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

McKenzie, appreciate you joining us today. Often outsiders look at a successful business and think it became a success overnight. Even media and especially movies love to gloss over nitty, gritty details that went into that middle phase of your business – after you started but before you got to where you are today. In our experience, overnight success is usually the result of years of hard work laying the foundation for success, but unfortunately, it’s exactly this part of the story that most of the media ignores. Can you talk to us about your scaling up story – what are some of the nitty, gritty details folks should know about?

As Co-owner of KINK Contemporary, I have had the pleasure of seeing our business grow and evolve over the last four years in ways we never anticipated. When we first opened our doors at 78th Street Studios, we were a small, humble space with floating DYI walls and engaging art on display. We were not always busy but we loved our community and the artists we met along the way. But as time went on, and we relocated to the Waterloo Arts District, we began to attract more and more visitors, and our community grew as well.

One of the keys to our growth is our commitment to showcasing a diverse range of artists who have a unique voices and technique. We’ve always made a point of seeking out emerging artists and giving them a platform to display their work occasionally alongside more established artists in the region. As a result, we were able to offer our visitors a constantly changing array of fresh, exciting art while supporting mostly underrepresented artists in Northeast Ohio.

Another factor that helped us expand was our dedication to building relationships with our artists and patrons alike. We made sure to provide a welcoming, friendly atmosphere where people felt comfortable browsing, asking questions, and engaging with the art in their own way. We also hold regular events and exhibitions, which give people a reason to keep coming back and staying connected to our gallery.

Of course, as we grew, we also faced challenges along the way. We’ve had to navigate changes in the local art market and are constantly listening to the needs and suggestions of our community of artists to continually improve our mission. But through it all, we’ve remained committed to our core values of inclusivity, creativity, transparency, and community.

Today, KINK is a thriving hub of artistic activity with a diverse range of exhibitions and events. We are so proud to have played a small part in the growth of our local arts scene, and we look forward to continuing to evolve and expand in the years to come!

McKenzie, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

In 2007 I started my undergraduate program at the Myer’s School of Art at the University of Akron studying Photography. This is where I would meet my now friend, business partner, and other half of KINK Contemporary, Anna Young. The concept of opening a gallery run by artists for artists came about sometime in our last year of undergrad. At the time, most students were required to have their BFA exhibition off-campus to graduate, a challenging endeavor for a young artist without gallery experience.

This lack of opportunity for emerging artists in the region was disappointing, and we sought to one day provide a solution. So, upon graduation in 2014, we began looking for a small space to add one more venue to the local art scene. Unfortunately, we hit a few roadblocks and decided to put the idea on hold for a while.

In 2015 I got a job at The Akron Art Museum and eventually landed a position with the prep and install crew as an art handler. While working at the museum, I was also a gallery director at two local galleries, where I got a lot of experience in arts administration, installing, and curating exhibitions with regional emerging artists and established artists alike. In 2018 I moved to Cleveland to pursue a full-time career as an art handler.

Later in 2018, Anna moved back to Akron from Detroit after two years, completing her MFA at Cranbrook Academy of Art. After moving to Cleveland, I frequented 78th Street Studios Third Friday events. While attending the event in the winter of 2018, I went to my favorite local gallery, FORUM Artspace, which had always shown unique and emerging artists and was run by a group of local artists.

Unfortunately, when I arrived, the door was locked, and I found out weeks later that they had decided to close their doors after being in business for over nine years. We jumped on the opportunity to continue FORUM’s legacy while approaching it with our style and ideas and soon contacted 78th Street about leasing space.

In February 2019, we opened our doors, and KINK Contemporary was born. Last summer, we relocated from 78th Street Studios to a storefront within The Waterloo Arts District. Almost instantly, we saw a massive increase in visitors entering our space. With the support of our fantastic community of artists and some amazing new neighbors in Waterloo, we began to see real growth in our business and our impact.

This year one of our goals is to make art collecting more accessible for new and first-time art collectors in our community. By adding a section of our gallery specifically for smaller-scaled and more affordable artworks from our existing lineup of artists, we aim to attract clients looking to both support their local arts community and purchase artwork within a budget. By offering an alternative to the big box stores selling reproductions or the intimidating white wall gallery with prices nowhere in sight, we hope to create a symbiotic relationship where emerging collectors, artists, and galleries work together to support each other while forming lasting relationships. We believe that art has the power to inspire and transform, and we are excited to be a part of that journey.

Any insights you can share with us about how you built up your social media presence?

Social Media, specifically Instagram, has been a HUGE marketing tool for us as a small business focusing on visual art and connection. Our platform has grown organically throughout the years and continues to be the easiest way to spotlight our artists and exhibitions while staying connected with our community. We built trust in KINK within the arts community by building relationships in person first with individuals in our gallery and attending and supporting other arts venues and organizations. Our most effective tool in creating an audience was being authentic and transparent in our mission. People always come first at KINK, and social media is merely a tool for all of us to connect with each other.

Additionally, we do at least a handful of artist takeovers on our Instagram annually. This programming has allowed our patrons to hear about the artist straight from the artist themselves and have a lot of personal insight into an artist’s personal practice. These takeovers are as exciting to our followers as they are to us as we always learn something new about the artist afterward. Over the years, we’ve had everything shown from intimate studio tours to slideshows of personal inspiration to a complete step-by-step tutorial on an artist’s makeup for a performance.

We always try and show a mixture of people, art, and events throughout our profiles. It’s important to us that viewers not only take in and admire a piece of art or exhibition but, more importantly, the person who made it. In 2023, we began photographing our exhibiting solo artists in their studios as a way of letting the viewer in on the process and the person. We collect information on each artist who shows with us so that we can authentically present them and their work to our followers. We ask for inspirational artists, quotes, fun facts, music preferences, and so much more. These photoshoots and interviews are casual but personal, and we truly appreciate the relationships we make through the process. In the end, I like to believe authenticity is why we have the following we do.

Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?

There have been quite a few bumps in the road along the way. The name “KINK” specifically refers to all the kinks we have encountered since dreaming our gallery up almost ten years ago. To this day, the biggest hurdle we have faced has been the Covid-19 pandemic.

In 2020 Larry Nance Jr., who at the time was with the Cleveland Cavaliers, announced he would be wearing local businesses’ branded t-shirts to Cavs games. When we heard the news, we thought sending him one of ours was worth a shot! We mailed it the same day Larry made the initial announcement, and we were surprised shortly after with a Zoom call from Larry himself. He told us he would be wearing our shirt that evening, and in addition, he would be auctioning off his jersey from the game to benefit our small business.

Later we would also be informed that we would not only receive the money from the auctioned jersey but also that Larry and the Cavs would be matching the amount. While it did not necessarily bring more people into the gallery at that time, as we were still closed to the public, it generated more sales of our merchandise and brought a lot of awareness to our business. In addition, it gave us a financial boost when we desperately needed it. The money raised by Larry and the Cavs helped us not only stay open but helped us have the extra funds to build our website, make improvements, and do more for our artists; for that, we are forever grateful.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.kinkcontemporary.com
• Instagram: @kinkcontemporary
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/kinkcontemporary/

Image Credits
Credits are listed in the file name: Jeanie Brechbill Alexis Grapentien Brook Mott, Brooklyn Media Red Point Digital Traces Collective