Diversity of Bodies: Disability, Aging, and Illness... MMCA Presents "Inclined Bodies" Exhibition

15 Artist Teams from Korea and Abroad Present Over 40 Works
Expanded Accessibility Measures Introduced
Audio Guides, Tactile Paving, and Easy-to-Read Texts in the Exhibition Hall

The National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art (MMCA) announced on May 15 that it will hold the exhibition "Inclined Bodies: When Our Vulnerabilities Meet" at MMCA Seoul until July 20.

Kim Wonyoung and Jung Jihye's Moving as Prosthesis (Water) - Machine, Affordance, Care (2024), provided by Seoul Foundation for Arts and Culture.

This exhibition was organized to explore ways to welcome bodies with diverse conditions. According to the definition of a museum revised by the Museum Association in 2022, a museum must be "open to all, easy to use, and inclusive, thereby fostering diversity and sustainability." In response to these contemporary challenges, the MMCA has prepared an exhibition that welcomes different bodies and experiments with ways for them to encounter one another.

The exhibition is structured around three themes: "Inclined Bodies," "Caring for Us," and "Facing Different Bodies." It features works that challenge conventional ideas about vulnerable bodies and proposes ways for different bodies to coexist. Presenting over 40 works?including paintings, sculptures, photographs, architectural pieces, and performances?by 15 artists or collectives from Korea and abroad, the exhibition aims to broaden awareness of bodily diversity and emphasizes that caring for different bodies ultimately benefits the public good.

The exhibition incorporates various accessibility features. These include spaces designed with wheelchair users’ routes in mind, tactile paving blocks to support independent viewing by visitors with visual impairments, wall texts in easy-to-read language for everyone including those with developmental disabilities, and interactive audio guides for visitors including those with visual impairments. A "Pause Space" has been created in the corridor connected to the exhibition exit to provide visitors with a comfortable place to rest. This exhibition was made possible through collaboration with a specially organized external accessibility planning team and institutions such as the Seoul Senior Welfare Center.

The exhibition catalogue is available in a web format so that everyone can access it, with options for large text, audio support, and dark mode depending on user needs. Contributors to the catalogue include Gureunim (Kim Jiwoo), a wheelchair user and YouTuber who shares moving personal stories, and Ahn Heeje, a cultural and arts critic who writes based on her own experiences with illness and disability.

Kim Sunghee, director of the MMCA, stated, "This exhibition is both an experiment and a practice in examining how many people a museum can truly welcome," adding, "We will continue to pursue new practices to meet a diverse range of visitors as a borderless museum."