AfterlightImage 15.JPG — **Kate Mothes**

is the founder of Young Space, a platform engaging with emerging artists through a dynamic program of exhibitions, publications and collaborations. Young Space has an archive of interviews with its talented artists, exploring their work and lifestyles complemented by STEAK Gallery and Young Space Views – a digital exhibition space. With a background in studio art and art history, Kate discusses combining these two pillars of the art world through writing, online vs. in person shows, and the importance of maintaining support for emerging artists.
yngspc.com

INTERVIEW BY ALISON POON

Alison: You grew up in Wisconsin and have recently made the move to Edinburgh, where you studied for your Masters in the History of Art. What has drawn you in about Edinburgh and how does it compare to America?

Kate: I’ve always been interested in artist-run culture, like cooperatively run exhibition spaces or popup events and collectives. Compared to the US, at least in my experience, there’s a different approach to fostering contemporary art spaces in Scotland. Nonprofit contemporary art centers in Edinburgh like Fruitmarket Gallery, Dovecot Studios, Collective, Edinburgh Sculpture Workshop (and so many more) are complemented by artist-run spaces and amazing annual festivals that bring together lots of really diverse programming. I’ve always gotten a feeling that the ecosystem is really strong, and uniquely focus on empowering artist to self-organize. One major reason this is all possible is that the public arts funding structure is quite different.

Paradeisos Yulia Iosilzon at Carvalho Park

Wisconsin, for example, is dead last in USA in terms of public art spending, at a measly $.13 per capita. It’s really, really hard to find sustainable funding for ongoing independent initiatives. In Scotland, culture spending (which includes the arts and tourism) is much greater. It’s difficult to find specific per capita data for visual arts spending, but suffice it to say, there are numerous funding bodies that provide grants to individual artists as well as institutions, such as Creative Scotland—which in turn often also support initiatives. There are a lot of geographical similarities between Wisconsin and Scotland, in fact, which is perhaps one reason I feel at home here. Put simply, it’s familiar, but there’s a lot of room to grow, and a lot of possibilities in the arts sector here, with a cost of living that’s much more affordable for artists than London, especially in Glasgow, but with excellent transport links to other cities all over the the UK.

Alison: Could you talk a little about the beginnings of Young Space and what inspired you to start it?

Kate: Young Space began a bit on a lark! It took its first breath as a blog in the spring of 2014. I was preparing to write my final research paper for my Masters program, and at the time, the art history department was physically separate from the art college and all of the studios, which I found frustrating because I’ve always been drawn to studio practice, and wished I had more access to studios and the contemporary art events on campus. It wasn’t until I became aware of this separation that I realized how curious I naturally was about what the fine art students were up to!

I ventured out to check out art exhibitions and meet MFA students at Edinburgh College of Art, and I processed my thoughts about what I was seeing in this blog. And I did this in part because, at the time, I was really intimidated by the idea of Contemporary Art. I was frankly terrified that I wouldn’t “get it” and was afraid to talk to artists about their work because I thought I would sound stupid, or I’d miss something really important. I had really no concept of what the “art world” entailed.

I found myself speaking with other art students who, like me, were facing the end of their Masters program and thinking, “What next?” How to actually make a career in art felt incredibly daunting. So that vulnerability around what the reality of life is like as you’re going out into the world with these creative yet often sort of abstruse skill sets, prompted me to think that I wasn’t the only one who felt like the “art life” was difficult to access. At the time, Instagram still felt fairly new and artists were only just discovering it as a platform to share their work. The idea of being an “Instagram artist” didn’t even exist. The blog became a way to be “critical” and exercise my ability to think about art it in a new way, and also share work online that I saw and felt something about. In a way, it was a means of teaching myself what my role in the art world could be.

Alison: Instagram was still in its early years during the conception of Young Space. Now it is an essential tool for every artist, collector, curator – anyone involved in the art world really. How have you seen this engagement change over the years with Young Space?

Kate: The moment I realized there was a role for Young Space to play was when I went to EXPO Chicago art fair in September 2014 and shared a few paintings I saw there.

At the time, Young Space had a little over 500 followers. Then the account saw hundreds of new followers in just a few days, and it continued to grow at a steady rate. I think it was a combination of timing, my desire to use it as a tool to network and organize, and the type of work I was sharing, which reflected the moment that painting started to make a fierce case that it was not, in fact, dead – thanks to screens! It was also a genuinely powerful way to connect with people all over the world, and learn about what was happening in many places at once, in a way that we hadn’t really had access to prior to Instagram.

Presently, the playing field, so to speak, feels much more crowded. I still use it as a research tool, but I think the excitement of the discovery has waned a little bit because it’s a thing that people feel like they “have to do” as part of a professional marketing strategy. It’s valuable in many ways, especially as I understand what it’s like to be located in a place that feels far removed from places like New York City where there is more access.

Wolves by the Road - Assembly House - Leeds UK - May 16 - June 5

Engagement is certainly nothing like it was a few years ago, when Young Space saw hundreds of new followers each day, but there are many more accounts that do a similar thing. So I’ve begun to focus on other ways to stay connected, such as though mailing lists, collaborative shows with other curators and gallerists, and online viewing rooms that prompt people to leave Instagram and check out a website. And I can’t wait to present in-person shows again.

I’ve always felt that Instagram is the tool we use to inform people about the work; it’s not the main event. It’s hard to ignore that we judge projects—and artists!—on their number of followers, and I wish that wasn’t the case. It’s the quality of the network that’s important. I think we’re moving into a period where bigger isn’t actually better. The futile battle with the algorithm is exhausting anyway, and takes energy away from really organizing. Perhaps we’re all craving a bit more of the one-on-one longer-term relationships, rather than passive likes. Or is that just me? ;)

Alison: Over the past year in particular, we have seen a lot of new online-only art platforms. You have been holding online exhibitions for several years while also coordinating physical exhibitions nationally and internationally. How do you find this contrast, and do you think it is still important to hold in-person exhibitions?

Kate: YES YES YES to in-person exhibitions!! But to your first point about online exhibitions: yes, I have coordinated and presented exhibitions online since 2017. Initially, they were always in tandem with a physical presentation as well. The first one I organized was called Settling the Ghost, which was installed in an artist-run space in a small village in Northeast Wisconsin. Artists included Delphine Hennelly, Tahnee Lonsdale, Scott Everingham and many more – it was amazing. And it was only through the power of connecting via Instagram that this was possible. I felt that it was imperative to be able to bring amazing contemporary art to an area where it was scarce but people were curious, and in addition to that, be able to utilize an online platform to reach people anywhere. Access has always been a big flashing neon sign in my brain: how can people reach this? Obviously not everyone can make it to a small Wisconsin village, just like not everyone is based in New York City. And this was an example of just how powerful and real that online network could prove to be.

During the pandemic, like many of us, I’ve come to appreciate why in-person shows are so important. Online-only exhibitions are a lot cheaper to present, and there aren’t the same logistical puzzles to contend with. But I miss the smell of the paint as a painting is lifted out of a crate, placing a sculpture on a pedestal “just so,” printing out checklists, or sticking vinyl signage on the wall. I love these things! Without the physical shows, we miss out on the chance meetings of friends and the kinds of conversations that organically lend themselves to new relationships or future projects. And we fundamentally miss out on the experience of viewing art. Because I really do feel like viewing art online is like reading about it in a magazine; it simply cannot replace seeing it in person, even if that information is valuable too. I look forward to being able to combine online and in-person programming again!

Alison: Could you talk a little bit about STEAK Gallery?

Kate: STEAK aims to emphasize, in a more intentional way, a core group of talented emerging artists I’ve been fortunate enough to meet over the past several years through Young Space projects. Young Space has a very important role to play, but I do view it as a separate project that will come into its own over time. The landscape—especially online—has changed significantly in the past couple of years, so I’ve been feeling for a while that Young Space needs to find a way to basically grow up. And one of the most significant aspects of this, I believe, is emphasizing lasting relationships with those I work with, because at the end of the day, that’s what it’s all about. I view STEAK as a natural, complementary next step in Young Space’s journey.

I think a lot about what it means to really be together and gather around art. Eventually I would like to establish a physical space, hopefully in Scotland! I keep scoping out teensy-tiny little spaces and thinking, “I could fit maybe three paintings in there, but it would be so awesome!” There are also some amazing buildings full of studios and arts organizations that could make a great fit for something very community-focused. It’s important that it’s genuinely connected to the local area and can move ideas forward. And I really look forward to those opportunities to meet people in a real space again! For the time being, it’s online, and I’m excited about the conversations and ideas going forward!

Alison: It is great to see Young Space not only working with emerging artists but staying with them as they grow. How important is that support and engagement for artists at the beginning of their careers?

Kate: I think that initial support and engagement can really set the tone for an early-career artist’s outlook and expectations. It’s unbelievably daunting to be in or just emerging from art school—or trying to make a go of it on your own—and feeling unsure about how to proceed. We’re so inundated with personally branded Instagram accounts that show the best possible perspective of everything that there’s a tendency to lean one of two ways: develop a kind of hubris—“I can definitely do this; it doesn’t seem that hard”—or, alternatively, become quickly discouraged when facing the reality of how difficult it can be to get one’s work really seen, let alone thought of regularly for shows or awards, etc. It can be a rollercoaster, and while I say this from the point of view as someone who organizes artwork, I know what it’s like to try to make a career in the art world as someone from flyover country, who didn’t come from money, and who had no art world connections.

It takes real grit to make the art life work. That grit and determination will pull an artist through a tough time, and people will be way more likely to notice if they keep chugging along. It’s so rare that someone just “gets a break,” and even if they do, it’s usually because they were extremely well connected. I personally favor working with artists and other organizers who, through thick and thin, just keep doing the work. For those who are willing to really try to weather those highs and lows, I want to be in their corner, because sure, it’s exciting to learn about new work, but I think that in our capitalist, social media-fuelled everything now now now mentality, we forget that artists really need at least five or ten years—sometimes more—to really find their stride and the types of sustainable connections that will carry them into the next ten years.

A good friend, an artist, mentioned something to me that his professor told him once, years ago, along the lines of: Be prepared to work really hard for the first ten years, and then to work twice as hard. That rang so true! I find that, through Young Space, I’m just beginning to reach that point where many of the artists I met a few years ago are reaching new heights with their work. And Young Space is in a unique position to have a network of thousands of artists that I’ve published, exhibited, facilitated relationships for, and continue to circle back to over time. It’s most rewarding—and mutually beneficial—to be in it for the long haul.

Alison: When curating exhibitions – both online and in-person, how does the process of choosing a theme come about? It is a pre-selected subject or does it come organically from the work?

Kate: From a curatorial perspective, I suppose you could say I’m a formalist at heart. I find that I simply want to see the work in front of me, and if it jumps out at me for whatever reason—be it a particular color, line, shape, or other element, I want learn what it’s about. For Young Space open calls, for example, several hundred submissions have to be narrowed down to a feasible number and a cohesive grouping for a show. I’ll look beyond the physical artwork and learn more about how the artists describes it in their statement, whether the work is part of a larger body or series, and how it might be put into dialogue with other works I’m considering.

Typically, certain themes or topics naturally arise from the obvious subject matter in the work itself or the way the artist describes the work or their influences. I’ve always felt a little strange trying to dictate what type of work artists should submit by limiting it to a theme, because I’m most interested in what artists feel is their best work, or the work that represents the whole of what they do. This is the information that I can take with me into the future when thinking about other curatorial projects, or for STEAK. And in those cases, I’ll return to artists who I may have learned about through an open call, and open up discussions around what they’re currently working on or moving toward, and seek other works that come into dialogue together.

Alison: What does the future hold for Young Space?

Kate: In the near future, Young Space is presenting a group exhibition at Tiger Strikes Asteroid NY, opening August 13. As the world very gradually readjusts to life post-pandemic, I’m really looking forward to returning to in-person shows and am already thinking about what this means for Young Space as an online platform. It’s always been a work in progress, changing in response to the way that artists are working and the way that the art world finds and shares information. So it’s hard to say what it will look like in even a year or two, because when I look back a couple of years, it’s crazy how much has happened and how much has changed. I’m particularly focused on STEAK at the moment, and excited to continue to see and share as much great art as I can!

Interview with Kate Mothes