OUR STORY
Kristine sits in her Los Angeles art studio (2024); PC: Baha Danesh
For years, multidisciplinary artist Kristine Schomaker (she/her) has been known to friends and fellow artists as the Great Connector—the person who can help you find whatever you need. Beyond her prolific artistic career, Kristine has always sought to uplift and amplify the voices of artists around her. During her tenure as President and Social Media Manager of the Brewery Artwalk Association, Kristine realized that most artists would rather focus on working in the studio than handling the business side of art. In fact, many artists need help getting their work out to the public, media and galleries.
With her extensive leadership experience and intricate knowledge of the art world—Kristine has taught art history at multiple California Community Colleges, organized and curated numerous art exhibitions, and presided over several community arts organizations—Kristine saw that she was uniquely positioned to fill this role. As such, in 2014, she founded Shoebox Arts, a company designed to help artists with marketing and the business practicalities of art.
Kristine and fellow artists at Shoebox Art's 1st anniversary party (2015); PC: Baha Danesh
Through Shoebox Arts, Kristine spent a decade organizing workshops in which artists could meet to get feedback on their work, talk about the business, and help each other navigate the often perilous waters of the art world. At the same time, she collaborated with multiple non-profit organizations and was deeply inspired by their ability to reach artists of all different backgrounds. By the end of the pandemic, Kristine was ready to build her own nonprofit.
10 years after Shoebox Arts began drawing Angeleno artists together, January Arts is here to expand the process—to bolster a vibrant, diverse community of artists and bring your dreams to life.