The 7th Gwangju Biennale
Annual Report: A Year in Exhibitions
September 5 – November 9, 2008
Duration: September 5 – November 9, 2008
Artistic Director: Okwui Enwezor
Co-Curators: Hyunjin Kim, Ranjit Hoskote
Position Papers Curators: Patrick D. Flores, Jang Un Kim,
Abdellah Karroum, Sung-Hyen Park, Claire Tancons
Venues: Biennale Hall,Gwangju Museum of Art,
Uijae Museum of Korean Art, Cinema Gwangju, Daein Traditional Market
Wednesday, September 3, 2008: Professional Preview
Thursday, September 4, 2008: Press Conference
Friday, September 5, 2008: Opening Ceremonies & Exhibition Tour,
SPRING Procession and performance
The Gwangju Biennale Foundation is pleased to announce that after over a year of intense planning and preparation, the 7th Gwangju Biennale will open to the public on September 5th, 2008. Under the artistic direction of Okwui Enwezor, Annual Report: A Year in Exhibitions is a report on the distribution system of artistic and cultural forms and a reflection on the intermediary gap between artists, producers, practitioners, and audiences. Consisting of 127 artists from 36 countries, Annual Report is developed around three principal components: On the Road, a series of exhibitions from 2007 and 2008; Position Papers, a series of curatorial proposals and experiments by curators working in Southeast Asia, North Africa, South Korea, and the United States; and Insertions, a series of new and independent projects, either commissioned specifically for the biennale or invited as proposals into the exhibition framework. Rather than forming a singular itinerary or declaration, these three components assemble a wide array of artistic practices and forms of aesthetic and cultural production; resulting in a statement of collective authorship.
Accompanying Programs
The exhibition and the accompanying programs also reflect the Gwangju Biennale’s global commitment to various forms of cultural production. The Global Institute, held in collaboration with the Korean National University of Arts, Seoul; Chonnam National University, Gwangju; the San Francisco Art Institute; and the Royal College of Art, London, consists of the programs Open Studio and Arenas and Systems, organized into a series of workshops and clinics beginning in mid-August.
Also, a series of plenary sessions based in Seoul and Beijing, China, collectively entitled Formations of Global Civil Society and Domains of Public Culture will be held this fall; and an international symposium and an associated two-day seminar entitled The Politics of Spectacle and the Global Exhibition will take place in Gwangju from September 24 to September 27.
From September 1 through September 9, RADIO APARTMENT 22: GWANGJU 2008 will broadcast a variety of live and recorded programs including interviews, discussions, expeditions, music, sound works, and field recordings from Gwangju Biennale, its participants, and the surrounding environment. Founded by Abdellah Karroum in 2007, RADIO APARTMENT 22 is Morocco’s first exclusively art and culture radio station. R22: GWANGJU 2008 invites artists, curators, art historians, students, and other visitors who will be in Gwangju to join R22 during its week of on-site programming.
Publications
A 500 page bilingual catalog containing over 400 color illustrations has been produced as part of the 7th Gwangju Biennale. Annual Report: A Year in Exhibitions features original texts by the curatorial team, including essays by Okwui Enwezor, Ranjit Hoskote, Hyunjin Kim, Patrick D. Flores, Abdellah Karroum, Jang Un Kim, Sung Hyen Park, and Claire Tancons. The catalog is a joint publication from the Gwangju Biennale Foundation and BOM (Books on the Move), is designed by BASE Design (www.basedesign.com) and will be distributed via Actar-D.
In addition, a full color, 110-page exhibition guide will be published. This book contains concise information about each artist, exhibition sites and venues, as well as various projects that comprise the Biennale.
For detailed information on the biennale and the programs please visit the website: www.gb.or.kr
For press information please contact:
Jin-Kyung Jeong
PR & Business Department, The Gwangju Biennale Foundation
Biennale 2-gil Buk-gu Gwangju, South Korea
Tel +82 62 608 4264 / Fax +82 62 608 4269
1212jjk@gb.or.kr
