Stars, Moons, UFOs, and Gut... Nam June Paik’s Universe Reignited

Nam June Paik Art Center Launches Its First Media Art Festival
Marking the 20th Anniversary of Paik’s Passing
214 Days of Exhibitions, Performances, and Tech Labs

The first global media art festival bearing the name of Nam June Paik will be held.

Main poster of the 1st Nam June Paik Media Art Festival 'Nam June Paik's Planet'. Nam June Paik Art Center

The Nam June Paik Art Center, operated by the Gyeonggi Cultural Foundation, announced that it will be hosting the 1st Nam June Paik Media Art Festival, "Planet Nam June Paik," starting from July 16 to mark the 20th anniversary of Paik's passing. The festival aims to reinterpret Paik’s artistic philosophy in a contemporary context by expanding it through exhibitions, performances, scholarly programs, technical labs, and public events.

The festival’s opening week will run for five days from July 16 to July 20. The entire festival spans 214 days, from July 16 to February 14 of next year. Events will take place at the Nam June Paik Art Center and at offsite partner locations.

The inaugural theme is "Planet Nam June Paik." The English subtitle, "Waiting for UFO," is inspired by Paik's 1992 installation "Waiting for UFO" at Storm King Art Center in the United States. The festival reconnects Paik’s cosmic imagination—encompassing stars, planets, satellites, and media networks—with today's technologies, arts, and audience participation.

The main exhibitions, "Stars, Gwae" and "Moons," both open on July 16. "Stars, Gwae," held in Exhibition Room 1, focuses on Paik’s planetary works from the 1990s, shedding light on his cosmic imagination, Eastern philosophical thought, and his perception of the world through electronic media. Featured works include "Venus," "Sirius," "Spaceship to Virtual Venus," "Yeokgyeong (I Ching)," and "NJP at 1800 RPMs."

"Moons" in Exhibition Room 2 takes its starting point from Paik's "The Moon Is the Oldest TV" and links it to works by contemporary artists. Alongside Nam June Paik, participating artists include Kim Deok-hee, Park Goeun, Park Soyoung, the cosmic voyager Unhappy, and Lee Jiyeon. A screening program will also present works by Laurent Grasso, Laure Prouvost, Ryota Aoki, and Sky Hopinka, among others.

During the opening week, performances will be staged intensively. On July 16, there will be "Gong: Cosmic Human Symphony" by Yongjoo Lim’s Future Sound Lab, "HEY_NAM-JUNE_WHERE_ARE_YOU? // I_AM_HERE" by Chaeul aka Jeon Injeong, and "Sak, Mang 02-deathofDavid" by Paul Kim and Kyna. Additional events will include a live coding lecture performance by Dahee Park, a laser performance by Glenn, a theatrical performance by Eumion, and "Nam June Paik Birthday Gut" performed by Ji-Won Bang and Gutpaes.

Notably, "Nam June Paik Birthday Gut," held on July 20, will be an eight-hour ritual performance to celebrate Paik’s birthday. A brief ritual will begin in the morning in front of "Dadaikseon" at the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art in Gwacheon, followed by events at the Nam June Paik Art Center. The Gwacheon ceremony will be livestreamed on the Nam June Paik Art Center's YouTube channel.

Scholarly programs also feature prominently. On July 17, a special talk entitled "Curators of Nam June Paik," with renowned media art curator John G. Hanhardt and Sookkyung Lee, Director of the Whitworth Art Gallery, will be held. On the same day, Hyangjun Lee, professor from Chonnam National University’s Center for Philosophical Research, will give a lecture on cosmic imagination and Eastern worldviews in Paik’s art.

On July 19, technician Kijoon Lee from the Nam June Paik Art Center will lead a technical lab titled "Signal Re-lit," examining challenges in media art preservation through the process of reactivating video signals from discontinued CRT monitors and early experimental TVs.

The reach of the festival extends beyond the museum. At the PSK Holdings Pangyo Campus, the "NJP Lounge" will be operated, and external collaborative projects such as the Ewha Womans University 140th Anniversary Exhibition "EMAP 2026" and the Korean Film Archive’s special screening event "Nam June Paik Video Cosmos" will also continue.

Namhee Park, Director of the Nam June Paik Art Center, said, "Nam June Paik was an artist who never stopped questioning not just the future of technology, but also what kinds of new relationships could be created when different people, cultures, media, and ideas converge. The 1st Nam June Paik Media Art Festival is envisioned not as a monument to his past, but as an open world where today's artists, researchers, technologists, and citizens connect with his art and imagine a future that has yet to arrive."

Admission is free. The Nam June Paik Art Center is open from 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m., and is closed every Monday.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.