Gangwon International Triennale 2024: Ecological Art from Beneath

Gangwon Triennale is the only Nomadic Triennale among the art exhibitions in South Korea. It aims to create and share artworks that can only be expressed within Gangwon Province by utilizing the culture, history, and landscape of 18 cities and counties in Gangwon Province and to add a depth of experience and exchanges with residents and an appreciation of the works of art in nature. It seeks an engagement with various art forms and experiences and alternative knowledge production and distribution methods. Also, the Gangwon Triennale seeks to support local and regional contemporary artists to facilitate the creation and realization of projects and forge interaction. The upcoming Gangwon International Triennale 2024 is the completion of a three-year event under the theme 'High Land of Art, Pyeongchang.' It will take place in the beautiful fall in Pyeongchang, where Woljeongsa Temple, a thousand-year-old temple, is located.

Theme: Ecological Art from Beneath
According to ecosystem and ecology researchers, ant tunnels, a habitat of ant communities, serve as an important ventilator when discharging warm air from above-ground to underground. Yet, because of their location and size, they are mostly kept hidden and invisible to human civilization. Inspired by the symbolic meanings of ant tunnels, known for their alternative, microscopic perspective, and the organic social structure of anti-communities, this year’s Triennale seeks to look at ecological art from the perspective of shifting attitudes, entailing the redefinition of the relationships between humans and nature, humans and humans, and the local and the global.

The exhibition takes place in five locations around Jinbu Station in Pyeongchang-gun, Gangwon-do (the region famous for South Korea’s parks and scenic landscapes on the eastern shore of the Korean Peninsula). The Gangwon Triennale, established in 2013, stands out as one of the most influential international events in South Korea on ecological art. It is held in a region boasting the highest mountain ranges and ski resorts, which hosted the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang.

Venues
–The Ant Tunnel: From Beneath (Pyeongchang Trout Experience Center, Main Hall)
–The Ant Tunnel: Across Spaces (Pavilion)
–The Ant Tunnel: Creative Versatility (Pyeongchang Cultural City Foundation)
–The Ant Tunnel: Her Digital Earth (Gate Ball Center & Woljeongsa)
–The Ant Tunnel: From Chambers to Chambers (Jinbu Old Market and the Gallery Contemporary Look)

In keeping with the purpose of the international exhibition and the collaborative and open attitude that ecology values, the artistic director established close collaborative relationships with three commissioners from Japan, the United States, and Vietnam from the inception of its curatorial endeavor. 58 artists from 21 countries will present 65 works and host the event “Meeting with Gangwon Artists and Commissioners” to explore intersections between Gangwon’s local art and the global art world.

Curatorial team
–Artistic Director: Koh Dong-Yeon (Korea, Art Historian, Critic, Adjunct Professor at Ewha Womans University)
–Commissioner: Raul Zamudio (USA, Critic, Curator, Founder & Director of Proyectos, NY); Kodama Kanazawa (Japan, Critic and Art Director, Independent Curator, Kyoto); Richard Streitmatter-Tran (Vietnam, Artist, Independent Curator and Lecturer, Ho Chi Minh City)
–Curator: Hur Yurim (Korea, Independent Curator and Lecturer)

Artists
Ahn Jaehong (Canada-Germany), Ahn Jonghyun (Korea), Ana Mendieta (Cuba-USA), Bosco Sodi (Mexico), Bui Cong Khanh (Vietnam), Chen Xi (China), Cho Youngjoo (Korea), Dennis Oppenheim (USA), Duy-Phuong Le Nguyen (Vietnam), Eelkwon Robert Kim (Korea), George Osodi (Nigeria), Ham Hyekyung (Korea), Han Seokkyung (Korea), Heo Taewon (Korea), Im Sangbin (Korea), Jang Hanna (Korea), Joanna Rajkowska (Poland-UK), Jo Eunmi (Korea), Jung Jungyeob (Korea), Jung Seunghae (Korea), Jung Yeondoo (Korea), Kanain (Korea-UK), Kim Jisoo (Korea), Kim Oksun (Korea), Ken & Julia Yonetani (Japan-Australia), Le Phi Long (Vietnam), Lee Jiyen (Korea), Li Binyuan (China), Lim Seungkyun (Korea), Lim Yoonkyung (Korea), Mary Mattingly (USA), Nana & Felix (Korea - Finland), Ngoc Nau (Vietnam), Oh Soonmi (Korea), Oh Youkyeong (Korea), Parastou Forouhar (Iran-Germany), Park Munhee (Korea), Regina José Galindo (Guatemala), Rivane Neuenschwander and Cao Guimarães (Brazil), Ryu Biho (Korea), Saba Khan of Pak Khawateen Painting Club (Pakistan-UK), Sander Wassink (Netherlands), Shin Gyungjin (Korea), Studio 1750 (Korea), Sugisaki Haruna (Japan), Son Son Son (Korea), Tatiana Wolska (Poland-Belgium), Tomas Saraceno (Argentina-Germany), Yee Sookyung (Korea), Yo-E Ryou (Korea)

Special exhibition: Austria Künstlerhaus
Curator: Tanya Prušnik (Austria, President of künstlerhaus wien, Vienna)
September 5–11, 2024
Kangwon National University
Gangwon Daehak-ro 1, Chuncheon-si, Gangwon-do, Republic of Korea

Theme: Longing For Future
Austria has maintained a creative field of tension and exchange between art and architecture since 1861. "Longing for the Future" was designed to contemplate various humanities topics brought about by these historical tensions between architecture and art. It shows future architectural and artistic models, presents questions related to the past and the present, and interdisciplinary presentations explore contemporary humanities issues about future models, such as sustainability, humanism, and respect for the non-human world.

Artists
Andrea Graser, Thomas Hoppe, Mladen Jadrić with Aleaxander Peer, Tanja Prušnik, Sne Veselinović, Josef Weichenberger with Leo Fellinger, Martin Roth

Contact
T +82 33 240 1373 / F +82 33 240 1374 / gwibnews@naver.com

Host: Gangwon State
Organized by: Pyeongchang County, Gangwon Art & Culture Foundation