Government to Operate '2020 Museum and Art Gallery Week' Next Month
Featuring 'Museum and Art Gallery Trips with Themes'
Issuing Discount Coupons to Minimize Public Burden and Support COVID-19 Measures
The government is transforming museums and art galleries into spaces of comfort through a complex cultural arts program.
The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism announced on the 23rd that it will hold the "2020 Museum and Art Gallery Week" from the 14th to the 23rd of next month under the slogan "Comfort in Everyday Life, A Journey for Myself." Through various programs such as cultural trips reflecting regional characteristics and educational fairs, it aims to offer special memories to citizens weary from daily life.
The most notable program is the "Museum and Art Gallery Trips with Themes." Selected through a public contest, museums and art galleries in four regions (Capital area, Gangwon-Chungcheong area, Jeolla-Jeju area, Gyeongsang area) will propose travel routes featuring local characteristics. The Busan Museum of Art offers stories about art from the 1960s and 70s while walking through Bosudong Bookstore Alley, and the Gangneung Oriental Embroidery Museum presents a sensory journey for mothers and daughters to enjoy nature and the museum together. Jeju Museum of Contemporary Art and Jeju Kim Chang-ryeol Museum of Art operate "Jeju Mythology - Gotjawal Fantasy," Yeosu Museum of Art offers "The Hundred-ri Island Path Folktales from Yeosu to Goheung," and Gyeonggi Ceramic Museum runs an "Online Ceramic Culture Trip," respectively.
A Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism official said, "To prevent the spread of COVID-19, the trips will be conducted in small groups of 10 to 25 people," adding, "This will introduce lesser-known regional museums and art galleries and serve as an opportunity to revitalize local tourism industries."
This year also highlights the values of diversity and inclusion, the common themes of museums and art galleries worldwide. Fifteen museums and art galleries selected through a contest will each hold related online and offline events. These include Ewha Womans University Natural History Museum's "Discovering Our Country's Creatures Together: Meeting with the Artist," Sacheon Lee Museum's "Eyes of the Mind - Touching the Exhibition," Jangsu Museum of Art's "Korea-China-Japan Art Diversity Program - Stories of Earth, Stone, Wood, and Water," Wooyang Museum of Art's "Save Me, Holmes," and Dolharbang Museum of Art's "The World is a School." All are operated with minimal participants (15 to 30 people) to prevent COVID-19 spread.
There is also an opportunity to encounter artworks usually only seen inside museums and art galleries out on the streets. From the 13th to the 23rd of next month, "Museums on the Street" will take place in central Seoul. Media artist Lee Lee-nam and Collage Plus (Jang Seung-hyo & Kim Yong-min) will display a large-scale LED installation (35m wide by 3.5m high) in front of the main gate wall of Gyeongbokgung Palace, reinterpreting artworks in a modern style.
Museums and art galleries in Seoul, Chungbuk, and Gyeongbuk will also hold educational fairs. The National Museum of Korea offers experiential activities for families, while Chungbuk Museum and Chungbuk Art Museum Association provide unique educational content that can be done at home. The National Gyeongju Museum will operate educational experience spaces and special lectures with the participation of many museums and art galleries in Gyeongbuk on the 20th and 21st of next month.
The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism will issue discount coupons next month to support museums and art galleries affected by COVID-19 and encourage public visits. For more details, please refer to the "2020 Museum and Art Gallery Week" website.
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