Baker Sisters Chosen As Featured Designers For ENGAGE Art Fair

From ENGAGE Art Fair: Each year, a Designer in Residence gets invited to curate the production, design, and artist portfolio for Napa Valley’s premier art event, ENGAGE Art Fair. Part of a larger 4-day festival, ENGAGE Art Fair brings brilliant talent to the already eclectic and Bohemian spirit of Calistoga. The 2019 ENGAGE Art Fair team is excited to welcome this year’s Designers in Residence, The Baker Sisters.

Having grown up on a cattle ranch in the Napa Valley, Melissa and Mercedes Baker spent much of their childhood isolated from the busy distractions of town. From an early age they redirected their energetic spirits to a realm of imagination and creativity. Working with anything they could find – art became a way of life, a portal to adventure and mystery.

Today, the Baker Sisters continue to push the bounds of perception with vivid color, contrast, and texture that toys with surrealism, expressionism, and abstraction. With every stroke, the Baker Sisters enlighten us with their ethereal beauty that reflects life’s complicated experiences both in wake and dream.

Born from a canvas of collaborative culture, The Baker Sisters are extremely active in Napa’s art scene, where they have built a strong community around their artistic ventures. Founders of the Ehlers Society and members of Nimbus Arts, Melissa and Mercedes’ repertoire include productions, film, art shows, music, and stage sets. Their incredible breadth of talent is the perfect marriage to leading the creative design team for ENGAGE Art Fair.

In addition to bringing their own show-stopping talent, the Baker Sisters have rallied an incredible lineup of diversely talented fine artists from all over to showcase their work at ENGAGE Art Fair. Alongside traditional mediums like canvas paintings, expect to find a range of engaging mixed media experiences from custom mural design by Chelsea Ritter-Soronen, dynamic photography from Matthew Baum, contemporary ceramic design by artists like Gwen Darling and NBC Pottery, jewelry design by Leah Delmer, and many others. Making their debut this year, The Ehlers Society will also be showcasing their artist collective of art, music, film and photography as they bring story-telling across a range of mediums.

What really makes the ENGAGE gallery special is the dynamic personality of the designer. Each year the look and feel of the gallery is altered by the vibrant push and pull of its creator. The Bakers Sisters, with their radiant introspection and spiritual perspective, look to bring a playful movement to this year’s showcase.

“ENGAGE Art Fair is an invitation to begin something new. To begin a journey and come out changed on the other side. To experience a metamorphosis of sorts. Art can break down the barriers of our preconceived notions, change our perceptions, and open our minds” shares Mercedes. “Much like the philosophies of Burning Man, ‘Immediate experience is, in many ways, the most important touchstone of value in our culture.’ Art offers the exquisite opportunity to experience something immediate with an impact that continues to alter us slowly over time.”

ENGAGE Art Fair kicks off with an upscale ticketed Preview Party on Friday, April 5 from 7 – 10 p.m. Guests are invited to don all-white attire, experience a premiere artist reveal, lively late-night entertainment and unique artists engagements, all paired with world-class wines and food. Tickets are available at the door and online for $100 each.

Saturday and Sunday, ENGAGE Art Fair is free and open to the public from 12 – 6 p.m. The weekend is a wonderful opportunity to experience the art in a new light. Each day offers guests something a little different.

For more information and a complete roster of artists showcasing their art during ENGAGE Art Fair, please visit celebratenapavalley.org.

Visit Sarafornia: ENGAGE Calistoga for a 4-day grass roots celebration of art, music, wine and food April 4-7. 2019. This event is produced by Celebrate! Napa Valley in collaboration with Visit Calistoga, and Arts Council Napa Valley. Be immersed into a broad spectrum of reflection, representation, and demonstration as artists elevate and innovate the way we experience art. For more information and event details please visit www.CelebrateNapaValley.org/sarafornia.