Young Space, no.110
TTFN.
“To create one’s world in any of the arts takes courage.” —Georgia O’Keeffe
I’m changing things up. It always feels like such a vulnerable thing to do—to announce a big transition. But it feels like time. I’ve run this newsletter for more than two years now, and before that, Young Space was an interview site and an Instagram account. It’s been around in some way, shape, or form, for 11 years. That’s kind of an insanely long time for me to do anything! I’ve nearly given up on it before due to burnout, then I rekindled a love for publishing, transitioning gradually from curatorial projects to arts writing, which I do fervently pretty much every day of the week for Colossal, as editor, and other publications on a freelance basis.
I keep thinking about the name “Young Space.” Because I—nor it—is young anymore. I was almost 30 when I started it anyway. And while its first several years revolved around almost entirely emerging and early-career artists, it gradually moved into something else… more of a holistic curatorial approach to an often painting-centric view of contemporary art, no doubt fueled by the social media it was conceived on. Quite possibly, it’s this emphasis on social media—and my now lack of emphasis on it—that has led me to think that, in a way, Young Space has simply grown up. And I’ve perhaps grown out of it.
Without further customary verbosity, I’m saying goodbye to this newsletter—at least for now and in its current form. (I’ve been known to revive projects.) Paid supporters, your subscriptions are indefinitely paused. I’ll also no longer be updating the artist opportunities postings.
It’s been a fantastic two-plus years sending dozens of emails via Substack, and Young Space as a whole has really had a marvelous run. It has propelled me and my work in directions I never expected to go or even really knew existed, in some cases. And in the meantime, I’ve met fantastic people and feel really good about what it’s all been about. As the year comes to a close and I’m heading out on yet another extended trip, it feels like a natural time to bid farewell.
I’ve recently picked Dovetail back up because it reflects more of where my interests have migrated over the past few years. I’ve felt myself wandering back to art history and rekindling some of the love for modern and early contemporary art that lit a flame in me to begin with. I remember sitting in a 100-level art history survey in Humboldt County, California, learning about Michael Heizer’s “Double Negative” and thinking, Oh my god.
I learned about art there during a formative time when all of my other energy was spent hiking through the redwoods, biking down to the Pacific shoreline, and nibbling locally grown strawberries on my walk back to my dorm. Later, in grad school, I dove into studying collaborative processes at Black Mountain College. I think that when it really comes down to it, I’m always most energized by the full integration of art and life, whether I’m researching it or trying to channel creativity myself. So, I hope you’ll continue to follow my writing on Colossal, Dovetail, and wherever else it may land.
I’m always pondering curatorial and DIY possibilities, and I’m always open to chatting about ways to work together. The way I see it, loosening my grip a bit on Young Space is in fact a way of making space. I see it as an integration, more than anything else—Dovetail sprang from the project to begin with, for example, and it feels like it’s all folding back in.
There’s a home video of my little sister and I, taken sometime in the late 1980s, and in the background you can hear my dad banging some pots and pans around in the kitchen as he cleans up. Suddenly there’s a sort of chaotic clatter and crash, and he hollers, “What’s going to happen next!?” The moment turned into one of those immortalized phrases that gets tossed around in our family when things start feeling haywire but we’re in good spirits and trying our best to embrace change. For full effect, it always has to be yelled with a kind of nervous intensity. So that pretty much sums up how I’m feeling at the moment: WHAT’S GOING TO HAPPEN NEXT!??
Thank you so, so much.
—Kate
P.S. The image by Georgia O’Keeffe above is in the collection of the Georgia O’Keeffe Museum in Santa Fe, New Mexico. Her former home northwest of there, Ghost Ranch, has just launched a conservation initiative.
I've really loved this newsletter, it is my favorite way to learn about new artists. Thanks for all the great recs and writing. I hope you find joy in your new endeavors!!