Idea Museum: Somewhere in Between

The Leeum Museum of Art is proud to announce Somewhere in Between, this year’s edition of the Idea Museum public program series, which centers on the themes of gender and diversity, exploring the upheavals faced by humanity in the context of climate change. Running from November 21 to November 30, 2024, this symposium features 19 distinct events, including lectures, screenings, performances, and workshops.

The CHANEL Culture Fund supports the Leeum Museum of Art’s public program, Idea Museum, a multi-year initiative exploring the intersection of environment, art, philosophy and technology. ‘IDEA’, which stands for Inclusivity, Diversity, Equality and Access.

Following the inaugural symposium titled Ecological Turns: What Should We Then Notice? which focused on the climate crisis and sustainability, Somewhere in Between challenges conventional binary thinking by delving into the liminal spaces between traditionally dichotomous relationships—such as nature and culture, human and non-human, male and female, and life and death.

By giving voice to new languages and perspectives within these in-between spaces, Somewhere in Between invites a deeper reflection on the complexities of existence. The program encourages a reimagining of complex narratives that transcend simple categorization, envisioning a world that goes beyond binary norms. Scholars, artists, dancers, and cultural practitioners will come together to explore these “in-between” spaces, fostering a dialogue that challenges traditional notions and embraces a more fluid understanding of identity, existence, and interdependence.

In collaboration with Ob/Scene Festival, the Idea Museum has co-produced a performance series that uses the body as a medium to explore gender, diversity, and the boundaries of artistic expression.

Looking ahead, the museum will continue exploring the theme of gender and diversity through an artist’s project set to launch in September 2025, further extending the dialogue and creative inquiry initiated by Idea Museum.

Lectures: Kim Hyesoon (Poet), Mel Y. Chen (Scholar in Gender Studies, UC Berkeley), Kim Hong-hee (Art Historian, Art Critic), Kymberly Pinder (Art Historian, Dean of the Yale School of Art), Mårten Spångberg, Fujihara Tatsushi (Modern Historian, Kyoto University), Greta Gaard (Scholar in Ecofeminism, University of Wisconsin-River Falls), Filipa Ramos (Writer, Curator)

Performances and Workshop: Cecilia Bengolea (Artist), Angela Goh (Dancer and Choreographer), Suh Yeongran (Choreographer, Researcher)

Screenings: Orlando, My Political Biography (2023) by Paul B. Preciado, MOBY DICK; or, The Whale (2022) by Wu Tsang, Tryptique-Oneness (2020) by Cecilia Bengolea

Talks: Paul B. Preciado (Philosopher), Wu Tsang (Visual Artist and Director, Co-Founder of Moved by the Motion), Tosh Basco (Visual & Performance Artist, Co-Founder of Moved by the Motion), Sohl Lee (Art Historian, Stony Brook University), Jung Haejung (Artist), Lee Jooyoung (Artist), Gowoon Noh (Cultural Anthropologist, Chonnam National University)

Idea Museum Somewhere in Between is curated by Helen Jungyeon Ku (Head of Research and Public Programs, Leeum Museum of Art) with the assistance of Jiwon Grace Kim, Yeonah Lee, Hyunji Cho, and Taerim Kim.

About the CHANEL Culture Fund
The CHANEL Culture Fund promotes the singular approach of the House, which has been committed to the arts for more than a century. Global, multidisciplinary, and collaborative in spirit, the CHANEL Culture Fund endeavours to support artists and nurture the conditions where creativity can thrive.

Significant initiatives honour and enable the work of creative individuals and cultural institutions, often at pivotal inflexion points. Key philanthropic partnerships include the National Portrait Gallery, London; the Centre Pompidou, Paris; Leeum Museum of Art, Seoul; and the Power Station of Art, Shanghai, among others, as well as the CHANEL Next Prize, which celebrates creators and accelerates their future successes, and the podcast CHANEL Connects, featuring thought leaders and game changers across culture.

Press contact, Miso Han, miso.han@samsung.com.