Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism to Host '2024 Korea Art Festival'
Emerging as a Major Art Event Connecting Gwangju, Busan, and Seoul
"For the pure arts, which are the roots of K-culture, to gain popular love both domestically and internationally, it is necessary to expand the scale of art festivals that are currently limited to small-scale or certain regions and to cultivate representative brands."
This fall, the 'K-Art Festival' will connect art festivals nationwide into one. On the 22nd, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism announced that it will hold the 'Korea Art Festival,' which integrates various art events held in Gwangju Metropolitan City, Busan Metropolitan City, and Seoul Special City.
On the same day in the afternoon, Minister Yoo In-chon of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, along with Gwangju Mayor Kang Gi-jung, Busan Mayor Park Hyung-joon, Acting Deputy Mayor of Seoul Kim Sang-han, and representatives from the Gwangju Biennale, Busan Biennale, Korea Art Dealers Association, Frieze Seoul, Arts Management Support Center, Korea Tourism Organization, Korea Railroad Corporation, Incheon International Airport Corporation, and Korea Airports Corporation, announced a 'Joint Declaration for the Successful Hosting of the 2024 Korea Art Festival' at the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art Seoul branch in Jongno-gu, Seoul.
The '2024 Korea Art Festival' will organically connect and promote various art events held in Gwangju, Busan, and Seoul in September, transforming the entire country into a vibrant art festival. Until last year, the 'Korea Art Week' focused on integrated promotion and exhibition viewing discounts for art events operated separately by local governments and public and private sectors. However, this year, institutions will cooperate more closely, linking the content and schedules of various exhibitions and events to promote it as Korea's representative art event and a world-class festival.
In Gwangju and Busan, biennales will be held respectively to attract art enthusiasts. The 'KIAF Seoul' and 'Frieze Seoul,' jointly held for the third year this year, have established themselves as excellent tourism content with increased foreign visitors and high average tourist spending, raising expectations for the tourism effects of the '2024 Korea Art Festival,' which brings together major art events.
During the '2024 Korea Art Festival,' in addition to visual art events led by local governments such as the Busan Biennale, Seoul Art Week, and Gwangju Biennale, as well as large art fairs, numerous planned exhibitions will be held at national, public, and private art museums and galleries.
At the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art Seoul, the exhibition 'Connecting Bodies: Asian Women Artists' will open on September 4, accompanied by nighttime openings and various public participation events. Exchange events for domestic and international artists will also be promoted. An inbound promotion project inviting overseas museum officials and journalists to introduce Korean art will be operated. KIAF Seoul, Frieze Seoul, and the Arts Management Support Center will hold the 'Korean Art Discourse Conference' from September 5 to 7 at COEX Studio 159.
Installation view of the 14th Gwangju Biennale by Mataaho Collective. [Photo courtesy of Gwangju Biennale]
The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, together with related organizations, will expand the tourism infrastructure to allow visitors to fully enjoy the diverse visual art events and exhibition content of the '2024 Korea Art Festival.' An integrated biennale admission ticket connecting the Gwangju and Busan Biennales will be sold at a 30% discount from the regular price, costing 23,800 KRW (regular price 34,000 KRW). During the Gwangju and Busan Biennale period (August 17 to December 1), holders of this ticket will also receive discounts or free admission to major art museums' paid exhibitions.
Korea Railroad Corporation will sell KTX (high-speed train) tourism packages linked with biennale admission tickets for rail travelers. For tourists using flights, media art exhibitions will be operated at Incheon, Gimpo, and Gimhae airports to allow them to enjoy the 'Korea Art Festival.'
The Korea Tourism Organization will map art facilities by region to guide tourism courses and sell walking art tour packages. It will also develop and sell inbound tourism products linked with various events of the 'Korea Art Festival' and promote 'luxury tourism promotional trips.'
Additionally, various art events will be promoted under the unified name 'Korea Art Festival.' The festival will be publicized using online websites, social media (SNS), outdoor electronic billboards owned by the government and local governments, and various media and spaces such as airports and train stations. Information will also be provided to foreigners through overseas Korean Cultural Centers and Korea Tourism Organization overseas offices.
A special English edition will be published in collaboration with Korea's leading art magazines 'Monthly Art,' 'Public Art,' and 'Art in Culture,' and distributed at KIAF Seoul and Frieze Seoul to create a professional opportunity for promoting Korean art abroad.
Minister Yoo In-chon said, "We will collaborate with local governments and related organizations to provide tourism and transportation infrastructure so that the public and inbound tourists can enjoy the diverse art events included in the '2024 Korea Art Festival' nationwide."
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