Business Agreement Signing and 'Villa Busan' Plaque Ceremony at Hongti Art Center at 2:30 PM on the 2nd
Hongti Art Center, Korea's Leading Artist Creative Space, Opens 'Villa Busan' on September 1
On the afternoon of the 2nd at 2:30 PM, the city of Busan will sign a 'Villa Busan, French Creative Space in Korea, Business Agreement' at the Hongti Art Center and hold a plaque unveiling ceremony.
The event will be attended by Mayor Park Hyungjun, Mayor David Lisnard of Cannes, and French Ambassador to Korea Philippe Bertoux.
The main contents of the agreement include: ▲ The city and Hongti Art Center providing creative space and accommodation as well as support for exhibitions of creative outcomes ▲ The embassy providing round-trip airfare for resident artists and a coordinator fluent in both Korean and French to support the artists ▲ Cannes providing a living allowance of 6,000 euros (approximately 8.9 million KRW).
'Villa Busan' is the first Korea-France artist residency project in Korea aimed at fostering mutual cooperation in the visual arts sector, and is expected to become a major French creative space in Asia along with 'Villa Kujoyama' in Kyoto, Japan.
Villa Kujoyama is an art facility within the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs' cultural cooperation network, operated in collaboration with the French Institute in Japan and supported by the Bettencourt Schueller Foundation, serving as a French residency in Japan.
This business agreement began as a proposal from the French Embassy in Korea in October last year, and on September 1, 'Villa Busan', a French creative space (residency) in Korea, opened at the Hongti Art Center and welcomed its first resident artists.
The first resident artists of 'Villa Busan' are the French-Turkish film director duo, Cagla Zencirci and Guillaume Giovanetti.
Selected through a joint review by participating institutions, these artists will carry out a project closely related to Busan, titled 'Ghost and Found', at 'Villa Busan' for three months starting in September. The results of their work will be exhibited at the Hongti Art Center from November 6 to November 20.
Through this agreement, the city will provide two creative spaces and accommodations at the Hongti Art Center for international artists, and will also discuss reciprocal exchange opportunities for artists to reside in the creative space (residency) in Cannes. In addition, the city plans to review the establishment of an official creative space for long-term activation of exchanges between Busan and international artists.
This year, the city invested 100 million KRW to improve the aging facilities of the Hongti Art Center and also worked on enhancing the environment for users.
Located near Mujigae Industrial Complex in Dadae-dong, Saha-gu, the Hongti Art Center is a leading creative space for visual and installation artists in Korea, supporting eight resident artists annually.
Over the past 11 years, more than 100 domestic and international artists, including artists Gam Minkyoung, Park Jahyun, Kim Deokhee, Alizee Bauer (France), and Matthew Newkirk (Australia), have participated in the residency program.
Since COVID-19, the Hongti Art Center has welcomed resident artists from various countries including Taiwan, France, and Australia. This year, resident artists Kim Siheun and Jung Chanil from the Hongti Art Center will be dispatched to 'Treasure Hill Artist Village (THAV)' in Taiwan and 'Tanushimaru Institute for Art Research (TIAR)' in Japan, both of which have signed exchange agreements with the Hongti Art Center.
Mayor Park Hyungjun stated, "Art breaks down boundaries and deepens through exchange and convergence, creating new dimensions. Through this first-of-its-kind project, we expect the artistic capabilities of Busan and Cannes to be further enhanced. The city will provide every possible support to foster creative and innovative artistic activities, making Busan a city full of artistic inspiration and a global cultural hub."
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