Exploring Life & Business with Kinya Christian of INTO+VIEW Art Gallery and Studios

Today we’d like to introduce you to Kinya Christian.

Hi Kinya, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstories with our readers.
My career as an artist resembles stepping from one large, craggy, moss-covered stone to another, in a bubbling creek, trying not to slip in and ruin a favorite pair of sneakers… The road is less traveled.

Every opportunity I was given throughout my nearly thirty-year jaunt down the creek I viewed as a chance to stack up talents. Commercial offset printing preflight operator—check. Tradeshow exhibit company—check. Sign company—check. Creative marketing agency specializing in working with Walmart vendors—check.

A full-service ad agency, working on everything from magazines to TV graphics, to rebranding a community college, check. Each of those stones stepped on and spurred on to the next. I’ve formed my own LLC, created art used by Broadway Publishing, been on the community theatre stage as an actress, served on several boards, and even been on HGTV a couple of times.

Each stone certainly presented a challenge. The constants, water, moss, surely plague me. Being a Black woman in a very competitive industry will always be. These constants demand patience, strength, and a reliable network of support.

I’m about to take several steps along the creek. I’ve been recruited to be the Art and Production Designer for a short film; pursuing the all-elusive Court of Master Sommeliers certification exam.

One step at a time.

Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way? Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
I’m not an academically-trained artist—not necessarily by choice—it just worked out that way. I married fairly young, and my career in art took a more pixelated path. I’m happy with the end result. It took me a bit longer due to a lot of trial and error and having to learn how to navigate, at times, a competitive field.

Appreciate you sharing that. What should we know about INTO+VIEW Art Gallery and Studios?
I had the desire to have my own studio/gallery about 10 years ago, as I started to transition from graphic design to working with oils and acrylics.

In August 2020, I was commissioned by my friend, Jenny Marrs, to create artwork for a home renovation on her show, Fixer to Fabulous (HGTV). That opportunity opened other doors and other TV appearances. It was the final push I needed to open a gallery. The first nudge was my curation of Reflections of the Black Experience, featuring local artists and the 1619 Project by Nikole Hannah-Jones and The New York Times.

INTO+VIEW Art Gallery and Studios is the art space I wished existed when I moved to Northwest Arkansas from Kansas City, Missouri, in 1999—a gallery and workspace that would be welcoming to me as a Black woman, provide representation, and a safe space to express myself creatively. This gallery will bring into view under-represented artists of color, women, and artists of advanced age.

Let’s talk about our city – what do you love? What do you not love?
I love Kansas City, not only because I grew up there, but also because it just has all of these special spaces that are the epitome of everything I love—art, food, music, history, sports, family, and friends.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.KinyaChristian.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kinyachristian
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/kinyachristian
• Other: www.intoviewgallery.com