Korea's first venue for disability arts attracting growing audiences

Korea's first performance venue specifically designed for disability arts, Modu Art Theater, is celebrating its first anniversary Thursday.

The black box theater, established and operated by the Korea Disability Arts and Culture Center, accommodates up to 250 guests and holds the distinction of being the only performance space in the country specifically designed with a focus on "mobility convenience" for people with disabilities.

“Collaboration between artists with disabilities, who possess different bodily sensations, and non-disabled artists can give rise to new culture and arts,” said Kim Hyoung-hee, chairperson of the Korea Disability Arts and Culture Center, during a press conference held last week at the theater in Seodaemun-gu, Seoul.

Kim noted that the often-overlooked disability arts have found a welcoming environment at the Modu Art Theater.

“Due to a lack of policies and administrative support, it has been difficult for people with disabilities to receive professional artistic training,” said Kim, reflecting on the theater's operations over the past year.

“As a person with a disability myself, I feel proud and happy that a space like the Modu Art Theater has been established in Korea.”

The primary goal of the theater is to provide services and a space where disabled artists can create and work, said Oh Se-hyung, head of the Theater Project at Modu Art Theater.

"I believe the biggest achievement has been establishing this theater as a hub where disabled artists can engage in creative activities and find a place to showcase their creativity."

The theater has hosted 11 productions so far -- seven during its trial operation period last year and four this year -- and has two more scheduled for this year.

In terms of audience, there has been a slight increase in the proportion of disabled audience members -- from 6 percent last year to 8 percent this year.

"If the current trend continues, we expect the percentage of disabled audience members to exceed 10 percent next year,” said Oh, adding that the theater has seen “the potential for a new culture of disability arts.”

Oh said 8 percent seems like a small figure, but in the theater, it feels like quite a large presence.

“There's quite a bit of variation. Some performances see very few disabled audience members, while others have up to 20 percent," added Oh.

For example, Second Hand Dance's "We Touch, We Play, We Dance" designed for neurodivergent and disabled children aged 4 to 11 had 26 percent disabled audience members. Twenty percent of the audience attending Muddha company's "In the Darkness, Landscape" for both the visually impaired and nondisabled audience had disabilities.

"There are a growing number of 'enthusiast' audience members who attend performances frequently. We're also seeing an increase in student attendees and younger audiences, which I think is a very positive sign. However, there are still some people who are hesitant or unsure, and I believe it will take a bit more time for them to come around," said Oh.

The theater not only focuses on presenting performances but also supports the creation and production processes of disability arts. A range of accessibility services, such as sign language interpretation and audio descriptions, are offered during the work development process. Additionally, the theater has contributed to enhancing the professionalism of disability artists through public workshops with domestic and international arts organizations.

Lineup for November, December

Modu Art Theater also announced its lineup for November and December, featuring six works centered on the theme of "the body."

From Nov. 14 to 16, the theater will screen "Form(s) of Life," a series of three short films by Vietnamese French artist Erik Minh Cuong Castaing, featuring performers who have experienced a loss of mobility. Among them are a former dancer and a former boxer, who use the landscape as their stage to reconnect with their former practices.

"M/others," scheduled to be staged Nov. 21-23, will co-star dancer Eszter Salamon, 50, performing with Erzsebet Gyatmati, her 80-year-old mother. The dance piece explores the mother-daughter relationship through the intertwining of their bodies and reflects on the changes in their relationship brought about by aging.

Three works by Chiara Bersani, an Italian choreographer and dancer with osteogenesis imperfecta, also known as brittle bone disease, are scheduled consecutively -- the physical theater piece "Gentle Unicorn" on Nov. 29-30, the dance performance "Sottobosco" on Dec. 4, and the ballet "L'animal," inspired by "Swan Lake," on Dec. 6-7.

As the season finale, the theater will present its own musical production, "Blue Butterflies in the Woods" from Dec. 20 to 25.