Korean art project ‘Traveling Korean Arts’ kicks off in 14 countries

The project “Traveling Korean Arts,” aimed at introducing Korean art to a global audience, has kicked off in collaboration with art institutions in 14 countries.

The art project -- organized by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the Korea Foundation for International Cultural Exchange -- started Saturday in South Africa with an exhibition titled “Negotiating Boundaries.”

The artworks will be on display at the 300,000-square-meter outdoor sculpture park in the city of Krugersdrop through July.

In November, an exhibition will be held in Sydney, Australia, featuring works by multimedia artist Park Chan-kyong, interdisciplinary artist Yee Soo-kyung, installation artist Chung So-young and painter Ham Kyung-ah.

Among the other destinations for “Traveling Korean Arts” are Canada, China, Hong Kong, Brazil, Japan, India, the US and Spain. The exhibition “Living by Design” will be shown in Shanghai, China and Hong Kong in June and January 2022, respectively. The photography exhibition “Mega Seoul 4 Decades” in Ottawa, Canada will run from June to July.

The project includes music performances in some countries. The gugak jazz band Black String will perform in five countries starting in September: The US, the Netherlands, Belgium, the UK and Russia. The performances will be replaced by online shows if the pandemic situation worsens, according to the ministry.

The Korean contemporary dance group, Ninety9 Art Company’s performance “Abyss” will be aired on Brazil’s SESC TV in September. The program channel is run by SESC, the Brazil’s major non-profit cultural organization.

Since its inception in 2015, the art project has worked with international cultural organizations to introduce Korean art globally. An online project was initiated in 2020 for the first time, as countries went into lockdowns around the world amid the pandemic.

The project also includes a musical performance, “Cool-Con” by the World Music Band ID in India in October, the exhibition “The House” in Japan, “Korea, a Land of Hats” in the Philippines in November and “Ogamdo: Five Scenes of Korean Art” in Spain. The schedule of the exhibition in Spain is still under discussion.

By Park Yuna (yunapark@heraldcorp.com)