The Photography Seoul Museum of Art, Korea’s first public art museum dedicated exclusively to photography, opens on May 29. After a 10-year establishment process, the PhotoSeMA opens in Chang-dong, Dobong-gu, Seoul as a branch of the Seoul Museum of Art.
The PhotoSeMA explores the value of photography as a powerful visual language that continuously realizes artistic imagination and expands the boundaries of art, while also recognizing its intrinsic documentary function. Through creative and experimental exhibitions, as well as diverse programs for audiences of various ages and backgrounds, the museum provides the public with opportunities to engage with the artistic and cultural significance of photography. The museum plays a central role in advancing the study of Korean photographic art by systematically researching, collecting, and preserving artworks and materials that span from photographic masterpieces to contemporary practices, and serves as an open platform of connection and engagement for photography lovers.
The architecture of the PhotoSeMA was realized through the collaboration of Austrian architect Jadric Architektur (ZT GmbH) and Korean architect 1990 Urban Architecture. The exterior of the building is a blend of straight lines and fluid, dynamic curves, with black and gray shifting over time to embody the way photography captures light and time architecturally. A lobby, photobook cafe, photo library, and learning studios on the first and fourth floors of the museum invite visitors to diverse ways of experiencing photography.
Inaugural exhibitions
The Radiance: Beginnings of Korean Art Photography and Storage Story
The Photo SeMA launches its inaugural exhibitions under the theme “Obsessive Light.” These exhibitions explore new perspectives, interpretations, and an affection for photography shaped by light. They are the culmination of more than a decade of persistent and dedicated efforts devoted to the museum’s establishment.
The Radiance: Beginnings of Korean Art Photography, focusing on its collection, illuminates the works of Korean photographers Jung Haechang, Lim Suk Je, Lee Hyungrok, Cho Hyundu, and Park Youngsook, whose oeuvre marked significant turning points in the history of Korean photography.
Storage Story features commissioned works by contemporary artists Dongshin Seo, Won Seoung Won, Jihyun Jung, Joo Yongseong, Melmel Chung, and Oh Jooyoung. These works reflect the process of constructing the Photography Seoul Museum of Art, while exploring the connection with the surrounding area and the changing times, all through the diversity of photographic media.
For more information about PhotoSeMA, please visit sema.seoul.go.kr, which provides detailed information about the space and the exhibition.
