Installation of "Art Houses and Works" Utilizing Vacant and Abandoned Homes
Selected for Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport Project... Nohwa and Bogil Areas
Wando County in South Jeolla Province announced on May 16 that its "Wando Healing Art Island" project was selected in the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport's "Public-Private Win-Win Investment Agreement Project" competition.
This project will be carried out in cooperation with the Daewoo Foundation, which has maintained a 45-year relationship with Wando since the establishment of Daewoo Hospital in Nohwa-eup, Wando in 1980. A total of 13 billion won will be invested, including 10 billion won in government, provincial, and county funds, and 3 billion won in private investment from the Daewoo Foundation.
The "Wando Healing Art Island" project will be implemented over four years, from this year through 2028, focusing on the Nohwa area. The main initiatives are composed of five categories and nine individual projects.
Wando County's "Wando Healing Art Island" project was selected in the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport's "Public-Private Win-Win Investment Agreement Project" competition. Photo by Wando County
The core projects include the establishment of an "Island Art Museum" featuring high-quality exhibition content, the creation of "Art Houses" by utilizing vacant and abandoned homes in the Nohwa and Bogil areas, and the hosting of an "Island Art Festival" that transforms the entire Wando archipelago into a single stage for art through art installations and exhibitions. In addition, the project includes the operation of a "Docent Training and Art Market" to create jobs and boost the local economy, as well as "Theme Tourism Revitalization," which combines healing island tourism content with art projects.
The county is working to develop each island's unique healing resources?such as energy, sound, scenery, literature, history, and art?into the only "Healing Island" destination in Korea. In particular, this project aims to establish Nohwa-eup as a hub for "artistic healing" through cooperation with the Daewoo Foundation, with the goal of developing it into a world-class art island like Naoshima in Japan.
Kim Sunjung, director of the Art Sonje Center and former CEO of the Gwangju Biennale from 2017 to 2021, will be directly involved in the content planning and operation of the "Island Art Museum." Director Kim will oversee not only exhibition planning but also the development of programs utilizing her domestic and international artist network.
County Governor Shin Woochul stated, "The Nohwa and Bogil areas will be reborn as healing spaces where art, literature, and history come together," and added, "We will develop the entire Wando region into a differentiated, theme-based healing tourism destination." He continued, "The selection of this project was made possible not only by the cooperation between Wando County and the Daewoo Foundation, but also by the full support and understanding of National Assembly member Park Jie-won."
Meanwhile, the county is investing 2.7 billion won from the Local Extinction Response Fund to remodel the Daewoo Hospital staff dormitory into a "Mind Healing Center Exhibition Hall." Along with the "Island Art Museum" established through this project, Wando County plans to expand the region's foundation for art-based healing.
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