Committed to becoming an art museum where daily life becomes art, Daelim Cultural Foundation currently operates two art museums in Seoul which are D Museum and Daelim Museum.
Former head curator both at Daelim Museum and D Museum, Juhui Ahn majored in the Department of Media Studies at Ewha. After working for more than a decade at Daelim Museum and D Museum, she is now a content director of Daelim Cultural Foundation. Looking back on her career path, Ahn shared how she links artworks with the audience.
As a freshman, Ahn had an interest in public relations and communications along with art. Not having the intention to directly perform art, she chose to double major in Art History to attain theoretical knowledge.
Ahn commented that back then, a curator itself was an uncommon job. Since she wanted to pursue both public relations and art history as her career, Ahn eventually arrived at the destination of a curator.
As a mediator between artists and the audience, a curator plans exhibitions and delivers the artists’ true messages based on clear interaction. In addition to that, as Ahn studied art history, she desired the audience to understand and empathize with what she had learned.
Ahn pointed out strong responsibility as the most important trait of a curator. Sometimes, the exhibitions could be called off or could bring up some unexpected changes. Thus, she emphasized that curators must be persistent no matter how the process of the event goes.
Another trait Ahn highlighted was communication skills. This not only indicates the communication between the artists and the curators but also signifies the interaction between the audience and the curators.
“Artists tend to have their own world of artworks which wants to be delivered to the audience,” Ahn said. “However, if the audience are not experts, it is not easy for them to draw out and interpret the genuine intentions of the artists.”
Especially when it comes to communicating with the audience, Ahn stressed that keeping an eye on what they want to hear is also a crucial step. Researching what kind of stories they would like to hear and what kind of topics they are interested in must be taken into consideration at all times. Ahn also added that research accounts for the majority of the curator’s work.
Describing the whole process of planning and implementing an exhibition, Ahn explained that it usually starts by deciding whose artwork will be displayed based on the curators’ research, such as factors of the work that attract the audience.
Once the artist is chosen, the next step is contacting the artist by showing the rough scheme and the theme of the exhibition. When the artist accepts the offer, then both parties start having constant interaction on the matters, such as the title of the event, duration, budget, insurance, artworks to be displayed, and many others.
For mapping out spatial planning, as a single exhibition could involve various topics, curators also have to determine how to assign those in different sections.
After all those procedures, the exhibition is finally open to the public. In terms of installing and managing the exhibition, Ahn stated that those steps only take about three to four months in general.
Ahn shared that one of the most memorable exhibitions she oversaw was “Romantic Days,” which is held from March 16 to Nov. 27 at D Museum. As some of the artists participating in the exhibition were romance comics artists who she used to admire as a student, she felt overwhelmed to interact with them again in a more professional setting.
Ahn still tries to learn and keep abreast of trends, as content directors always need to have a sense of aesthetics. She also strives to include different gears to help the audience understand artworks more smoothly.
For those who try to pursue their career in the field of art, Ahn advised them not to give up no matter what the circumstances are.
“There might not be any role models or precedents related to your interest,” Ahn said. “Find a door to knock on and give it a try even if the chances of a reply are slim.”