'Querencia' Theme... Overseas Artists from the US, France, and More Participate
The '2024 Seomjingang International Experimental Art Festival' will be held in Gokseong, Jeollanam-do from November 1 to 5, under the theme Querencia. This year's event is hosted and organized by the Korean Experimental Art Spirit (kopas), with support from Jeollanam-do, Gokseong County, the Italian Cultural Institute in Korea, and the German Network for Performance (NPN).
The Seomjingang International Experimental Art Festival will be held from November 1 to 5 at various locations including Seomjingang Donghwa Garden, Misillan, and Pureunnakta Gallery in Gokseong-gun. [Image provided by Gokseong-gun]
The festival theme, Querencia, refers to a place in a bullring where a wounded bull rests and regains strength. This art festival was chosen with the hope of reminding modern people of the importance of 'rest' and 'recovery' in the nature of Gokseong, and encouraging them to discover their own true Querencia.
Established in 2002 in front of Hongdae in Seoul, the Seomjingang International Experimental Art Festival has become the longest-running international experimental art festival in Korea. This year, artists from various countries including the United States, the United Kingdom, Japan, Italy, France, Germany, and Korea will participate. Performances will include orchestra concerts, dance, live painting, performance collaborations, and fusion poetry concerts featuring poets and visual artists across diverse genres.
The 2024 Seomjingang International Experimental Art Festival, which opened with the pre-event '2023 SIEAF Archive Exhibition' on the 3rd, will feature programs such as the 'Baekilhong Art Concert,' 'Body Poetry Fusion Concert,' 'Chuksa Concert - Beautiful Companionship,' 'Meditation Dance Workshop,' and 'Nature Observation Experience - Starlight Querencia with Milky Way Photographer and Poet Lee Won-gyu.'
The live moving project '2024 Version White Mop - Querencia' is a white mob performance depicting a journey where marginalized and exhausted modern people escape the bleak city, departing from Seoul Yongsan Station to Gokseong, which boasts a pristine natural environment.
Artistic Director Kim Baek-gi said, “We will present an artistic ‘Querencia’ with original interpretations in the natural surroundings of Gokseong’s Seomjingang Fairy Tale Garden, which spans 100,000 pyeong and is filled with millions of blooming baekilhong flowers.” He added, “We hope that this year’s Seomjingang International Experimental Art Festival’s ‘Querencia’ will go beyond a spatial meaning for rest and become an opportunity for modern people to find their true selves and feel peace.”
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