Dong-gu Humanities Center in Gwangju, Jeonnam to Join Biennale Pavilion as Exhibition Space

Archive Exhibition with Japan’s Koganecho Area Management Center
"A New Cultural Space Where Art and Humanities Converge in the Spotlight"

Dong-gu, Gwangju Metropolitan City, Jeonnam announced on September 3 that the Dong-gu Humanities Center, an urban humanities venue, will participate as an exhibition space in the Biennale Pavilion for about two months from the 5th until November 15th to mark the 16th Gwangju Biennale.

The Dong-gu Humanities Hall, a humanities hub facility in Dong-gu, Jeonnam Gwangju Integrated Special City, will participate as an exhibition space in the Biennale Pavilion for about two months from the 5th to November 15th in celebration of the 16th Gwangju Biennale. Provided by Dong-gu, Jeonnam Gwangju

The Pavilion, a collaborative project associated with the Gwangju Biennale, began in 2018 to expand networking between Korean and global art institutions. It operates by enabling overseas cultural and arts organizations to present exhibitions and various programs in sites throughout Gwangju.

This year, the Pavilion will take place in 28 venues across Gwangju, with participation from 27 countries and organizations. The Dong-gu Humanities Center will present an archive exhibition and collaborative programs on the theme of community revitalization together with the Koganecho Area Management Center (KAMC), a nonprofit organization from the Koganecho area of Yokohama, Japan.

Koganecho Area Management Center is dedicated to community-building by fostering new value through collaboration between local communities and the arts. Following a request by the Gwangju Biennale organizers to lease the venue, and through advisory processes for Pavilion project participation, Dong-gu decided to operate the Dong-gu Humanities Center as the site for the Koganecho archive exhibition.

In particular, at 3 p.m. on September 6, a Pavilion-linked program titled "Koganecho Pavilion Talk Event" will be held. Prior to the event, a signing ceremony between the Gwangju Biennale, Dong-gu, and Koganecho will take place. The event will feature presentations and discussions on the theme "From Urban Gaps to an Asian Network," with about 30 participants, including artists, art institution representatives, and community activists from 10 organizations in five countries: Japan, China, Taiwan, Vietnam, and Korea.

The first discussion, "Beyond the Exhibition Hall: Creating Community Connections through Art Spaces," will examine, with a focus on the Koganecho case, how cooperation among local government, residents, police, universities, companies, and artists has been achieved in the processes of community revitalization and art institution management. The second discussion, under the theme "From Community to Network," will explore the operational requirements and strategies for establishing sustainable relationships as local activities of each institution expand into international exchanges, residency programs, joint research, workshops, and archiving projects.

Im Taek, head of Dong-gu District, commented, "Collaboration with local artists has played a key role in establishing the Dong-gu Humanities Center, a venue with a long history, as a hub for urban humanities activity. I hope that, through this Biennale Pavilion exhibition, the Dong-gu Humanities Center receives greater attention as a new cultural space where the arts and humanities meet."

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