Seongnam Cultural Foundation Launches Integrated Art Creation Support Competition... 633 Million Won in Funding

From Support and Competition to Archiving, a 'One-Stop' Service for Local Artists
Total of 633 Million Won Allocated to Five Major Programs
Information Session Scheduled for January 23

The Seongnam Cultural Foundation (CEO Yoon Jungguk) is launching the "2026 Integrated Art Creation Support Competition" to systematically support the creative activities of local artists.

2026 Integrated Art Creation Support Competition. Provided by Seongnam Cultural Foundation

This integrated competition covers five major support programs: support for Seongnam artists' creative activities, support for young artists' activities, support for creative spaces for Seongnam artists, support for exchange and collaboration among Seongnam artists, and "Modeun Art 31 Seongnam." A total budget of 633 million won will be provided.

Notably, starting this year, the competition will be operated through a newly established artist support platform on the Seongnam Arts Center website. The entire process-from application submission to project promotion and subsequent archiving-will be offered as a one-stop service within the platform. This is expected to streamline administrative procedures and further enhance convenience and accessibility for artists.

Support will also be tailored by business sector and stage. First, the "Seongnam Artists' Creative Activity Support" program targets creative projects in the performing arts, visual arts, and multidisciplinary fields. Up to 25 million won will be provided for projects in the performing arts and multidisciplinary fields, and up to 15 million won for visual arts. A selective "responsible review system" will be implemented, awarding additional points for the following year's support programs based on the evaluation results of the chief judge, thereby helping to establish a stable, multi-year creative environment for artists.

The "Young Artists' Activity Support" program assists young artists aged 19 to 39 with step-by-step growth from preparation to presentation. The new "Art Bridge" project for emerging artists is an exchange and growth program that helps aspiring artists settle in the local art scene through interviews and archiving work with established artists.

The "Seongnam Artists' Creative Space Support" program, which provides practical assistance for creative activities, will subsidize monthly studio rental fees by 50% to 80% for up to nine months, with a maximum annual support of 4.77 million won. The "Seongnam Artists' Exchange and Collaboration Support" program will select a theme proposer, and at least four artists will gather around the proposer to conduct exchange and creative planning in a new format.

In line with the foundation’s vision of a "Warm Digital Cultural City," support for art-technology convergence projects will also be expanded. The "Upscaling Seongnam Community," which offers technology mentoring and peer learning, will be implemented, and the "Art×Tech Creative Lab," a creative space for art-technology convergence, will also be operated. In addition, "Modeun Art 31 Seongnam," a local content support project in collaboration with the Gyeonggi Cultural Foundation, will hold a separate competition in June for the "Art-Technology Convergence Creation Support" category.

Yoon Jungguk, CEO of the Seongnam Cultural Foundation, stated, "We hope this integrated competition will allow local artists to engage in creative activities on a more stable foundation," adding, "We will continue to expand the intersection of art and technology to foster a cultural and artistic ecosystem where new creations are continuously generated."

The foundation will hold an information session on the integrated competition at 2 p.m. on January 23 at the Seongnam Arts Center Conference Hall, where details on each support program and application procedures will be provided. Application deadlines differ by program: applications for the Seongnam Artists' Creative Space Support and Upscaling Seongnam Community are open until February 5, while other programs accept applications until February 12. For more details, please refer to the support program application menu on the Seongnam Cultural Foundation website or the artist support platform.