Gwangju Biennale postponed to February 2021 due to pandemic

The opening of the 13th Gwangju Biennale has been postponed to February next year due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Under the theme “Minds Rising, Spirits Turning,” the biennale will free access to the first floor of the exhibition hall at the biennale.

Previously, the ticket office was placed outside the exhibition hall, but it will be moved to within the hall as the first floor will be open to the public at next year’s event. Performances and discussions will take place on the first floor where visitors can also take rest. The plan has been proposed by exhibition architect Diogo Passarinho, who reportedly got the idea from the madang, yard of Korean traditional Korean house, where people freely enter and exit to meet with each other.

Han Geum-hyeon, chief of exhibition at the Gwangju Biennale, has singled out Judy Radul’s installation artwork as a representative one of the 2021 Biennale. The installation artwork is composed of images of human bodies and performances that are presented through thermal imaging cameras.

As the schedule for second research, which planned to invite foreign artists to visit Gwangju this month, has become uncertain, contents of some exhibits at the event are expected to change. At Mt. Yanglim, a site of protestant missionary and civilian militants’ independence fight against Japanese imperialists, exhibitions using diverse relics will take place.


Min Kim kimmin@donga.com