to both the size of the gallery and the method in which the art is made (photography, painting, and sculpture), and “Tings” is a nod to the West Indian influence in the neighborhood and a way to highlight the gallery’s flexibility in terms of programming and collaborations.

Stephanie , before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

I started out in the industry with plans to become a professional photographer. That aspiration took a backseat, as I began working rather closely with photographers as a commercial agent (securing them projects for editorial and advertising projects). I did that work for more than 6 years and decided to move abroad to London to pursue a master’s degree in Art Administration with an interest to shift from not just working with photographers but to work with contemporary artists across all disciplines. Following the completion of my program, I stayed in London to work as head of exhibitions for a gallery that focused exclusively on working with artists from Africa and the diaspora. That experience planted a seed for my future gallery, and upon my return to New York, I realized there weren’t that many contemporary art galleries dedicated to fostering relationships with early career artists. I became really interested in figuring out a way to blend all of my international experiences by creating a platform for broader dialogue around art from Africa, the Caribbean and Black Americans.

I am most proud of the fact that the gallery has curated the first solo exhibitions for quite a few artists whose careers have since blossomed. In addition, many artists we exhibited have gone on to become collectors themselves and support other artists in our program which is really special. Lastly, we like to encourage art enthusiasts to become collectors so we try to make the path easier by removing barriers to entry by offering payment plans for purchases exceeding a certain price point.

How’d you build such a strong reputation within your market?

Consistency and integrity are the first two words that come to mind. When I started Medium Tings, I made a commitment to work with artists and curate a year’s worth of exhibitions. At the end of that year, I had grew my mailing list because of the regularity of our programming as well as all of the artist collaborations. I had the support of my community of friends who championed the gallery, purchased artwork and shared the work we were doing with their networks. Due to the invaluable support I received some amazing press opportunities which helped to amplify our brand and gallery mission. We operated (and still do) on the principles of clear communication with our artists, audience and art collectors. We firmly believe that everyone can become an art patron and support the work of early career artists.

We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?

I learned that it is important to pilot ideas as a form of momentum even if you don’t have everything figured out. Prior to starting Medium Tings, I spent more than 3 years thinking about becoming an entrepreneur but let the thought of it become so overwhelming that it led to paralysis instead of activation. When I finally decided to initiate the idea, I only gave myself a short window to produce my first exhibition so that I didn’t have time to worry if I would have an audience, or if the exhibition would be successful. Activation will always bring about a new set of information – engagement, audience growth, feedback and an opportunity to refine and improve offerings.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://mediumtingsbk.com
• Instagram: mediumtings

Image Credits

All credits are in titles of photos but listed below:

1. Headshot of Stephanie Baptist – courtesy of Stephanie Land
2. Medium Tings installation image outside of Bahati Simeons exhibition, courtesy of Medium Tings
3. Installation image of Jonathan Gardenhire exhibition, courtesy of Medium Tings and Jonathan Gardenhire
4. Wallcovering art by Karo Akpokiere, courtesy of artist and Medium Tings
5. Installation image of Medium Tings booth at 1-54 Art Fair, featuring work of artist taylor barnes, courtesy of Eva Sakellarides