Kate Chase Founder of Kate Chase Presents.
Kate Chase passed away on June 14, 2021.
On June 17, 2022, Friends and family will gather at Sunnyside Conservatory, San Francisco, in celebration of a life well lived.
Please take a moment to remember her.
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My memories of Kate Chase are mostly around meals and brainstorming – casual get togethers in San Francisco, the Lucie Awards in New York, industry cocktail parties, networking events, etc. We shared a passion to talk shop and discuss marketing ideas.
Kate Chase and I first met about 15 years ago. She was the first person I knew that focused on representing photo retouchers when typically representation of creative talent was exclusive to the photographers. She honored their work and elevated their status in the industry. Kate understood their value and with her expertise and guidance, helped clients and photographers through the collaborative process. She worked with many of successful photographers and image makers whose names we know today.
Over the years, with her husband Ray Bair (founder of Cheese Plus), they helped cater APA portfolio reviews and parties in a delicious way! It always came back to creating a feel-good environments for creatives to connect.
Juliette Wolf-Robin
APA National Executive Director
Her about page on LinkedIn sums her work interests well:
To help creative entrepreneurs develop more authentic self promotion materials. Maybe it’s a photo essay. Or a new product. Maybe it’s online or off-line. Whatever it is, it’s about creating a moment of opportunity for the artist to really inspire and connect with an audience.
Heather Elder’s tribute:
Dearest Kate,
I wish I could remember the exact moment we met. Guessing it was over the phone first. I know we have Hunter to thank for it but however it happened, we hit it off immediately and twenty five years later we haven’t stopped talking. I will always have fond memories of our travels together, endless hours at Le Book, our Community Table road trips and that one crazy night in Minneapolis waiting for Brittany Spears to walk into the hotel.
But mostly I will remember and cherish the gift you gave me by choosing me as a friend and a partner. I learned so much from you Kate, professionally and personally and would not be the person I am today without you.
You and I talk a lot about how life’s experiences shape who you are. And how those experiences in turn shape your values and define you as a person and an artist. We spent countless hours exploring what this means and in the process you gave me the gift of seeing the world through a different lens. With compassion and care and dedication you listened to everyone else’s story and gave your total self to the process. You are part of my life experiences and for that I am a better friend and agent and I will always be grateful for that.
On a recent phone call you told me about a friend who had a hunch you weren’t doing as well as you were hoping or sharing. Rather than wishing you well and hoping for the best, he took a second to tell you what you meant to him. He said he had experienced loss before and didn’t want to miss an opportunity to tell you how much he appreciated you.
That stuck with me Kate. Not just for its how insightful it was but because you bring out the best in people. Because you truly listen and ask questions people like you. Because you are thoughtful about their stories people trust you. And because you truly care people love you.
Kate, as that book of ours taught us and the sweater tells everyone else, you Give A Damn. And because of that everyone else around you does too.
As I sit here thinking about what I want Ray to read to you or what I want him to remember years from now about our friendship, I am first struck by the loss. The deep and profound loss of you Kate. You have always taken such care in finding the exact right words but there are no right words for this. Thinking about a world that doesn’t have you in it is not right.
But then I think about all of our meaningful conversations and those you have had with others and I know they will live on inside the many people whose lives you have touched. You left our world too soon but your legacy will be far reaching. The people you enlightened will pay it forward in your honor.
Kate, I can’t imagine a life without you in it but I know that even though you won’t be by my side, you still will bring out the best in me. Because of you I will always give a damn.
Love, Heather
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If you would like more information, contact KateChaseMemorial@gmail.com
