Praised as a Festival Opening New Horizons for Public Art by Expanding Connections with the Local Community
Big Data Analysis Shows Continuous Increase in Visitors, Becoming a 'Signature Festival' Attracting Audiences from Other Regions
Consistent Growth in Scale and Quality of Works Over 5 Years... A 'Cultural Festival to Look Forward to Tomorrow'
Nowon-gu, Seoul (Mayor Oh Seung-rok) announced that the public art festival "Nowon Moonlight Walk," held annually, received the Minister of the Interior and Safety Commendation in the cultural category at the 14th Local Government Productivity Awards.
The "Local Government Productivity Awards," hosted by the Ministry of the Interior and Safety since 2011, aim to strengthen the competitiveness of local governments. It is characterized by analyzing efforts and capabilities through objective indicators to improve residents' quality of life and promote sustainable regional development.
The evaluation was divided into productivity index measurement and best practice categories. Among them, 359 projects were submitted from 139 local governments nationwide for the best practice category. After document and presentation reviews, 12 projects, including "Nowon Moonlight Walk," were finally selected.
Nowon Moonlight Walk is one of the region’s representative festivals, a public art light sculpture festival held along Danghyeoncheon, an eco-friendly ecological stream. Every autumn, for a month, the Danghyeoncheon walking trail is transformed into a beautiful spectacle of light, instilling both beauty and artistic depth into the footsteps of residents. Celebrating its 5th year this year, the festival exhibited 41 works along approximately 2 km of the Danghyeoncheon walking trail under the theme "Breath."
Moonlight Walk is fundamentally an outdoor exhibition-type festival, but it emphasizes connection with the local community in line with its significance as a "public art project." From the planning stage, the focus was on the mutual development of the community and public art, and during the artwork production stage, collaboration with locally based artists and children from the local youth visual arts education program "Moonlight Art School" was a representative example.
This year as well, the local community, children, and professional artists collaborated to present works such as "Coexistence: Finding the Hidden Faces," "Attack of the Shining Poops," and "I Am Inside It!" The festival also operated the "Moonlight Guide" program, where local residents provided explanations and guidance to visitors, receiving positive responses.
In particular, this year, in connection with the local traditional market, Sanggye Jungang Market, various side events such as the "Sanggye Moonlight Night Market," orchestra performances, street art shows, and busking were held during the festival period, making the event even more vibrant.
The district conducts KT Big Data analysis every year through accurate evaluation of the festival. According to the 2023 festival tourism analysis, the total number of visitors increased sharply by about 44%, from approximately 662,000 in 2022 to about 956,000 in the 4th festival in 2023. Among the 2023 visitors, about 20%, or 196,000 people, were from other regions. Based on this, the district judges that Moonlight Walk has established itself as Nowon's representative festival. Regarding this year's event, which concluded on the 17th, an evaluation meeting will be held once precise data analysis is completed, and preparations for a solid 2025 Moonlight Walk will begin.
Oh Seung-rok, Mayor of Nowon-gu, said, "I am pleased that 'Nowon Moonlight Walk,' which has been strengthening the artistic depth of the works and interaction with the public year by year, has been recognized for its potential as a public cultural festival." He added, "We will plan substantial cultural programs so that the residents' cheers that 'Nowon's festival is different' will continue next year."
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