MoCA of the Month
The Total Museum of Contemporary Art (TMCA) is the first private art institution in Korea. In 1976, the TMCA started as an open space gallery for designers in De-hak Ro, Seoul. Then the Total Sculpture Park, the first sculpture park in Korea, opened in Jang Heung, Gyeonggi Province, attracting crowds of art lovers until its closing in 2002. At that time the concept of private museum was not yet established in Korea and consequently, the approval process encountered several slowdowns. Although government officials hesitated to subscribe the project of a private museum, one year before the 1988 Seoul Olympic Games, the TMCA has been approved as the first private museum of the country.
Expanding and concretizing the concept of the “museum”, the TMCA eventually moved to Pyeongchang-dong, Seoul performing the duty of introducing modern art to domestic audiences. The museum’s activities have been since then strong focused on the organization of exhibitions, paying special attention to contemporary art production from the region. The museum also serves as a cultural space in a broader sense, accommodating a wide range of artistic and cultural events such as concerts, lectures, and seminars. On one side, the TMCA is pursuing a wide and deep research within the art field but on the other hand, it is orientated to become a social and cultural player, in other words an open space at disposal of the general public as well as of artistic experimentation.
Architecture
Korean architect Shin Gyu Moon designed the TMCA as an exhibition hall for experimental contemporary art. In 1993, the Korean Institute of Architects has also awarded it with the “Architecture Award of the Year”. The museum building consists of three floors: various exhibition spaces, a curator lab, a conference room for academy courses, a vault, an outdoor space for performances, a library, and a café.
Total Museum Academy
The Academy Program began in 1993 and targeted the general public rather than art professionals. It consists of a one-year program, representative of the TMCA’s diverse activities. The courses range across art, music, architecture, film, literature and are being held by visiting professors, invited for their expertise in each field. As part of TMCA’s cultural programs, the ‘Visiting Total Museum Academy’ will be held by professional lecturers at places such as companies, schools, and others starting in 2011.
Children Educational Program: Dream Up Children!
‘Dream Up Children!’ is the TMCA educational program where children are able to experience creative communication through art. The workshop encourages children to express their dreams and imagination, as well as to become active members of the society.The Room
‘The Room’ is a program dedicated to contemporary curating. With this program TMCA aims to nurture young curators by granting them with an incubating project space: ‘The Room’. They are given total freedom to select artists; so far they promote new art production. The program is thought for curators already active in exhibition making, both domestically and globally.
On-Going projects:
1. The Cinema With
‘The Cinema With’ is a screening program that is held on the first Saturday of each month.2. The Brunch With
‘The Brunch With’ is an intimate talk program that also takes place on the first Saturday of each month. ‘The Brunch With’ let the general public share opinions and knowledge with art professionals from the Korean art field in a comfortable space.
3. Open Your Source
The public lecture program ‘Open Your Source’ provides professionals from various fields with a place where to exchange thoughts or know-hows in their respective work fields. It started in 2009 and hosted a total of 12 programs so far.Selected Exhibitions
Be Mobile in Immobility: The Materialized Memory
April 29-June 12 2011
Be Mobile in Immobility: The Materialized Memory examines the construction of personal and social/political collective memories. This project is executed by a group of artists based in Amsterdam inviting other artists, curators and writers from different regions and cultures presenting diverse perspectives interwoven to the contemporary socio-cultural environment of the globalized era. The exhibition is a travelling project across different cities in Europe, the Middle East and the Far East between 2010 and 2012. The group will grow by including the participants from these cities.
Digital Playground in Island 2011 @ Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia (November)
Begun in 2007, “Digital Playground” is an annual media art festival well-known for encompassing different fruitions of media art. As an experimental project, “Digital Playground” takes various shapes including exhibitions, lectures, performances and workshops.
TMCA | The Total Museum of Contemporary Art
T. 02-379-3994
F. 02-379-0252
totalmuseum@hotmail.com
Shin Gyu Moon
