Geumcheon Art Factory 'Open Studio' ... Resident Artists' Studios and Works Open for Three Days

Seoul Foundation for Arts and Culture Operates Advance Reservation System for Safe Viewing

[Asia Economy Reporter Jo In-kyung] The studios of artists residing at Geumcheon Art Factory, a specialized residency for visual arts, will be open to the public for three days. To make up for the reduced opportunities to visit exhibitions due to the impact of the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19), planned exhibitions by resident artists, meetings with artists, and docent tours will also be arranged.

The Seoul Foundation for Arts and Culture announced on the 20th that the '11th Resident Artists Open Studio,' showcasing the creative activities of 16 teams residing at Geumcheon Art Factory this year, along with the planned exhibition '16 Pillars - Roofless Gallery PS333,' will be held from the 29th to the 31st at Geumcheon Art Factory in Doksan-dong, Seoul.

Geumcheon Art Factory, remodeled from a printing factory in 2009, is equipped with a warehouse building for large-scale work, an exhibition hall (PS333), and workshop rooms, providing domestic and international artists with 24-hour accessible creative studios.

The Resident Artists Open Studio, which opens only once a year, is an event that offers the general public an opportunity to indirectly experience the artists' creative activities. This year, from the 29th to the 31st of this month, from 1 PM to 6 PM, studios of a total of 16 teams (19 artists) will be open, and visitors can enjoy the diverse creative processes and artistic worlds of the artists in each studio.

The planned exhibition held concurrently during the Open Studio period will be conducted as an alternative exhibition attempting a different form of social distancing in the open architectural spaces of Geumcheon Art Factory’s warehouse building and outdoor parking lot to prevent the spread of COVID-19. Song Hee-jung (CEO of Space So), who planned the exhibition, explained, "This is a unique attempt at social distancing that narrows the cultural distance?which feels even greater than the physical distance caused by COVID-19?between the public and artists, while also coping with social distancing. The 16 works will not overlap but maintain distance from each other, yet together form a single artwork."

Additionally, unique videos featuring Geumcheon Art Factory resident artists set as 'agency trainees' and 'artificial intelligence' will be available sequentially until the 23rd on the official YouTube channel 'SPARK TV' of the Seoul Foundation for Arts and Culture and on Geumcheon Art Factory’s Instagram.

Kim Jong-hwi, CEO of the Seoul Foundation for Arts and Culture, said, "This is the only day in the year when you can see the studios of resident artists at Geumcheon Art Factory, a leading domestic visual arts residency now in its 11th year," and added, "We hope that those who have a strong interest in Geumcheon Art Factory and the visual arts field will visit and have a special time."

For more details, please check the Seoul Foundation for Arts and Culture website, Geumcheon Art Factory Facebook, and Geumcheon Art Factory Instagram. The planned exhibition is free to visit, and to ensure safe viewing, advance reservations are accepted through Geumcheon Art Factory’s SNS.