“It [No Space, Just A Place] also evokes a relationship to outer space, a sort utopian place in which to set new empowering narratives, dwelling into the understanding of otherness, minoritarian identities, queer politics, new political and aesthetic relationships between humans, non-humans, the earth and the cosmos…” curator Myriam Ben Salah—Executive Director and Chief Curator of the Renaissance Society at the University of Chicago. The exhibition aims to support the cultural landscape of South Korea’s contemporary art scene by creating multi-layered project that brings visibility to Seoul’s alternative art spaces and other local and international artists. Historically underground venues that populate storefronts, lofts, warehouses and other places abandoned by the mainstream, these independent art spaces first appeared in Seoul in the late 90s and are famous for promoting work that is often politically engaged, experimental, and more concerned with artistic debates than commercial viability ‘No Space, Just a Place’ is curated by Myriam Ben Salah —Executive Director and Chief Curator of the Renaissance Society at the University of Chicago—and propelled by #Gucci Creative Director Alessandro Michele’s meditations on society: the ethical and aesthetic value of the relationships between genres and gender, the notion of learnscapes, the urgency of self-expression and an ageless anthropological manifesto are key themes to him, which are reflected in the mission and ambitions of these alternative spaces. This lays the foundation for a new perspective on the act of “being together” while not being a single entity. The exhibit will run until July 12, 2020.
