Presentation: From the Ground Up to Growing Up: Building the Archive of Korean Artists in America (AKAA)
Presenter: Jiyoung Lee
- Session: Engaging/Exhibiting/Creating (with) Archives at the College Art Association Annual Conference 2026
- Friday, February 20, 2026, 11:00 AM – 12:30 PM
- Hilton Chicago – 3rd Floor – Williford B (Hybrid)
- Chairs: Ellen Larson & Bridget Madden
Abstract
This presentation traces the evolution of the Archive of Korean Artists in America (AKAA) — from its origins in artist Sung Ho Choi’s personal documentation in the 1980s, through three founding exhibitions (Coloring Time, Shaping of Time, Weaving Time), to its current form as a community-driven digital archive.
The presentation also documents two major phases of digital development: a 2021 infrastructure overhaul that rebuilt the archive using CollectiveAccess, connecting artists, artworks, exhibitions, and archival materials as interrelated entities with expanded filter and search functions; and the 2026 public launch of a fully redesigned interface, which brings donated artworks, books, and catalogues from the physical archive room into the online collection — alongside 40+ oral history interviews capturing the practices and personal stories of Korean artists in America.
The AKAA reimagines the archive not as a static repository, but as a living tool for shaping collective memory — grounded in community trust, curatorial care, and the histories that must continue to be told.
https://www.ahlfoundation-akaa.org
Jiyoung Lee 