About Us
The Bay Area Visual Arts Network (BayVAN) was formed in 2009 by artist/curators Kerri Johnson, Brook Baird and Nicole Neditch. Our mission is to promote the visual arts in the Bay Area. Through personalized services for artists, collectors and arts aficionados, we provide economic opportunities for artists, promote originality in collections and bridge communities.
Brook Baird
Brook Baird is a Bay Area based arts consultant, administrator and instructor. From 2006-2009 she directed BB Art, a full service art consultancy that sourced original, local artwork for residential and interior design projects. Working with local artists and galleries, Ms. Baird created personalized art collections for private residences as well as large scale art programs individually tailored to the needs of premier residential communities. Prior to founding BB Art, Ms. Baird's diverse professional experience included positions in real estate marketing, high-end art advising and non-profit management. For the past five years, Ms. Baird has enjoyed serving as an on-call painting and drawing instructor at Creativity Explored, an internationally renowned art center and gallery for artists with disabilities.
Kerri Johnson
Kerri Johnson is an Oakland based working artist, arts administrator and curator. She is the former co-owner and curator of Blankspace gallery, a critically acclaimed contemporary art gallery she co-founded and ran from 2006-2010. Ms. Johnson is an active member of the Bay Area arts community, she is the former Co-Director of Oakland Art Gallery, a member of ArtTable and an original member of the Oakland Art Murmur, Oakland's celebrated First Friday art walk. She recently served on the Curatorial Board at the Richmond Art Center and currently sits on the curatorial committee for Pro Arts Gallery. Ms. Johnson has been invited to sit on numerous jury panels for distinguished Bay Area arts organizations including San Francisco Arts Commission, Headlands Center for the Arts, Southern Exposure, Djerassi Foundation and the Oakland Cultural Funding program.
Nicole Neditch
Nicole Neditch has been an active member of the Bay Area arts community for over a decade. From 2002 until 2007 Nicole was the co-owner of the Mama Buzz Cafe and Gallery, a community driven, experimental cafe and gallery space in Oakland. During her tenure at the cafe, she co-founded Art Murmur, Oakland's celebrated First Friday art walk. From 2002 through 2008 she led the creative team behind the award-winning arts and culture publication Kitchen Sink Magazine. In this past year, her graphic design firm, Objet d'Art, has been commissioned to design and build websites for local agencies that increase exposure and awareness of independent local businesses, artists and arts organizations, including OaklandArts.org , 510Arts.com and the new OaklandGrown.org website.
Ms. Neditch serves the larger Bay Area community as former vice-chair of Oakland's Cultural Affairs Commission; as a board member of Bay Area Girls Rock Camp, and as a member of the curatorial committees for both the Richmond Art Center and Pro Arts Gallery.