Nathalie Boseul Shin
is participant at
A New Geography of Art in the Making
Abstract
The Museum Network Opens the New Season of Contemporary Art in Korea
With the sailing of the new government in 2008, some changes in the art world had been predicted. Not surprisingly, we heard of several pieces of news: 1) the chairman of Art Council Korea was resigned for political reasons; 2) the new chairman of ARKO announced that they will close Insa Art Center, which was desperately trying to make an archive of artists’ portfolios; 3) the foundation support system of ARKO and local cultural foundation would be coordinated; 4) BAE Soon-hoon, former CEO of Daewoo Electronics and former chief of Ministry of Information and Communication was selected as director of the National Museum of Contemporary Art in Korea; 5) National Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA, Korea) will open a new annex building in down-town Seoul; 6) in the long-term, government would like to privatize art organizations including MOCA Korea. All in all, the situation of the art world has dramatically changed.
This change affects the art scene in many ways. Additionally, we must face the global economic crisis, which burdens directors and curators with fundraising problems. In other words, it is getting increasingly difficult for private organizations to curate good exhibitions, while depending on public foundations’ financial support. Unfortunately, funding thus becomes a key issue for museums and exhibitions.
Although these issues are hard on everyone associated with the art world, it is important to remain optimistic. Luckily, the Korean art scene is starting to consider its options and is beginning to make better use of what it has. The Korean Art Museum association’s (KAMA) activities are a good example. KAMA is using their network to develop programs and collaborations for the promotion. In the case of “Museum Festival” by KAMA, museums have shared their program and put together a workshop book for education programs since 2007. It is surely an effective way of saving the budget and maximizing the promotion. Throughput this experience, some museums open their network to universities, labs or alternative spaces. “Digital Playground”, which is an annual international media art exhibition by “Total Museum”, is another example. It was done in collaboration with two media labs in universities and artists’ talks and workshops were organized with alternative spaces. Most collaboration is done by museums of Seoul and local cities, but sometimes it happens among art organizations from abroad.
In this paper, I will briefly explain the Korean art scene and then go on to present some specific examples of new trends. Finally, the meaning of this changed art world will be weighed out. It will not be easy to overcome the many difficulties and to build up the identity of museums in this global age, but I would say that it is not impossible.
