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수아 Sooa Lim

@desuah

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🎉 AHL Foundation is pleased to announce Sooa Lim @desuah as the 2026 AHL–Kim Family Fund Research Fellow.

As part of this fellowship, she will contribute to the ongoing research, organization, and digitization of archival materials for the Archive of Korean Artists in America (AKAA), while expanding the archive through artist research and new artist records. Her work will help preserve and make more accessible the histories of Korean and Korean American artists through AHL Foundation’s digital archive.

Sooa Lim is an archivist, curator, and cataloguer specializing in Korean and Korean American art history. She currently works as head auction cataloguer and curator, a role that brings together object research, artist documentation, provenance, and precise descriptive writing. She holds an MA in History of Design and Curatorial Studies from Parsons School of Design and earned both an MA in Arts Management and a BA in Design from the Korea National University of Arts. Based between Seoul and the northeastern United States, including New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut, Lim has worked with institutions such as the Seoul Children’s Museum, Weinberg Modern, and InsideInside. She is also the founder of NaUs Art Collective, a digital platform that highlights Asian diasporic archives and visual culture. Her ongoing collaboration with the SEORO Korean Cultural Network archive, an art collective in New York during the 1980s and 1990s, reflects her commitment to expanding the transnational visual foundations of Korean and Korean American art history through research and curatorial practice. by @desuah

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2 months ago

As I prepared for this exhibition, I found myself slowly looking back through a year’s worth of archival material.
<The Shape of What Remains: 남겨진 시간의 형태> began
with a question, “What stays behind after a person’s life, or a certain time in history, has passed?” And in a strange way, this exhibition feels very close to where I am in my own life right now.

These days, I’ve been thinking a lot about what the past few years of my life have left in me. While looking through the artists, the works, and all the records left in between, I realized that even the time we think we wasted doesn’t really disappear. Somehow, it still leaves a deep mark of its own.

I’m so grateful to president Sook Nyu Lee Kim, director Beki @bbekisong and Manager Jieun @0_uncanished_workld at the AHL Foundation @ahlfoundation for giving me the chance to curate this exhibition. And a very special thank you to our angel Rei @rei.c 🪽🤍, who showed up with unexpected help on
installation day, and to my fellow Fellow, Jennifer @banggwemozzi ✨💛

After we finished installing the exhibition, I found myself wondering, “How do I keep being surrounded by such good people who always seem to show up for me?” They simply said, “Because you’re a good person too.” I think that answer will stay with me for a long time, and I have so much love for this team for giving it to me. I know I won’t always make the right choices. But I hope I never stop asking myself whether I’m continuing to live as a good person.

And finally, thank you so much to everyone who came to the opening reception and spent time with the exhibition. The exhibition will be on view through October 10. I hope you’ll come by and see it. Thank you 🫶🏻❤️

#nycartgallery #koreanartist #ahlfoundation #artexhibition #theshapeofwhatremains taken in AHL Foundation, Inc. by @desuah

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11 days ago

저는 그럭저럭 저를 챙기며 그냥저냥 잘 살고 있어요 걱정마세요 by @desuah

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20 days ago

AHL Foundation is thrilled to present The Shape of What Remains: 남겨진 시간의 형태, an exhibition curated by Sooa Lim @desuah that brings together works by nine Korean and Korean diasporic artists alongside materials from the Foundation’s Murals on Display Program, AKAA Collection, and Archive.

Featuring works by Sung Ho Choi @pubrivate, Valery Jung Estabrook @valeryestabrook, Ran Hwang @ranhwangstudio, Daru Jung Hyang Kim @daru_junghyang, Hyang-an Kim, Kimsooja @studiokimsooja, Wonsook Kim @wonsookkim.official, Choong Sup Lim, and Mirae kh RHEE @mirae.kh.rhee, the exhibition explores how an artist’s life, memory, identity, and practice take shape and remain through time.

Beginning with Ran Hwang’s White Wind on the exterior wall of the gallery, the exhibition moves inward to the AKAA Collection and Archive, bringing together artworks, photographs, exhibition materials, publications, and personal records that trace the movements, relationships, and histories surrounding Korean and Korean diasporic artists.

📅 September 12–October 10, 2026 
🎉 Opening Reception: September 12, 2–4 PM 
📍 AHL Foundation Gallery 2605 Frederick Douglass Blvd., #C1, New York, NY 10030 
🕙 Tuesday–Saturday, 10 AM–5 PM 
🎟️ Admission Free

We invite you to join us in considering what remains, what is remembered, and how traces of artistic lives continue across generations.

This exhibition is supported in part by the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, in partnership with the New York City Council, and 115 Belmont LLC. AHL Foundation’s programs are made possible by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature. taken in AHL Foundation, Inc. by @desuah

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a month ago

45시간을 전기 없이 지냈다.

코네티컷에 갑자기 엄청나게 내린 비로 우리 집 근처가 모두 정전이 되어, 독립기념일 휴가에서 돌아오자마자 잊지 못할 기억을 또 하나 쌓았네. 지금은 다시 들어오는 전기 덕분인 일상의 편안함에 다시 감사함을 느낀다.

하마터면 잊혀질뻔한 좋았던 추억들. 돌고래, 해변, 그리고 불꽃놀이 🐬🌊⛱✨🎇❣️ taken in Asbury Park, New Jersey by @desuah

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3 months ago

Many thanks to @cityoffairfaxva for creating this wonderful video for Chromatic Currents. It was truly an honor to work with @desuah curating this exhibition and an absolute joy brining the work of @miracle_icon_hana @tommytangart @lapham.art @kimilkie and artists from @nausartcollective to the City of Fairfax. THANK YOU ALL! by @desuah

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3 months ago

The Rogue Art Project is proud to announce Chromatic Currents, an exhibition honoring the vision of Asian and Asian-diasporic artists.

Curated by Debra Wright & Sooa Lim, this exhibition merges archival scholarship with unwavering community advocacy—celebrating resilience, belonging and collective memory.

Each artwork is a conversation between past and present, inherited symbols and a deeply personal voice.

DEBRA WRIGHT: The Architecture of Visibility. A Northern Virginia–based artist, curator and institutional critic, Wright's leadership at The Rogue Art Project and The Feminist Art Project dismantles barriers to recognition for underrepresented artists.

SOOA LIM: The Ethics of Preservation. An archivist, curator and scholar, Lim specializes in Korean and Korean American art history. The co-founder of NaUs Art Collective, Lim preserves fragmented histories and diasporic narratives often marginalized by mainstream institutions.

Together, Lim & Wright generate an ecosystem where artists are genuinely supported, creating a living archive of resilience and collective memory in Chromatic Currents.

ON VIEW NOW
FREE AND OPEN TO THE PUBLIC DURING NORMAL OPERATING HOURS
The Stacy C. Sherwood Center
3740 Blenheim Blvd.
Fairfax, VA 22030

OPENING RECEPTION
FREE AND OPEN TO THE PUBLIC
Thursday, June 25, 2026
5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.

#ChromaticCurrents #ContemporaryArt #ContemporaryArtists #AANHPI #AANHPIArtists #ArtExhibition #TheRogueArtProject #NaUsArtCollective#ContemporaryArt #ContemporaryArtists #AANHPI #AANHPIArtists #ArtExhibition #TheRogueArtProject #NaUsArtCollective taken in Stacy C. Sherwood Community Center by @desuah

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4 months ago

Jonathan Goodman: You were educated in design in Korea and in the history of design in New York. How has this experience shaped your artistic outlook?

Sooa Lim: My education in Korea and in the United States shaped my thinking in ways that feel quite different, but ultimately connected. In Korea, my training in design was grounded in discipline and attention to form, with a strong emphasis on precision and material. That way of seeing still stays with me.

When I studied at Parsons, the focus shifted. I became more interested in context, history, and the frameworks that surround art. It changed how I think about curating. I no longer see artworks as isolated objects, but as part of a broader conversation that unfolds across different systems.

JG: You are currently working at an auction house in Connecticut. What does your position require, and how does it influence your curatorial work?

SL: Working as a Head Cataloguer has significantly shaped how I think about artworks beyond exhibition contexts. My work involves detailed research, provenance tracking, and writing catalogue entries that place each object within both historical and market frameworks. In many ways, it feels like reconstructing a story.

In several cases, this kind of research has influenced how works are received. By clarifying attribution or expanding historical context, I’ve seen how a more precise narrative can increase both institutional interest and collector confidence.

At the same time, working in the U.S. auction environment has made me more aware of how artworks circulate. They move through networks of collectors, transactions, and market dynamics. I don’t see this as separate from curating, but as an extension of it.

Link in bio to read more... by @desuah

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4 months ago

I’m proud of you for getting through what you didn‘t think you could and still managing to keep moving forward 🇰🇷🛫✨🌞🌝📚😢🎊😊💵💡💖 by @desuah

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4 months ago

어김없이 찾아온 올해 상반기 인생 노잼 시기. 그나마 다행인 건 이전보다는 짦게 지나갈 수도 있겠다는 느낌이다. 지난 몇 달 간 내 지난 시간들을 기록해주셨던 언론 기사 열 몇 개와 전시나 학회, 논문, 심사 등 경력 증명 자료를 모으면서 지칠대로 지친 와중에 도착한 다음 단계의 체류 서류. 이게 약간의 도화선이 되어서 내 다음 목적을 찾을만한 이유가 될 수도 있다는 생각이 들었다.

다가오는 몇 달간 오픈할 4개의 전시를 혼자 사부작사부작 준비하고 있고, 아마도 9월이 지나면 지금보다는 덜 바빠질거라는 약간의 기대를 하고 있다. 그동안 나를 챙길 시간이 부족했던 건 확실하니까. 생업과는 별개로 내가 할 수 있는 분명한 일을 하는 것이 다음 단계를 위해 어떤 도움이 될지 모르나, 어쨌든 내 삶을 꾸려나갈 능력과 스스로를 증명해 낼 기회가 있다는 것이 얼마나 감사한 일일지 다시 되새겨야 할 타이밍인가 보다. 거의 이틀에 하나 꼴로 마감을 때리고 있는 요즘, 다시 시작하는 이 한 주 한 주가 아무리 날 숨가쁘게 만들지라도. by @desuah

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4 months ago

어느 때보다 분주하고 벅찼던 지난 4월의 흔적 중 잊기 아쉬운 몇몇만 골라 모아 🌈☕️🎨🥟🗺️ by @desuah

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5 months ago

I was truly honored to present my research on Tommi Parzinger at PCA 2026. @popularcultureassociation

Through this conference, I feel that I was able, at least in part, to share the legacy of this designer with a wider audience, which has been a personal goal of mine.

Thank you to everyone who attended my presentation and showed interest in my work. I’m not sure where this research will lead. Still, as long as I have the opportunity and the ability, I hope to continue contributing to ensuring his name is remembered throughout the history of design.

#PCA2026 #designhistory #PCAConference #materialculture #TommiParzinger taken in Atlanta Marriott Marquis by @desuah

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6 months ago