British curator named director of Gwangju Biennale

A London-based modern art gallery curator was appointed Friday to be the chief art director of the 2014 Gwangju Biennale, the event’s organizer said.

Jessica Morgan, the curator of contemporary art at Tate Modern, was named to the post during a board meeting of the Gwangju Biennale Foundation that co-hosts the biennale with the metropolitan city of Gwangju, the foundation said.

Born in Britain, the 45-year-old joined the gallery as a curator in 2002. She has since curated exhibitions of artists such as the Mexican installation artist Gabriel Orozco, the American conceptual artist John Baldessari and German artist Martin Kippenberger.

Since 2010, her main focus has been on acquiring contemporary and emerging international art.

Founded in 1995 in memory of the 1980 pro-democracy uprising in Gwangju, 330 kilometers south of Seoul, the Gwangju Biennale is considered the largest contemporary art festival in Asia.

The latest event was held in 2012 featuring works by 92 artists from 40 countries under the theme “Round Table.” The 10th edition is scheduled for Sept. 5-Nov. 9 next year. (Yonhap News)