Closing of Hwarang Art Festival, Sharp Decline in Visitors Due to COVID-19... Extension of Online Exhibition

Number of Visitors Decreased from 36,000 Last Year to 13,000 This Year
Online Hwarang Art Festival 'Art Window' Extended Until March 31

Photo by Korea Gallery Association

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Byung-hee] Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, the number of visitors to this year’s Hwarang Art Fair plummeted from 36,000 last year to 13,000 this year.

The Korea Art Dealers Association, which hosted the Hwarang Art Fair, reported that due to the worsening COVID-19 situation on the third day of the exhibition, the total number of on-site visitors over the five-day event was approximately 13,000. However, they added that 15,000 people viewed the fair online (PC + mobile), bringing the total number of visitors who experienced the fair both online and offline to about 28,000. This year’s Hwarang Art Fair was held from the 19th to the 23rd at COEX Hall C in Gangnam-gu, Seoul.

The Hwarang Art Fair Organizing Committee, anticipating a decline in visitor numbers and artwork sales compared to the previous year due to the COVID-19 situation, collaborated with Naver, the largest domestic portal site, to prepare the “2020 Hwarang Art Fair X Naver Art Window” special exhibition, allowing visitors to appreciate and purchase artworks without visiting the venue. Through this special exhibition, visitors could view vivid videos online showing the exhibition scenes and individual booths of participating galleries.

The Korea Art Dealers Association plans to extend the duration of the “2020 Hwarang Art Fair X Naver Art Window” special exhibition from the originally planned end of February to March 31 to boost sales. All registered artworks in the special exhibition are available at a 10% discounted price.

In the 2020 Hwarang Art Fair Emerging Artists Contest ZOON-IN, held in collaboration with Naver Grafolio, 10 selected artists (Kim Nana, Kim Mirae, Kim Jong-gyu, Kim Chun-jae, Borari, Yang Hyun-mo, Yoo Jae-yeon, Lee Bit-na, Lee Jung-in, Lee Hye-seong) were voted on both online and offline to select three winners. With about 6,000 participants in the voting, Lee Hye-seong received the Grand Prize, Kim Jong-gyu the Excellence Award, and Lee Bit-na the Merit Award. They were awarded a certain amount of support funds.

The 2020 Hwarang Art Fair featured 110 member galleries of the Korea Art Dealers Association, exhibiting over 3,000 works by approximately 530 artists across various genres including sculpture, installation, media, and painting.