Curator Nanette Orly has a passion for exploring approaches in which art can change the way we think about culture and ourselves. between the lines is a curatorial project that brings together Korean artists based in Sydney, Auckland and Los Angeles (cities with the largest populations of Korean people living outside of South Korea) in an exhibition and residency program at Openspace Bae, in Busan, Korea.

We spoke with Nanette about her first international exhibition, how funding from Creative Australia made it possible, and what’s next in her sights.

Nanette, thank you for doing this interview, please tell us about yourself.

“Thank you so much for inviting me! My name is Nanette Orly and I’m a curator based on Wiradjuri Country with ten years of experience in exhibitions, programming and publishing.”

“I have worked across institutional and independent arts organisations in Australia, specifically researching experimental and intersectional curatorial methodologies and developing new ways to bring people together to engage with artworks and ideas. In 2019 I relocated from Sydney to Albury to join the wonderful team at Murray Art Museum Albury. This experience of living and working regionally has influenced and informed my curatorial practice immensely. I am so glad that I moved!”

Describe your practice and why it matters to you.

“Curators play an important role in establishing connection between art, audience and ideas. My passion lies in exploring approaches in which art can change the way we think about culture and ourselves. I attempt this by curating exhibitions with broad or universal themes – such as food, language, home – and then focus on bringing together a myriad of ideas and works by artists with different lived experiences, contexts and approaches to artmaking.”

“Curating exhibitions, especially in a regional museum context, has emphasised the importance of establishing connection with audience.”

“You want exhibitions to be critical and rigorous, but I feel, not at the expense of accessibility. This is important to me because there are more than enough barriers that prevent people from appreciating, benefiting, and contributing to art – geographical, structural, educational, financial – why curate an environment that creates more distance?”

My practice aspires towards spaces that can generate connection, break down barriers, and open us up to new experiences.

Tell us about between the lines.

“Through the medium of contemporary sculpture, between the lines is a curatorial project that explores connections between body, place, and the nuances of cultural experience. The exhibition is presented at Openspace Bae in Busan, South Korea, and features artists with cultural connections to South Korea, but who have spent their formative years of art making outside of this context living in Sydney, Auckland and Los Angeles. Sculpture was chosen because of the way it brings a kind of full body awareness, and each artist utilises sculpture to embrace the body and space – cultural, physical, political.

“There is a collective physicality to each of their artistic processes; welding, constructing, and braiding their cross-cultural connection between body and place into hand-made sculptural objects and installations. As a curatorial framework, between the lines exists as a hybrid model of exhibition and residency. Over ten consecutive days, we had the opportunity to install and celebrate our exhibition and engage with the local arts community in Busan.”

Who are the artists involved in the project?

“between the lines features sculptural works by artists EJ Son, Yona Lee and Dana Davenport. EJ Son is a Sydney-based multi-disciplinary artist, working across new media, sculptural installations, video and ceramics. Their practice focuses on using provocation and humour as a device to interrogate the complexity of power in the construction of gender, sexuality and race.”

“Yona Lee is an Auckland-based artist who makes sculptures that combine structures of stainless-steel tubing with everyday materials of urban and domestic spaces. Her work ranges in scale from tabletop objects to installations that occupy entire buildings and interior architecture.”

“Dana Davenport is a Korean and Black-American interdisciplinary artist raised in Seoul, South Korea, and currently based in Los Angeles. Her work shifts between installation, sculpture, video, and performance. Within her practice, she addresses the complexities that surround interminority conflict as a foundation for envisioning her own and the collective futurity of Black and Asian peoples.”

between the lines has given you the opportunity to employ your curatorial practice in an international setting for the first time. Why Busan, why South Korea, and how has the experience been for you?

“Last year I travelled to South Korea for the first time with my family. I was excited about visiting my mother’s country but was also apprehensive about how I would feel immersed in a culture that I had limited connection to growing up. In the absence of cultural upbringing and language, I only had my body as a guide to feel connected to my culture – and surprisingly, I felt completely comfortable in a place I had never been before.”

“This feeling stayed with me as I travelled from Seoul to Busan, where I connected with the directors of Openspace Bae, a long-running independent art space in Busan, and proposed curating an exhibition that would draw upon this initial feeling I had in South Korea.”

“As a regional curator, it is important to me to support cultural activities outside of capital cities. Busan has an incredibly rich and resilient history, as does Openspace Bae, an alternative space that has supported the development of local experimental and contemporary art practices for almost twenty years. between the lines was also their first international exhibition, and whilst I think we’d all agree that it was challenging at times, overwhelmingly it was a wonderful experience, and an incredible opportunity to learn so much from one another.”

It was the first time a number of the artists have presented work in South Korea too. How has the experience been for the artists and is there a common feeling amongst the group?

“In the leadup to the exhibition, the artists, myself, and directors of Openspace Bae regularly met online to share research, ideas, and work-in-progress. These conversations also shared the ways in which the artists’ lived experiences of growing up outside of South Korea had influenced their artistic practices.”

Coming together in Busan was an important way to create new cross-cultural exchanges with the local arts community, and to shed light on the variety of experiences within a shared cultural heritage.

The artists have shared with me that their experience was a very refreshing one!

They enjoyed the emphasis that between the lines put on each artist pursuing a kind of full circle experience exhibiting works in South Korea for the first time, and how, from the development to installation, the exhibition facilitated a collective spirit that pushed the boundaries of traditional structures.”

“There were real relationships formed with the community and the team at Openspace Bae, which created a sense of belonging. These relationships and interactions felt meaningful and generous – somewhat different to other exhibition experiences where artists often end up only focusing on their own work. The artists also appreciated the opportunity to present work in an unconventional space. Ranging across multiple levels, the gallery’s architecture is stripped-back, unexpected, and raw in a way which is open to interpretation and experimentation.”

What has the reception been to between the lines from Korean audiences?

“Openspace Bae shared that it’s received an enthusiastic response! EJ Son’s ‘Dancing Teddy’ which is installed on the first floor of the gallery, captures the attention of passers-by, naturally drawing many local residents into the gallery and sparking interest in the exhibition.”

“Visitors are impressed by the way diverse cultural elements were integrated into each gallery space. In particular, Dana Davenport’s new ‘Window’ series which evoke a sense of intertwined personal memories and Korean culture. Yona Lee’s Time in Transit, Light in Transit and Plant in Transit are three discrete sculptures that visitors have found to add a sense of openness to the gallery space, creating a connection between the interior and exterior of the gallery. Overall, the exhibition’s layout across the gallery’s unique spaces, has enabled visitors to experience sculptural artworks and the space itself in a fresh and engaging way.”

The project received investment from Creative Australia in the shape of the Arts Projects for Individuals and Groups program. What impact did that have on you and the project?

“The support from Creative Australia has been integral to the overarching success of the project! With financial support across development, production, freight, travel, and workshops, the artists have been able to create new work, and share their practices with new audiences. As the curator, I was also able to be remunerated for my work, engage a designer to create an exhibition identity and forthcoming publication, as well as contract Korean-English translation support. Without the support from Creative Australia, this project would not have been possible at this scale or quality. The impact of this investment in between the lines has been significant.”

I’ve heard you say that it’s important to you to contribute to more nuanced expressions of migratory experience in contemporary art. Can you explain this please?

“It has been incredible to see how representation within cultural organisations is shifting to be far more inclusive. At times, however, I have struggled with the presentation, institutional or otherwise, of migratory experiences as told through the lens of marginalisation, othering and trauma. While these experiences are true and felt, I fear we create limiting narratives (and opportunities) for artists and curators of migratory backgrounds if trauma remains the most encouraged lens through which to explore what is a far broader lived reality for many.”

“I still feel very strongly that there is a lot to learn about one another through artistic expressions of identity and belonging, however, there are other aspects of everyday life such as joy, humour, memory, and connection that can all be aesthetically explored through migration and can just as effectively deepen and challenge our understanding of people and experiences.

This project brought together in Busan Korean artists based in Sydney, Auckland, Los Angeles. Do you have plans to deliver more curatorial work in South Korea?

“I would love to curate more exhibitions in South Korea! I have no plans at this stage (yet) but I would like to dedicate a few months to travel around the country to meet with artists, curators, writers and galleries before presenting new work.”

You’ve said that international opportunities don’t often allow enough time to engage with the local arts community, nor enable artists the time to relish in the exhibition after the opening event. Did between the lines overcome these challenges?

Yes, absolutely! We could have done with more time to be honest, perhaps even stayed in Busan for the entirety of our exhibition!

“We worked with Openspace Bae so closely, they were very hands-on and supportive in the leadup to the exhibition and during our ten days together. It was established on the first day that we would basically be eating every meal together, and we did! While we formalised moments for community engagement and knowledge exchange, such as having an makgeolli party on opening night, artist talks and a curatorial workshop, really it was those in-between casual moments where true connection was able to form.”

“Iced americanos during install, shared meals at the end of the day, team meetings to problem solve daily issues, and a field trip on our last day!”

What’s next for Nanette Orly?

“After five years of living and working regionally at Murray Art Museum Albury, an experience that has forever changed the way I think about art and curating, I will be taking everything I’ve learnt and moving to Los Angeles next year! The future is uncertain but exciting and I’m really looking forward to pursuing curatorial opportunities in a completely new context and arts community.”

Nanette Orly Instagram |  Arts Projects for Individuals and Groups