We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Seoyoung Kim a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Seoyoung, so excited to have you with us today. So much we can chat about, but one of the questions we are most interested in is how you have managed to keep your creativity alive.
I am in constant search of creative communities and individuals to connect with for inspiration and feedback. Regardless of whether they resonate with my own practice, keeping an open mind for different creative practices can develop into new ideas and build meaningful resources.
Involvement is also crucial in keeping creativity alive. Even if you are not directly involved in creative events or communities, showing up for them and engaging can bring stronger connections and lead to impactful discourses. Show up to artist talks, lectures, openings, exhibitions, parties, or salons. I believe that interest and sincere participation forms and expands today’s creative ecosystem. However we engage; critical or serious, or just casual – presence sparks a conversation. The experience of getting together builds community. One of the missions of Site is to become a starting point of a conversation that inspires, celebrates, and creates meaningful connections for creative communities.
Let’s take a small detour – maybe you can share a bit about yourself before we dive back into some of the other questions we had for you?
I am an interdisciplinary curator and artist from Seoul, currently based in Brooklyn. I am also the director of Site, a newly established variable experience + curation service for artists, creatives, and thinkers.
During my year of leave during the Pandemic as I was pursuing my studies in Painting at the Rhode Island School of Design, I fixed-up my studio space back home in Seoul to a pop-up exhibition space. Projectspace WIP was an opportunity to fearlessly dive into exhibition planning. I began by putting together a group of artist friends to put up a show. Without any knowledge of the industry or operational systems but purely based on experiences of going to shows as a viewer, I directed 3 group exhibitions – and came to realize what communities can do in creative practices. My practice after returning to school naturally progressed into interest in the relationship and power struggle between space, art, and viewership. I believe that space is versatile and can be filled with various elements to create a cohesive experience. This expanded to a research and passion in display of art, and the humane components that surround that environment in experiences.
Coming from an artist’s background myself, I faced hardships looking for opportunities and platforms for young artists to celebrate and share their practices without community. Evolving around contemporary narratives focusing on building collective relationships, Site’s programming is dedicated to connecting the arts and creative experiences through a space of confluence among practices and viewership.
There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?
- Empathy
Empathy brings a lot for our contemporary ecosystem. Putting oneself in someone else’s shoes opens one up to so much. The exchange of perspectives that happen with an open mind and empathetic heart can create new tensions and embeddings. Site’s first experience “Chaotic Networks” that opened in February resonated with that concept. The sixteen artist group experience encapsulated our mission and identity. “Chaotic Networks” reimagined interdependency in exhibition settings to unfold a new narrative without the division of disciplines. Through this absence of hierarchical space, we sought alternative formats for interacting with each piece and artist, emphasizing on their collectivity rather than individuality through consensus.
- Sincerity
I find it hard to pursue something without sincerity. It helps me stay true to myself, reflecting genuine experiences and passion, whether it is a creative practice or not. This often resonates deeply with the engaging audiences, creating a more meaningful connection. The team at Site has been approaching each experience and participant with sincerity. This pushed our experiences further to develop resonance and beyond personal connections in a society saturated with content and events. The translation to the participants in developing creative practices and seeing collective consensus occur at our experiences has been a great drive as we grow with Site.
- Presence
I talked about this so much, but showing up to engage in experiences is so important! This is what drives Site. What we aspire to share with the community is expanding our ideas of togetherness through collective experiences, which will range from Exhibition and Art Curations, Crit Clubs, Sound and Visual Performances, Publications, Workshops, Panels, and more.
One of our goals is to help like-minded folks with similar goals connect and so before we go we want to ask if you are looking to partner or collab with others – and if so, what would make the ideal collaborator or partner?
Site is always open to collaborating with curators, artists, designers, and thinkers. We would love to work with creatives who are in constant search like us for a community, and simply want to celebrate creativity. We do not want to limit ourselves to artist exhibitions, but develop programs for the public with genuine interest to come support one another through collective experiences. We would like to develop Site as a service that provides more opportunities for creatives to participate in and engage with, build communities, and share conversation. Contact our team to host exhibitions or workshops, share critical feedback, and simply meet other creatives and build community.
Contact Info:
- Website: seoyoung-kim.com, site-
service.com - Instagram: @keiesuai, @site_____
Image Credits
Documentation of Chaotic Networks: Seoyoung Kim, Jae Choi Documentation from Opening Reception: Ho Kyeong Jang
