2020 Museum Week in August to highlight diversity, inclusion

The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism announced that 2020 Museum Week will take place in August. Organized jointly with the Cultural Foundation of the National Museum of Korea, the week will feature diverse events highlighting diversity and inclusion.

The week runs Aug. 14 to 23 and will involve online and offline events at 15 museums and art galleries.

An exhibition and related educational programs at the Lee Art Museum in Sacheon, South Gyeongsang Province, will focus on the five senses. All events are accessible to people with and without disabilities.

The Jangsu Museum of Art in Jangsu, North Jeolla Province, will organize an event highlighting the cultures of Korea, Japan and China. Participants can gain a better understanding of these countries and their cultures through hands-on workshops that allow them to experience tea ceremonies and make crafts from wood and stone.

Adults with an interest in gender issues and other social justice topics can visit the Ilmin Museum of Art in Jongno, central Seoul, Aug. 20 to 23, for “Ghost Coming 2020 (X-Room).” There will be audio and video art performances, talk shows, lectures and workshops. To learn more, visit the 2020 Museum Week website at www.mweek.kr.

For offline programs, the ministry added, only 15 to 30 people can participate in each one, depending on the size of the venue, in light of the government’s social distancing rules.

During 2020 Museum Week, the ministry is also organizing nine programs at selected museums and art galleries in the Seoul metropolitan area, Gangwon Province, and the Chungcheong, Jeolla and Gyeongsang regions, as well as on Jeju Island. The events will focus mainly on the characteristics of those regions.

On Jeju Island, both foreigners and South Koreans are encouraged to take part in a camping program and a tour of local art galleries from Aug. 21-22 in the Gotjawal Forest area.

Also, from Aug. 13-23, some of the items on display at museums and art galleries will be displayed outdoors in central Seoul for people to enjoy. Media artist Lee Lee Nam and Collage Plus -- a team comprising Jang Seung-hyo and Kim Yong-min -- have created two LED artworks, which will be on display near the main gate of the palace Gyeongbokgung.

By Song Seung-hyun (ssh@heraldcorp.com)