Gwangju Dong-gu, Local Hotel 'Geumsujang' Transformed into Cultural Regeneration Space

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Park Jin-hyung] Dong-gu, Gwangju Metropolitan City announced on the 22nd that the ‘Gwangju Geumsujang (錦繡莊) Hotel,’ a representative local hotel with over 40 years of history, is being newly transformed into a hotel art fair cultural space through the ideas of young planners, and is embarking on its first exhibition project.

On the 21st, Dong-gu held an exhibition opening event at Geumsujang Hotel attended by about 50 people including Im Taek, Dong-gu Mayor; Ham In-seon, Gwangju City Chief Architect; Kang Shin-gyeom, Professor at Chonnam National University; Choi Doo-soo, Exhibition Director of Gwangju Biennale; Jo In-ho, CEO of Gwangju Art and Culture Research Institute; and Jeong Seong-gu, CEO of Urban Culture Group CS Co., Ltd. The event featured the ‘Geumsu Artjang Roundtable’ accompanied by wine.

At the ‘Geumsu Artjang Roundtable,’ there was a symposium-style format with free discussions on topics such as Gwangju’s art scene, art tourism, cultural urban regeneration, various public-private cooperation plans to create a cultural city of Gwangju, and the directions local young artists should take.

Geumsujang Hotel, which opened in 1981 opposite the old Gwangju City Hall, was a popular accommodation for Gwangju citizens and out-of-town tourists. As the oldest local hotel that led various banquet cultures in Gwangju, Geumsujang has suspended room operations for the past four years.

Dong-gu, together with the Dong-gu Urban Regeneration Support Center and Gwangju Visual Arts Project Team ‘1995Hz (1995 Hertz),’ newly established Geumsujang Hotel as an exhibition space and cultural regeneration space through the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism’s ‘Artist Art Market Opening Support’ contest.

The first exhibition project of the ‘Hotel Art Fair’ utilizing the vacant rooms of Geumsujang Hotel, titled ‘2022 Gyerim Bobusang - Geumsu Artjang,’ will continue until the 27th.

Planned by the four exhibition planners of 1995Hz (Kang So-won, Kim Gyu-ri, Kim So-jin, and Lee So-young), this exhibition intends to transform a fading local memory place into a unique venue for enjoying artworks, connecting local artists and citizens through artworks by walking around like the Bobusang (itinerant merchants) of the Joseon Dynasty.

Im Taek, Dong-gu Mayor, said, “Geumsujang Hotel is a symbolic space that shares the history and memories of Gwangju, and through this project, we aim to make it a successful case of culturally regenerating a deteriorated area and space.” He added, “We will continue to develop the cultural and artistic resources preserved in the old downtown into cultural tourism content that can attract out-of-town tourists through unique and new attempts, thereby revitalizing Dong-gu’s cultural art tourism.”