In Dialogue
For each iteration of curatorial project, Site, founder Seoyoung Kim has been blessed: swelling turnout, glowing reviews, a sunny day for their first outdoor show. When she opened Site 004. Winter Solstice on December 21st, New York saw its first snow of the season. Moments big and small in her pop-up shows keep confirming that she’s on the right track. The ambitious installations lean toward an organic, playful minimalism, with room for viewers to look slowly. In dialogue with sculptures and wall-work, Kim has begun to incorporate time-based programming—poetry readings, DJ sets, and artist performances– to fully embrace her curation’s one-night ephemerality. Still, these brief offerings provide space for artists of all stripes to congregate and share their work meaningfully, with a sense of both depth and urgency. A year into spearheading this project, Ms. Kim took some time to reflect on Site’s journey.
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What prompted you to start Site?
I graduated from school in the summer of 2023. I moved to New York the day after and was just thinking about what I could do with my time. I had this fantasy of going to opening nights in Chelsea and Tribeca. But even in smaller spaces in Brooklyn it was hard to approach and casually talk about artists’ practices. I wanted to create a platform where artists could just be present and celebrate their work. I knew that I wanted to run pop-ups, giving artists a short period of time to showcase and present what they’ve been working on.
So I don’t really like calling them exhibitions, rather than an iteration or experience for artists and their friends–people who are enthusiastic about attending these experiences to break that white cube system. I just want them to have a good time and be acknowledged.
What’s your experience of running this for a year?
Site is my way of learning and discovering my definition of curation. I feel like every curator, every organization, every platform, has a different identity when it comes to curating, so it’s still a very much work in progress for me.
I’m a firm believer in the relationship between viewer, space, and object. So when I talk to the artists in Site and the works that they present during those experiences, being present in person and engaging with the surrounding and the kind of chaotic nature of a pop-up is really crucial.
Our first iteration was last February, and I had 16 artists. It was a larger show but it was a strategically good way to introduce Site to a larger audience. I did not expect it to be so crowded. I thought just random friends would show up.
Since then, we’ve had four iterations. And it’s been a challenge for sure, to develop or grow our community beyond word of mouth. It’s been interesting experiencing: how can we take this beyond DIY? How can we keep these one day experiences lingering in the community, and how can this be remembered?
I have to think about it, because the artists put in so much work, and it’s displayed for one or two days. It’s something that I think about a lot, the challenge of having a nomadic, very short term iteration.
How have you gone about finding and connecting with spaces for your four shows?
Sometimes it’s a random find. Cooper Park, that was easy! For the second show, I wanted a little more of a blank space. There was an empty studio in my old building, so we rented that one out. The first show and the fourth show were already community spaces, like co-working offices, event spaces. I was like, why haven’t they done any art shows so far? It would be perfect. It was a great communication tool and negotiation tool for the rent, too. I like working with these spaces, because it means that it’s a merging of communities.
What are some of the highlights of Site’s first year?
Well, one of my favorite things to do is promoting and documenting. It’s all about online presence, which is actually more tangible and, in a way, forever. I’m thinking about that when I represent these artists who have agreed to participate in this experience. It’s something that I don’t think is less important than the exhibition or experience itself.
Then, it’s just the small things being at the events themselves. Someone at the first Site show, they were much older than my expected audience, and they were like, “Oh, did you create this?” They congratulated me, and I still remember—and I don’t even know them–they were like, “I’m so proud of you. You should just keep going. Don’t stop,” and that’s what I’m trying to keep in mind.
I appreciate your commitment to the pop-up model. Many curators approach it as a last resort, but I think the confines can be enlivening. Did that help pivot you towards including more time-based work within a slate of programming?
Thinking from an operational standpoint, it’s more attractive for people to stay longer and experience more by involving poetry readings, and DJs and sound artists. Even though they’re setting an atmosphere I still consider them artists who participate at Site. I definitely want them involved in a very sparking, generative night. They help tie the event together. I want it to be eventful in a way. It’s a celebratory experience and a reminder for artists why they stay in the studios and why we need a community to continue this. That’s definitely why having sound and sets in between has always been helpful to kind of remind them that we’re just here to have fun, get to know each other, and grow the community.
What do you have planned for the next year?
I want Site to have its own identity, and I am not that. I want to invite other curators and other artists to produce shows to bring new stuff to the table, and I’ll take care of the production on behalf of Site. But I really want it to be an actual community, not just working by myself but collaborating with others. I’m really interested in seeing what a DJ could curate, what a writer could curate. Maybe someone who doesn’t have an artist background, what can they bring to the table? In search of new ideas, new creatives who can produce an experience.
All images courtesy of Site @site_____
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Seoyoung Kim (b. 1999, Seoul) is an interdisciplinary artist and curator based in Brooklyn, New York. She is also the founding director at Site. Seoyoung explores the triangular relationship between art–space–and viewer in her practice, which lead her to pursuing her curatorial initiatives. She has produced and curated work in parks, studios, and warehouses in Brooklyn, and basements in Seoul, expanding the meaning of visual art exhibitions into experiences as a whole.
About the writer: Queens based artist Will Kaplan combines different mediums, techniques, and text to probe boundaries. In addition to his studio practice, he reviews new music and documents the city’s art scene. Kaplan has had several solo shows in venues such as Bob’s Gallery in Bushwick and on Governors Island. His work has appeared at Spring/Break Art Fair, the New Art Dealers Alliance, and Pete’s Candy Store. He has written for Passing Notes and Foofaraw Press.