Kim Larkin is the director of the contemporary art gallery Modified Arts, in downtown Phoenix, Arizona. Kim, who was always interested in art growing up, got a degree in art history from the University of Utah. She took a semester off during her undergraduate years and traveled around the world with her brother and his friend, seeing art and art galleries in places like Thailand, Nepal and Fiji. After graduating, she owned and ran Groutage Gallery, a small private art gallery in Utah, for a year and a half . She later moved to Pittsburgh, where she received a masters degree in arts management from Carnegie Mellon University and worked as the director of Future Tenant Gallery. At Future Tenant, Kim managed exhibits from various artists in a multi-use space in downtown Pittsburgh.
After moving to Arizona with her husband, Kim was approached by Kimber Lanning, former owner of Modified Arts, to see if she wanted to take over the space. Larkin agreed, and she and her husband changed Modified Arts from a mostly live-music venue into a gallery space, focusing on contemporary artists. The new Modified Arts has been very successful during its first year, featuring local Phoenix artists as well as artists from all over the world. Kim Larkin’s dream? To share contemporary art with the world and see the artists she works with enter the history books. Check out our interview with Kim: