The San Francisco Museum of Modern Art is doubling down on the future, welcoming two new leaders to shape how art and technology meet inside one of the largest modern art museums in the country.
Art historian and curator Harry C. H. Choi joins as Associate Curator and Head of Media, Technology, and Culture, a newly reimagined department that builds on the legacy of SFMOMA’s Media Arts department, founded in 1987 as one of the first in the nation to explore how artists use technology. Choi’s research focuses on experimental film, video art and new media, and he arrives fresh from curatorial work at the 14th Gwangju Biennale.
Joining him is Koven Smith as Director of Digital Experience, a leadership role devoted to the visitor journey, from in-gallery interfaces and mobile tools to new platforms for storytelling. Smith brings three decades of experience, most recently designing a tech-forward arts funding strategy at the Knight Foundation after leadership roles at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Denver Art Museum and the Blanton Museum of Art.
The appointments reflect the museum’s bet that the Bay Area’s creative energy and its tech landscape belong together. With seven gallery floors and more than 45,000 square feet of free public space, SFMOMA is positioning itself as the place where art’s next chapter gets written.
Photo: SFMOMA (portraits by JaeAn Lee and Madelyn Burgess)
