A day in the life
On an average day, I speak in three or four different languages as I attempt to make connections with different arts institutions and organizations across the globe. I pick up my phone to dial a number in Taiwan as I stare at an Excel sheet of arts institutions and organizations compiled on a previous day. My rusty Mandarin is revived as I stumble through the conversation with the representative on the other end, often sharing a few laughs in the process.
I don’t work in an office. My internship is remote, with the host organization based in New York. My office is either a desk in my grandparents’ home in Korea, where I am currently located, or a quiet cafe in a Seoul or Samcheonpo side street. I live on three different clocks, calling my UvA supervisor in Amsterdam one day and my internship supervisor in Nieuw-Amsterdam the next.
Things I’ve done
After a few calls, I get up to stretch. When I’m back in work mode, I get to thinking about how I can formulate a marketing or exhibition proposal for a department store or museum. An interesting example was when my supervisor asked me to come up with ideas for a collaboration between George Steinmetz, a photographer specialized in aerial photography from a paraglider, and Innisfree, a Jeju Island-inspired Korean skincare brand. I came up with ideas like getting George to aerially photograph Innisfree’s natural resources like green tea plantations and volcanic rock reserves on Jeju Island, and hosting an exhibition of his photography at the Innisfree cafes in Seoul and Jeju.
Recently, I have been focusing more on proposals to combat anti-Asian racism in Euro/American/settler colonial societies, and came up with different marketing proposals for Lisa Wool-Rim Sjöblom, a graphic novelist who focuses on transnational Korean adoption and anti-Asian racism. Additionally, Anastasia Photo itself is currently exhibiting an artist, Jessica Chou, who I had researched and proposed based on my evaluation of the current socio-political climate and the gallery’s goals.
At the end of the day, I wrap up by going through the social media of the roster of artists represented by Anastasia Photo, the gallery I work for. I look for all their latest updates, and designate them for liking or sharing through the gallery’s channels on another Excel sheet.
What I’ve learned
Something I have learned from the internship is flexibility. I have had to stretch myself to an extent that I have never done previously by working in so many different languages and timezones while in the same physical location. I have been able to incorporate my transnational life experiences and put them to good use. I have also learned how to communicate with many different types of institutions at once, whether they be governmental, private, profit-oriented, or mission driven.
Takeaway
My biggest takeaway from the past few months is that art is also a form of communication, and a very political one at that. The more creative aspect of communication is something that we have not necessarily been able to explore through our study programme as much as theoretical, academic conceptions. Hence, this is an opportunity from which I have been able to learn a lot.
