Latest / philly has heART / Philadelphia International Airport's Airport Exhibitions Program feat. Helen Cahng

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Philadelphia International Airport's Airport Exhibitions Program feat. Helen Cahng · philly has heART

0:15
Bonsoir. How are we this evening? Good. We have
0:20
some news coming in from the Philadelphia Ballet.
0:22
Are you ready for it? Yeah, give it to me. We
0:26
got promotions. Are you ready for the breakdown?
0:29
Yes. Rising up from PB2 to Apprentice. And Gabriela
0:46
Mesa. New Demi soloist and friend of the pod,
0:50
Javier. Hotter than this past weekend, Rivette.
0:53
And new core members, Rowan Lindemood. And finally,
0:58
the amazing Ava DiAmedio, member of the Egan's
1:02
DiAmedio dynasty. Nice. So absolutely amazing.
1:09
I had the privilege and opportunity to actually
1:13
see the Black Box Theater tonight at one of the
1:16
ballet meetings, and it looks absolutely incredible.
1:20
I cannot wait for the opening in September to
1:23
share this with the public. It's going to be
1:26
the destination to see live performances on North
1:31
Broad. All right, let's keep it short. Let's
1:35
keep it short, but everyone needs to know that
1:37
I did go to Miami this last weekend for a wedding,
1:40
and did I not run into amazing art exhibitions
1:44
at Philadelphia International Airport? It was
1:49
so great to see how much more you see when you
1:54
just like take your time to get to the gate.
1:57
You're gonna just rush the gate and sit there
1:59
anyway? No, no, no. Take in the art. take in
2:02
the rolling exhibitions. It was so fun to see
2:07
how they either put the art onto the walls, on
2:12
the ceiling, in glass boxes. It was incredible.
2:16
It's kind of like the visual version of an emotional
2:21
support dog. Yes. I went to Magic Gardens over
2:26
the weekend. Oh, great. How was it? Great. I
2:30
saw somebody get engaged in the Magic Gardens
2:33
and I kept Petit Garçon and the daughters of
2:39
a friend from way back from spoiling the photo.
2:45
Nice. Nice. Santiago Galeas' art was on show.
2:53
As curated by Chelsea Lester, both friends of
2:57
the pod and past and future, stay tuned, guests.
3:00
Yes, yes. It was my first time at Magic Gardens.
3:04
Oh, it's so fun. It's such like an exploration
3:08
and like tactile kind of space to immerse yourself
3:12
in. Going back to the airport, shall we get to
3:15
the conversation? Because we have a treat ahead
3:18
of us. Yes, we do. One of... Robert's bucket
3:23
list guests, Ellen Kong, the curator of the art
3:29
at the Philadelphia International Airport, joined
3:32
us for our conversation. Shall we get to it?
3:34
Let's get to it. On to the conversation. On to
3:37
the convo. This is Robert Marsh, and you're listening
3:53
to Philly Has Heart Podcast. In this podcast,
3:56
we sit down with artists, gallerists, educators,
3:59
curators, and other creatives who comprise the
4:01
Philadelphia art world to discuss upcoming performances,
4:05
exhibits, and other events and initiatives that
4:07
are not to be missed. The art scene in Philadelphia
4:10
is so rich that it can seem daunting. Consider
4:13
this your weekend cultural recommendation. With
4:17
me always is my producer, Lucinda Daggerland.
4:19
Hello! And today we have Helen Kong of PHL International.
4:26
We're so excited to have you here today. Thank
4:29
you so much. I'm really thrilled to be here.
4:31
Yes, yes. When Lucinda reached out and was like,
4:34
hey, we think we can get the curator of the Philadelphia
4:38
International Airport, I was like, so ecstatic,
4:42
so ecstatic. Because not everybody thinks of
4:45
it as a space for art. When you're going through
4:49
the airport, you're surrounded by it. I mean,
4:52
these locations are also getting huge tractions
4:57
about being spaces to share art, especially when
5:01
we even think of the Denver airport as well.
5:04
There's a giant horse out front, which is an
5:08
art exhibition, and it... catches everybody's
5:12
eye and it makes it such a unique place for art
5:17
to be shared with what could be a one -day traveler
5:22
to the space. So thank you for what you do and...
5:27
Before we get into those moments, can you take
5:30
us through your journey that brought you to your
5:32
role as curator? What moments, both big and small,
5:36
directed you to where you are today? It's been
5:39
a very meandering path. It's definitely not something
5:42
that I was like, there is a goal and I am going
5:44
to achieve it by doing this, this, and this.
5:46
I never would have thought that I would be working
5:48
at the airport, much less as a curator. I started
5:52
out as an artist. I guess I still am, although
5:54
I don't really practice. an exhibit much anymore.
5:57
But yeah, I wanted to be an artist. And, you
5:59
know, I went to University of the Arts here,
6:00
got my degree in ceramics, of all things, and
6:04
then went on to, moved to Los Angeles and got
6:06
my master's degree and went in a completely different
6:10
direction. Didn't touch clay at all. As many
6:13
of our artists find. And then just had a number
6:17
of different roles at different institutions,
6:19
mostly at museums. universities that really shaped
6:24
me and like I said it's just it's not the life
6:27
that I thought I would have but I think all of
6:29
these different experiences have really informed
6:31
the way I think about art the way I move through
6:35
space and you know what I really hope that our
6:37
viewers get to take away from from the whole
6:40
experience. Oh that's excellent. What brought
6:42
you back to Philadelphia after your master's?
6:45
Well you know it's funny because I grew up I
6:47
grew up in central Pennsylvania, like in the
6:49
Harrisburg area. And then I came to Philadelphia
6:51
to go to school. And like most people, I think
6:54
I have a love -hate relationship with Philly.
6:55
Mostly love. Yes. But it started to, after a
6:58
while, one of the things that I love so much
7:00
about it now was that first when I moved to Philly,
7:03
it felt very exciting. And then I wanted to have
7:05
that sense of anonymity again because I just
7:07
felt like everywhere I went, I saw somebody I
7:10
knew, which is, again, one of the things that
7:11
I love about Philadelphia and this really close
7:14
-knit community. But I think I always had it
7:16
in the back of my head. that I would come back
7:18
to Philly. But then when we had a child, that
7:20
sort of sealed the deal. We wanted our kid to
7:23
know his grandparents and come back to the East
7:26
Coast. You worked in varying roles at the Fabric
7:31
Workshop and Museum, the Hammer Museum, the PMA.
7:35
the University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology
7:37
and Anthropology. And in the fall of 2003, you
7:42
joined the Philadelphia International Airport's
7:44
Airport Exhibitions Program, taking over from
7:48
Leah Douglas, who originated the program. How
7:52
does curating in space, hosting transient people,
7:58
differ from curating in a museum or gallery?
8:02
You know, as I say, most of my experience, professional
8:04
experience, has been at museums and universities,
8:07
but I've never curated at a museum. All of my
8:10
curatorial experience was very much freelance,
8:13
doing projects here and there, and always at
8:15
artist -run spaces or alternative spaces. I could
8:18
never curate at a museum. Do you want to say
8:20
why not? Oh, sure. Yeah. Well, one, it's and
8:25
I think it's changing and for the better. But
8:27
when I talk about this meandering path that I
8:30
went on to get here, I think it's very different
8:32
at a museum. And even though I think museums
8:34
are evolving and changing and trying to reflect
8:36
the times, it's still very much a top down institution.
8:40
And so, you know, I don't have the I don't have
8:42
the academic background for one thing. You know,
8:45
I'm not published. And I think the way that I
8:47
approach curating is very much like. an artist
8:50
or a spatial designer, because I'm really interested
8:53
in that experience of how you move through space
8:56
and the context of the work and, you know, where
8:59
people are experiencing it. As opposed to, I
9:01
think, in a museum, it's very much the, this
9:04
is an artifact and, you know, this is something
9:06
that is cataloged in a very specific time and
9:09
place in history. Whereas I feel like, you know,
9:12
you can have an object and depending on where
9:14
you see it or... how you experience it, with
9:17
who, it can really change the meaning, which
9:19
is one of the things that really kind of drew
9:20
me to this position at the airport because airports
9:23
are weird places. Yes, yes. It brings out the
9:27
worst in people. Oh, yes. I bet you've seen some
9:30
wacky behavior. But go on. Yeah. But also it's
9:36
sort of par for the course of being in Philadelphia.
9:38
Yes. It's no different than abroad and locust.
9:42
Probably much tamer. You know, and I remember
9:46
talking to one of the curators at the Philadelphia
9:49
Museum. She was moving on to something else.
9:51
So she was working in European painting. And
9:55
she felt like, you know, there wasn't her focus.
9:58
It wasn't what her dissertation was on. But it
10:00
happened to be the first job that she got out
10:03
of graduate school. And so now she felt like
10:05
she couldn't veer off from that trajectory that
10:07
she was on. And I've had other friends who, you
10:10
know, studied art history, were academic scholars,
10:12
friends that didn't know each other. And I noticed
10:15
they were using the similar language. They were
10:17
like, well, I'm considered a failure in my field
10:19
because I do not have a tenure track position
10:21
as a university professor. And I remember...
10:24
overthinking like how strange and how sad. It's
10:27
been scary at times not knowing what the next
10:29
step is, but I think it's also, I really value
10:32
it. I love all the different experiences that
10:34
I've had and how they've fed into what I do and
10:37
how I look at the world. So yeah, I think that's
10:40
a big part of why I could never curate for a
10:43
museum. Real quick, what did you get your master's
10:46
degree in and where did you study? In fine art
10:49
at Otis College of Design. I saw that on your
10:51
LinkedIn. So what considerations are taken in
10:55
Philadelphia International that aren't in an
10:59
institution like you've worked at before? Yeah.
11:01
The biggest thing is, you know, people who come
11:03
to the airport, they're there to go from point
11:06
A to point B. We're an airport, first and foremost.
11:10
When you're working at a museum or even a university
11:12
gallery, you might get the occasional person
11:15
who's just wandering in off the street, but for
11:16
the most part, people are there because they
11:18
want to see art. And a large part of our audience
11:21
is not there to see art, but also, I think, don't
11:24
necessarily care about it. So you're reaching
11:28
a different audience and trying to meet them
11:30
where they are. I think. And, you know, just
11:33
the sheer amount of traffic. There's between
11:36
30 to 40 million people that come in through
11:38
the airport every year. And we have to deal with
11:41
different considerations like police carts or
11:43
rolling luggage wandering by. And it's a place
11:47
that's open 24 -7. Wouldn't the PMA love that
11:50
many people to walk through their doors? I mean,
11:54
it literally is an international stage. Yes.
11:56
I find that very interesting. And it's a little
11:59
ecosystem, you know, it's a little city unto
12:01
itself. Is it just yourself and the exhibition
12:04
department? No, and I have a really wonderful
12:06
team of three art handlers and assistant director
12:10
who, as in many institutions, we're a small...
12:14
but mighty team, so everybody has to wear lots
12:15
of different hats. I work on the curatorial,
12:19
the creative end, and then three full -time art
12:22
handlers and assistant director who helps with
12:24
all of our scheduling, all of our print production,
12:28
loan agreements, all of that other stuff that
12:30
museums have to deal with too, but we're also
12:32
working in an airport, and there's just the four
12:35
of us. That is also something that I find really
12:38
heartwarming and exciting about the way the art
12:42
world is changing. Because when I first started
12:44
my career 20, 25 years ago, and it still exists
12:48
now, but the way it was is that you'd walk into
12:50
a museum. You'd usually only see one name, possibly
12:54
two, the name of the artist and maybe the name
12:57
of the curator. And I think things are changing
12:59
now. I know things are changing now, and I really
13:01
appreciate it because... As I started working
13:04
in museums, you start to realize there are all
13:06
these jobs. There's all these people doing things
13:08
that I never knew existed. A registrar? You don't
13:11
hear about that in art school. Even with the
13:13
smallest shows, there are so many different hands
13:15
and so many different people's labor that are
13:18
contributing to it. Even a small collection show
13:21
could have 30 different people working on it,
13:23
from the curator and the director and all of
13:25
the development people who are raising funds
13:27
and all of the people in the sort of high -profile
13:29
jobs, but just all of the people who do. simple
13:32
things like creating the artwork, creating the
13:35
loan forms, just even scheduling appointments
13:37
for the executive staff. There's just so much
13:40
labor that's involved in creating a show. I think
13:43
the idea of labor is very important to me. How
13:46
much? space do you have to work with? It's a
13:50
huge building. It is. We do have designated spaces
13:54
within the airport, so that we have roughly 15
13:56
different rotating exhibition sites within the
13:59
airport, and they change out every six months
14:01
or so. As I jumped, you know, feet first into
14:04
the world of airport art, and I didn't realize
14:06
it was such a thing, Philadelphia International
14:09
Airport was actually the first airport art program
14:12
in the country, which I didn't know until I started
14:14
working there. Take that, Denver! Wow, that's
14:16
amazing. But the other thing that I think is
14:19
really special about our art program and which
14:22
I love is that a lot of airport arts programs
14:25
have permanent public art. And it totally makes
14:29
sense why. You know, these are huge endeavors.
14:31
You often need these grand scale artworks to
14:34
catch people's attention, to be a form of wayfinding,
14:37
putting on or executing one or two. permanent
14:42
public artwork commissions a year is very different
14:44
than doing 30 -plus rotating exhibitions a year
14:47
with this very small and mighty staff. Oh, sorry,
14:51
I lost my train of thought again. I forgot what
14:52
the question was. No, yeah, it's just working
14:56
with that large of a space, right? Oh, yeah.
14:59
But there's also some permanent pieces of art
15:01
within PHL, correct? There are. And I only say
15:05
that because I remember the ball. The Balder
15:09
Garden. Yes. That's one of my favorites. Which
15:12
so many kids at the airport just like stop and
15:16
view. And it's so interactive. Thank you for
15:20
reminding me. So yes, our internal exhibition
15:23
program is the Rotating Exhibition Program, which
15:27
is solely Philadelphia area artists, which I
15:30
also think is very special. Because again, you
15:33
know, when you're dealing with... permanent commissions,
15:35
you know, the requests for proposals go out nationwide
15:38
or sometimes internationally. So we are focused
15:41
on local Philadelphia artists, but the airport
15:44
is also home to a number of creative Philadelphia
15:46
permanent public artworks. So we are a host and
15:50
steward for those, including Balder Garden and
15:53
the Vito Acconci piece down in Terminal A at
15:57
American Airlines, which I also think is really
15:59
wonderful because it doesn't look like. So yes,
16:02
we have the rotating exhibition program, which
16:05
I manage, and then we are also a host for the
16:09
City of Philadelphia's public art program, which
16:12
is funded under their Percent for Art program.
16:14
From my recollection of being in the airport
16:17
and getting glimpses of these art pieces, you
16:22
also have unique spaces, which could be in the
16:27
air, because there's so much depth. that airport
16:31
provides and that allows you for these unique
16:36
spaces to house what could be very large pieces
16:40
and in unique spots of just people walking by
16:46
can you talk a little bit about that or like
16:49
your experience with either trying to find a
16:52
piece to fit that space or trying to find a new
16:57
space to then be able to bring art into. I think
17:01
you hit the nail on the head. We are filled exclusively
17:04
with unique spaces because it's been a process.
17:08
Leah, who founded the program and built it up
17:11
28 years ago, it's a matter of like, oh, seeing
17:14
opportunity and seeing spaces and carving out
17:17
areas wherever we can find them and then holding
17:20
on to them. Yes, yes. So yes, there's no two
17:24
exhibition sites that are the same. We have our
17:27
two -dimensional sites, which are these large
17:30
mural -sized areas, and then our exhibition cases,
17:34
which is necessary, again, because the airport
17:37
is open 24 -7 to production. three -dimensional
17:40
art because you know again like unlike a gallery
17:43
museum we have no security guards it is a public
17:45
space so it really the process of finding art
17:50
I often say my process is reverse engineered
17:54
Because it's not like, oh, I like this art, let's
17:57
put it into this white cube, or let's do this
18:00
to get it here. Instead, it's, here's this really
18:03
weird space that's between two columns, recessed
18:06
into a wall. What work would work here? So it's
18:11
kind of backwards, but also challenging. And
18:14
so, I'm sorry, going back, you said that there's
18:16
30 annually? Give or take, yeah. Wow. So there's
18:21
15 spaces, and they rotate every six months.
18:23
Okay. In any given month, we're de -installing
18:26
and installing two shows, sometimes three. What
18:30
is the average number of works per show? It really
18:34
depends. So with our two -dimensional sites,
18:37
because they're these large, they're walls that
18:39
are generally like 9 feet by 20 feet, so it's
18:42
usually just one. And most of the time we tend
18:45
to do solo shows. There's only one space in the
18:49
airport where we show group, unless it's a collective.
18:53
And with the exhibition cases where we have the
18:56
opportunity to show multiple discrete works,
18:59
it really depends on the artist, the idea, and
19:03
the work that we collaborate to bring together.
19:06
Some people might think of an exhibition as that
19:10
is one work, and then some people... We had a
19:13
show of Sean Gersley, who's this incredible ceramic
19:16
artist recently, but I think his were about...
19:21
15 or 16 different works within this very large
19:25
case. It really depends. Have you ever considered
19:27
an art tour? Oh, we do them all the time. Oh,
19:31
please tell us all about it. I would love to.
19:34
You should come. Oh, yes. We'll schedule a time
19:37
for you to come and do an art tour. There are
19:39
lots of groups that come into the airport for
19:41
educational or for business reasons, and art
19:44
is part of the tour. And then we also do an annual
19:47
tour with the streets department, where they
19:49
have a big group together, and they come in once
19:52
a year, and we do the full airport art tour,
19:54
which generally takes about an hour and a half.
19:56
Streets department as in Conrad Dinner? Conrad
19:59
Benner, yes. Call Conrad. But then on occasion,
20:02
we will do, you know, groups who are interested
20:04
in the arts, we will host art tours. And sometimes
20:08
it's just, you know, somebody wants to see one
20:09
exhibition. If they have the time, and if I have
20:12
the time, then we can do like a full airport
20:14
art tour. But again, it can take, you know, an
20:17
hour or two. So since it's really, you know,
20:20
it's just the four of us, we have to be judicious
20:22
about scheduling those. But we really do try
20:25
to, because... The airport is a public place,
20:28
and we have exhibition panels to try to educate
20:31
the public because we're not going to be able
20:33
to reach every single visitor, so there has to
20:35
be something in place that tells viewers what
20:37
they're looking at. But it's always nice to have,
20:39
you know, a little bit of the background information
20:42
behind the scenes. So yes, we'll schedule something.
20:45
Oh, that's perfect. Robert, calm down. How do
20:50
you source artists to... produce shows. Most
20:56
of it comes through invitation and having lived
21:00
in Philadelphia off and on for 20 years and also
21:03
just... being educated here just being part of
21:07
the arts community and again you know Philadelphia
21:10
has this very close -knit and supportive arts
21:12
community I do try to also go to openings and
21:16
shows when I can to just you know find artists
21:19
that might not be on my immediate radar and a
21:22
lot of it comes from recommendations too you
21:24
know people will be like oh my gosh have you
21:26
seen such and such it comes from all different
21:29
sources I take a look and see what I think would
21:33
would suit the space. What is a typical day like
21:36
for you? I don't know that there's a typical
21:38
day. I know that people tend to say that, but
21:40
it really, it does change all the time. I guess
21:42
most of the time I am an office worker. As I
21:45
mentioned, I'm not your typical curator. A lot
21:48
of my experience has come from being an artist
21:50
and also an exhibition designer. And so I think
21:53
I view my curatorial practice still very much
21:58
through that lens. And again, I think, and maybe
22:01
this says something about my age too, but in
22:04
this age of social media, it's funny, I think
22:08
a lot of times I get introduced to artists through
22:10
their Instagram pages or whatever, but to me,
22:13
the site of the artwork is the airport. And so
22:17
when I invite artists to show at the airport,
22:21
I always invite them to come and check out the
22:23
space because... Photographs are great, but it
22:26
never really captures the feeling of being in
22:29
the airport with all of the ambient and visual
22:33
noise. And, you know, just the traffic and the
22:36
ebbs and flows of people coming in and out. And
22:38
even how it changes from day to night. So a lot
22:41
of times, so when I invite an artist to show,
22:45
it usually starts with a site visit. And we talk.
22:48
And a lot of times, too, I think that when they
22:50
come out to see the space, they might have had
22:51
an idea before. But being there in person. a
22:55
lot of times will spark inspiration or change
22:58
their ideas because they're like, oh, I had no
23:00
idea that this existed. So that's usually how
23:04
it starts. And then there's a lot of back and
23:07
forth, a lot of conversation and false starts.
23:12
And then it all miraculously seems to come together.
23:15
Helen, where can people find you online? Well,
23:18
the airport Instagram page is phlairportart.
23:21
I also have a personal curatorial page, which
23:24
includes a lot of the exhibitions that I curated
23:26
at the airport, and that's hc underscore phlart.
23:30
If not, we'll all find you. Check the show notes,
23:34
guys. Love that. Love that. Well, Helen, thank
23:37
you so much for your time and sharing your beautiful
23:40
story. We'll be right back with Rapid Fire Questions.
23:46
And we're back with Rapid Fire Questions with
23:49
Helen. Can you describe the Philly art scene
23:53
in one word? I want to say gritty, but no. Tenacious.
23:59
It's been said. I love that. Tenacious. Lovely,
24:02
lovely. If you could have any artist in history
24:05
produce a portrait of you, who would it be? Can
24:08
I say two? Yes. And they're very different. Tara
24:11
Booth, who's local, or Gerhard Richter. Is there
24:15
a certain music or reality show background noise
24:18
or podcast you listen to while you're working?
24:21
You know what? When I was younger and I used
24:23
to work in the studio, I would always have music
24:24
on, but now I kind of really enjoy working in
24:27
silence. Your favorite art museum outside of
24:30
Philadelphia? That's hard. Or airport? I guess
24:35
you would call it an art museum. It kind of is
24:37
not that easy to define. And I know this is a
24:40
rapid -fire question. That's perfectly fine.
24:41
We're breaking down the barriers. I love this
24:45
museum in Los Angeles called the Museum of Jurassic
24:47
Technology. And if you've never been there, I
24:50
will say no more because I want you to be surprised.
24:53
Oh, I love that. Last question. Set the scene.
24:57
We are planning a heist. Kongs 3. What piece
25:01
of art are we stealing for your collection? Oh,
25:04
you know what? I don't know. Because I think
25:06
a lot of the art that I... Yes, okay. And I don't
25:10
know how we would steal this, but there was a
25:13
piece that I saw at the San Diego Museum, and
25:16
it was Robert Irwin. And it was just, it was
25:19
looking out over, it was San Diego, so it was
25:21
looking out at the beach, and it was just a cutout
25:24
in the glass, like this perfect cutout in the
25:27
corner where two planes of glass met. So it just
25:29
did this really weird optical illusion as you
25:32
looked out over the ocean. Oh, I love that. Helen,
25:37
thank you so much for your time today and for
25:39
the stories that you shared. And everyone, please
25:42
check out Philadelphia International Airport.
25:46
Anytime that you're traveling, make sure to take
25:48
a step and take a pause and look at the art.
25:52
Thank you so much. Thank you. Thank you. is winding
26:08
down for the season take advantage of the following
26:12
productions while you still can presented by
26:15
the pride band alliance and philadelphia freedom
26:19
band the 2026 pride bands alliance conference
26:23
concert is may 24th at the kimmel center ensemble
26:27
arts jazz series jazz at lincoln center orchestra
26:31
with winton marsalis is may 26th at the kimmel
26:36
center Ensemble Arts Broadway presents The Outsiders
26:40
at the Academy of Music from May 26th to June
26:43
7th. Stay golden, pony boy. Robert, I know you
26:48
have several Benjamins worth of tickets, but
26:51
have you ever read the book? And with that, Philly
26:56
has heart. And art! listening to philly has heart
27:07
celebrating the people projects and passion that
27:10
inspire us don't forget to subscribe wherever
27:13
you listen to podcasts and follow us on instagram
27:17
to keep up with philly's art community