Maria Baibakova

Born in Moscow, Maria Baibakova lived in New York from the age of 10 and later in London.

Maria’s interest in non-profit cultural organizations began when she was 16 with volunteer work in the fundraising department at the John Harms Theater and Arts Center, a community theater in Englewood, NJ, where Maria attended high school. Maria started studying art history at the Dwight-Englewood School, graduating top of her class in 2003.

Maria received her Bachelor of Arts degree suma cum laude in art history from Barnard College, Columbia University in New York, in May 2007. Maria was the recipient of many honors, including membership in Phi Beta Kappa, art history departmental honors, and the Nancy Hoffman scholarship for work in museums.

Parallel to her studies, Maria interned and worked in several arts institutions including Mike Weiss Gallery (NY), Waddington Galleries (London), Sotheby’s (NY), State Tretyakov Gallery (Moscow), Kim Heirston Art Advisory (NY), and others. She also gained valuable experience working in the luxury goods industry, sourcing and managing advertisers for a lifestyle magazine. In 2005 and 2006, Maria curated the restoration project of Alexander Nevsky Chapel, a Russian monument in Jerusalem, Israel.

In 2007, Maria enrolled in a Master of Arts program at The Courtauld Institute of Art in London, where she studied with Dr. Sarah Wilson in “Towards Contemporary Art: Postmodernism and Postcommunism in Europe and Beyond.” Maria obtained a distinction for her MA thesis “Through the Language of an Idealistic Childhood: Ilustration and Ideology in Ilya Kabakov’s 10 Character Albums.”

While in London, Maria worked as an independent consultant for several non-profit and for-profit exhibitions of international contemporary art in Russia. She also supported many initiatives furthering Russian art and theatre in London. In May 2008, Maria curated Laughterlife, a group show of contemporary Russian artists at Paradise Row Gallery in London’s East End.

Maria moved back to Moscow in the summer of 2008 to open a non-profit arts organization. She curated a solo show of work by Gosha Ostretsov and co-curated a group show Laughterlife 2, which featured artists from Russia, Kazakhstan, and Uzbekistan. In December 2008, she launched BAIBAKOV art projects at the Red October Chocolate Factory in Moscow.

Maria proactively supports several arts organizations in London and New York and is an active arts patron for institutions such as the Guggenheim Museum (NY) and Artangel (London). Maria serves as a nominator for the annual Prix Pictet, a photography prize dedicated to sustainability, in London. In 2007, Maria was the recipient of the Joseph Papp Young Leadership for Racial Harmony Award, awarded by the Foundation for Ethnic Understanding in New York.

Maria is a published writer and arts commentator, with essays in several exhibition catalogues, including for artists Ilya Kabakov and Gosha Ostretsov. She is a regular arts contributor to Russia’s newspapers and magazines.

Baibakova is recognized as an important private collector of contemporary art with her inclusion in the list of the top 200 international art collectors published in ARTnews in 2009 and 2010.