"A Festival Reflecting Contemporary Values Such as Diversity and Climate Crisis"

Seoul International Performing Arts Festival Press Conference
Artistic Director Choi Seok-gyu Announces 5-Year Vision on Artistic Diversity and Inclusion

Company XY's 'Moebius' to be showcased at the Seoul International Performing Arts Festival. Photo by Seoul International Performing Arts Festival

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Heeyoon] "We are about to embark on a new journey for the next five years."

The Seoul Performing Arts Festival (SPAF) has declared its transformation into a new performing arts festival that embodies contemporary values. On the 20th, at a press conference held at Yesulcheong in Jongno-gu, Seoul, newly appointed Artistic Director Choi Seokgyu announced SPAF's vision and mission for the next five years.

On this day, Director Choi stated, "After the pandemic, we pondered how the festival should establish itself in the performing arts scene," adding, "We have sought the festival's artistic vision and aim to present works that reflect contemporary perspectives and the values of our time."

SPAF outlined its core directions for change over the next five years as follows: ▲ a festival embodying contemporary perspectives and values ▲ strengthening creation, production, and distribution functions through collaboration ▲ structuring an organic organization with enhanced professionalism ▲ establishing an international performing arts platform based on transregionalism ▲ aiming for an active audience community in contemporary arts.

Regarding the themes to be addressed over the five years, SPAF identified ▲ diversity and inclusivity in the arts ▲ arts and the climate crisis ▲ arts and the city ▲ arts and technology ▲ new mobility in the arts.

This year's festival, reflecting these changes and themed "Transition," will present a total of 17 works: 3 invited from overseas, 9 selected through domestic open calls, and 4 planned domestically. The play "Dragonfly Chronicle" by the theater company "The Elephants Are Laughing" expresses various facets of life through stories about the sexuality of the elderly. Kim Boram's "Moving Forest" is an audience-participatory performance in the form of a board game created to explore whether it is possible to relocate trees threatened by the climate crisis.

The invitation of overseas performing groups from Germany, Japan, France, and others is also a highlight. This year, works such as Rimini Protocol's "Conference of the Absentees," Hiroaki Umeda's "Double Bill," and Company XY's "Mobius" will be showcased.

Director Choi said, "We have organized diverse programs not only about formal transitions after the pandemic but also about what the transition of contemporary values entails and the role art should play within it," adding, "Over the next three years, focusing on artists who are attempting new approaches and have potential for international collaboration, we plan to announce a project in September involving four Korean artists and one Asian artist developed through work creation."