"Gwangju Biennale 2002 Opens Today"
2002-03-29 until 2002-06-29
Gwangju Biennale
Gwangju, , KR Korea (South)

The theme of the fourth Gwangju Biennale, P_A_U_S_E, focuses primarily on a moment of critical reflection and dynamic change on the global art scene. Secondary focuses are on the cultural and artistic growth of the host city Gwangju, on alternative art, and on communication among artist groups. The biennale will be centered on various events, including an exhibition composed of four projects.

P_A_U_S_E means just that: halting for a moment the development of a speeding and dynamic contemporary culture to reexamine the past and take a look at the future. P_A_U_S_E is not a prolonged stop but a brief rest stop for alternatives reasoning before a new take off. The 2002 Gwangju Biennale will be the venue of art that breaks away from fixed ideas and emphasizes a fluid, creative process and dialogue similar to the flow of the senses.

Projects of the Gwangju Biennale 2002

Project 1

°€ Title : Pause
°€ Venue : Gwangju Biennale Hall Gallery 1-4
°€ Curators :Wan-Kyung Sung
(Artistic Director of the Gwangju Biennale 2002)
Charles Esche
(Director, Rooseum Center for Contemporary Art, Malmo, Sweden)
Hou Hanru (Artistic Director, Shanghai Biennale 2000)
°€ Exhibition Space Designer : Yeong-jun Kim, Yong-ho Chang
°€ Artists : 231artists from around the world
°€ Exhibition Focus : Project 1 will emphasize public participation in the establishment of various indigenous cultures new relations with and responses to globalization, art, and society. The composition of the exhibition spaces, specifically a spatial-geographical moving of their visualized structures and critical reflection on the issues from context of contemporary art, will serve as a model for new exhibition forms. The exhibition spaces consist of collect if artists alternative spaces mainly from Europe and Asia, pavilion with architectural interpretation of the theme and individual artists work.

Project 2

°€ Title : THERE : Sites of Korean Diaspora
°€ Venue : Gwangju Biennale Hall, Gallery 5
°€ Curator : Yong Soon Min
(Professor of Studio Art, University of California, Irvine, U.S.A)
°€ Artists : 24 Artists of the Korean Diaspora
°€ Exhibition Focus : Project 2 focuses on the cultural production of the Korean Diaspora from five key sites; L.A., Sao Paulo, AlmaAty, Yanbian, Osaka. Through the cultural hybrid experience, people can overview the broader global history and dynamics of the Korean Diaspora and apprehend his/her identity in the new point of view. The cultural production includes artworks, Internet media, photos, documentary film and music. Further Education programs for deep understanding the Korean Diaspora and diasporic culture will be provided in the period of the 4th Gwangju Biennale.

Project 3

°€ Title : Stay of Execution
°€ Venue : Reconstructed MP Camp in May 18 Liberty Park
°€ Curator : Wan-kyung Sung
(Artistic Director of the Gwangju Biennale 2002)
°€ Artists : 51 Artists from Korea
°€ Exhibition Focus : The former site of the martial court and military prison within the Sangmu military complex holds a special significance for the May 18 Gwangju Uprising. This project reviews the political, social, and cultural meanings of a prison. By interpreting and re-contextualizing the special characteristic of the former prison space in artistic language, this project explores the contemporary meaning of the historic event, the Gwangju Uprising. The project also attempts to re-interpret the audienceNULLthe very subjects of the Korea°Øs unique historical and cultural conditionsNULLas well as the situation of the contemporary art that bridges art and society. It is also an attempt to seek an alternative culture of commemoration through review of, and reflection on, public art works and projects carried out in the name of commemorating the May 18 Gwangju Uprising and other public events

Project 4

°€ Title : Connection
°€ Venue : Disused Railways in the City
(About 750m region on St. Daenamro)
°€ Curator : Guyon Chung
(Professor of the Korean National University of Arts)
°€ Artists : 22 artists from around the world
°€ Exhibition Focus : Project 4 is part of a cultural, environmental and urban project providing a new function to a 10.8-kilometers disused railway situated in downtown Gwangju. The project, which will be undertaken in conjunction with Green Road Space being created by the city of Gwangju, will offer a model for a public art that communicates and connects between artists and citizens. Its themes will be recycling, land art, the outdoor museum, architectural landscape, connections, provisional structures, the outdoor classroom, the urban ecosystem, city walking, and the future of a city.

Festivals°§Performances°§Events

It will present events that underline differences between the multicultural festival and the ordinary local culture and tourism festival. On the eve of the Biennale opening and at the opening and closing ceremonies of the Biennale, there will be a variety of performances. In addition, premier performing art groups from Korea and abroad will give their performances during the Biennale, while there will also be film showings Cine Biennale everyday and Biennale at Midnight, a series of special events (every Saturday). There will be street performances, a stage art competition, exhibition events, and an art contest for students. There will also be what the organizers hope to be a landmark international academic meeting on the state of international contemporary art.

Related Links:

Indepth Arts Resources for Korea

Other Important Exhibitions in Korea