The 6th Gwangju Biennale 2006
Fever Variations
Dates: Sept 8-Nov 11, 2006
Sept 7: Press Preview
Sept 8: Public Opening
Sept 9: Open Forum-World Biennales and Gwangju Biennale 2006
Venue:Jungoei Park, Gwangju, Korea
Artistic Director:Kim Hong-hee
www.gb.or.kr
The 6th edition of the Gwangju Biennale will comprise two comprehensive exhibitions entitled The First Chapter_Trace Root : Unfolding Asian Stories, and The Last Chapter_Trace Route : Remapping Global Cities. The two exhibitions will be enriched and supported by an innovative third component entitled The Third Sector_Citizen Program: 1.4 Million Torches and a special exhibition Color of East Asia.
The First Chapter_Trace Root : Unfolding Asian Stories traces in diachronic fashion the root of Asian sprit running through contemporary art culture. By broadening the scope of Asian art beyond its traditional regional and temporal definitions, this exhibition intends to track the process of modernization and globalization and the influence of Asian philosophy within the world of art. The goal is to re-locate the position of Asia within the global context, while deconstructing perceived dichotomies between West and East. Composed of five sections tentatively entitled Myth and Fantasy, Nature and Body, Trace of Mind, History and Memory, and Past in Present, the concept and structure of The First Chapter_Trace Root are in the process of being further refined and realized by its four curators:
Chief Curator
Wu Hung Professor and Director, Center for the Art of East Asia, University of Chicago
Curators
Binghui Huangfu Director, Asia Australia Arts Centre, Sydney. Shaheen Merali Head of the Department for exhibition, film and new media at the House of World Cultures, Berlin
Collaborating Curator Jacquelynn Baas Director Emeritus, University of California Berkeley Art Museum
The Last Chapter_Trace Route : Remapping Global Cities takes a synchronic approach to the theme of the citytracing the route of change, mapping global simultaneities, and bringing momentary focus to a shifting and changing Asia. Beginning with Gwangju and Seoul in Korea, the exhibition will create connections with other involved cities in Asia, Europe, and Americas. In each city, international artist groups are being organized to run workshops and on-site projects. The results of this process will manifest in Gwangju as The Last Chapter_Trace Route for Biennale 2006. Three co-curators are cooperating to lead artists groups and create inter-connections among some fifteen cities located in Asia, Europe, and the Americas.
Co-curators
Beck Jee-sook Project Director at the Insa Art Space of the Arts Council Korea
Chris Gilbert & Cira Pascual Marquina
Chris Gilbert MATRIX Curator of University of California Berkeley Art Museum
Cira Pascual Marquina Artistic Director/Curator at the Contemporary Museum, Baltimore.
Cristina Ricupero Former Curator at Nordic Institute for Contemporary Art in Helsinki
The Third Sector_Citizen Program : 1.4 Million Torches is designed to connect the Biennale with the citizens of Gwangju and the general public. This program accentuates the site-specificity of Gwangju while conceptually and practically linking the two main exhibitions, The First Chapter_Trace Root and The Last Chapter_Trace Route.
Chief Programmer
Kim Sang-yun Organizing Committee Chairman of the Foundation for Cultural Exchanges in Gwangju
Programmers
Ann Yee Young-ro Director, Given Zone QX, The Trend House Jeon Go-pil Committee Member of Buk-gu Cultural House, Gwangju Chang Dong-jo Director, The Columns Art Center Rhee Cheong-yong Professor at Honam University, Gwangju
Special Exhibition : Color of East Asia accentuates the rainbow hues of East Asia as revealed in vernacular artworks including Minhwa (folk paining), ceramics, furniture, ornaments, etc. The colorful aesthetics of East Asias folk art, in contrast with the solemnity of traditional painting, are reflected in every-day items, here representing the traditional world views of East Asia. Through the theme of color, this exhibition will help visitors focus on the variety and differences within traditional Asian visual culture.
Curator
Lee Won-bok Director, Gwangju National Museum
** For further enquires on the Gwangju Biennale 2006, please contact:
Gwangju Biennale Foundation
211 Biennale 2-gil, Buk-gu, Gwangju 500-070, Republic of Korea
biennale@gb.or.kr
