Gwangju Bank Holds Award Ceremony for the 4th 'Gwangjuhwalu Contest'

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Park Seon-gang] Gwangju Bank (President Song Jong-wook) announced on the 13th that it held the award ceremony for the 4th ‘Gwangju Hwaro Contest’.

‘Gwangju Hwaro’ is a cultural event promoted by Gwangju Bank, which took its first step as a Korean painting contest targeting Korean painting artists nationwide since 2016, with the hope that Gwangju will become a ‘stronghold’ preserving the tradition and lineage of Korean painting.

The ‘Gwangju Hwaro Contest,’ which is the only competition nationwide exclusively for Korean painting artists, began accepting entries on December 1 last year and selected five winners through ‘portfolio screening - artwork evaluation - in-depth interviews.’

Every year, the works of the winners and selected artists of the ‘Gwangju Hwaro Contest’ have been exhibited at the National Asia Culture Center under the title ‘10 Gwangju Hwaro Artists,’ but this year, due to the re-spread of COVID-19 and the social distancing level being raised to level 2, it was decided to postpone the exhibition related to the 4th ‘Gwangju Hwaro Contest.’

The grand prize winner, artist Lee Dong-hwan, received a prize of 30 million KRW and a special privilege to be sponsored for a solo exhibition or participation in an overseas residency, while the excellence award winner, artist Jung Ji-hyun, received 20 million KRW, and the outstanding award winners, artists Kwon Se-jin, Kim Myung-jin, and Cha Hyun-wook, each received 10 million KRW.

In particular, the grand prize winner Lee Dong-hwan is a local artist who graduated from the Department of Painting at Chosun University and the graduate school of Chung-Ang University.

Song Jong-wook, president of Gwangju Bank, said, “Along with international art festivals such as the Gwangju Biennale and the Jeonnam International Sumukh Biennale, I hope that our region, where ‘Gwangju Hwaro’ is held, will become a source of promotion for Korean painting,” and added, “As the representative bank of Gwangju and Jeonnam, we will strive to revitalize various cultural projects that allow local residents to enjoy the culture and arts of ‘Yeohyang City Gwangju.’”