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| ▲ This photo, provided by the Busan Biennale Organizing Committee, shows Busan Harbor, The first wharf. (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap) |
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| ▲ This photo, provided by the Busan Biennale Organizing Committee, shows the logo of the 2022 Busan Biennale. (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap) |
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| ▲ This photo, provided by the Busan Biennale Organizing Committee, shows Choryang. (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap) |
SEOUL, April 5 (Yonhap)-- Busan Harbor, The first wharf will be used as an exhibition space at the 2022 Busan Biennale to be held in September, as it is a place that symbolically shows the modern history and identity of Busan.
The Busan Biennale Organizing Committee held an afternoon briefing session at the Press Center in Jung-gu, Seoul on the 4th to reveal the exhibition theme, location and some participating artists.
The exhibition theme is "We, on the rising Wave." The waves signify those who have been in and out of Busan, along with their unstable history and the interconnectedness between Busan and the world. It also symbolizes the lives of the modern people with today's technology and the curved topography of Busan.
Through this year's Biennale, the organizing committee looks back at the stories hidden in the modern history of Busan and the change of urban structure. Additionally, it plans to start from Busan and look at the global reality including the isolation due to the pandemic.
"The story of Busan's backstreets connects, intersects, and repeats with the world's major cities, suggesting an eye to see the world for all of us living in the same, yet different days." Exhibition Director Kim Hae-ju said. "Additionally, we are trying to find a way to live together as we make the waves firm in an environment where it continuously changes."
The exhibition will be held from September 3rd to November 6th in four places including the Museum of Contemporary Art Busan in Eulsukdo, Busan, Busan Harbor, the first wharf located in the original city center, Yeongdo and Choryang.
Among them, Busan Harbor, the first wharf has the largest symbolic status in modern history with the war, colonial rule, and industrial modernization. For the exhibition, a warehouse built in the 1970s is used. With an area of 4,093㎡, it is expected to be the main exhibition space along with the Museum of Contemporary Art Busan. Private access to this space was restricted, but it will be open to the public for the first time with the opening of the Biennale.
Yeongdo and Choryang's symbolic value was also considered. Yeongdo is the center of the shipbuilding industry that has developed since the 1930s, and is a place where refugees grieved during the Korean war. After the decline of the shipbuilding industry in the 2000s, Song Kang Heavy Industrial Co Ltd has also closed down, and the abandoned space will now be used as an exhibition site.
The Organizing Committee plans to add the Sanbok Road (hillside road) in Choryang into the tour route for visitors to experience the city formation process and the cultural identity of Busan. Sanbok Road means "a road that connects the middle of a mountain." It is also the area where workers moved in when they were pushed out of the city from the Japanese colonial period.
Executive Chairman Kim Seong-Yeon said, "As this exhibition is closely related to the original city center, it is important to visit and experience the space itself."
The Organizing Committee revealed 12 members including Kam Min-kyung, Kim Sung-hwan, Kim Joo-young, Nam Hwa-yeon, Rice Brewing Sisters Club, Lee Mi-re, Lee Inmi, Hira Nabi (Pakistan), Laure Prouvost (France), Mika Rotternberg (Argentina), Otobong Nkanga (Nigeria) and Phyllida Barlow (United Kingdom). The total number of artists is expected to be around 80 teams from 30 countries.
(This article is translated from Korean to English by Haemin Kim.)
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