​With Just One Month to Go, Citizens Await Art Festival with Enthusiasm 

- opening ceremony of publicity booth held on March 8

- up to 40 percent discounted tickets offered until April 6

With the opening of the 14th Gwangju Biennale soft and weak like water 30 days away, citizens await the Biennale in anticipation. The 14th Gwangju Biennale will take place April 7 – July 9 for 94 days, and the entire Gwangju city is expected to become a cultural and artistic scene. This year the largest-ever Gwangju Biennale Pavilion joined by leading cultural and art institutions will be showcased along with the main exhibition soft and weak like water during the exhibition period.

Final-Stages of Exhibition Preparations in Progress

Gwangju Biennale Foundation President Park Yang-woo announced on March 7 that the installation of the art works will begin in mid-March.

The transportation of the art works began in January by air and ocean, and a number of works have been brought in beginning early March. In addition, construction for the venues of the main exhibition, the Gwangju Biennale exhibition hall, the Gwangju National Museum, Mugaksa, Artspace House, and Horanggasy Artpolygon, is in the final stages.

The exhibition space of the Gwangju Biennale Exhibition Hall, in particular, will be divided based on sub-topics: Luminous Halo positions the spirit of Gwangju as a source of inspiration and model for resistance and solidarity; Ancestral Voices highlights transnational artistic approaches for engaging and interpreting traditions to question and challenge modernist ideas; Transient Sovereignty considers the ways in which post-colonial and de-colonial artistic thinking have developed in relation to issues, such as migration and diaspora; and Planetary Times explores the potentials and limits of a ‘planetary vision’ on ecological and environmental justice.

The spatial design of the Biennale focuses on making an eco-friendly modular structure that can resolve sustainability issues of the biennale which is held for a short period. With a month left until the opening, the Artistic Director Sook-Kyung Lee will stay in Gwangju to lead the installation, and artists will visit Gwangju to produce and install new works beginning mid-March.

The Foundation plans to finish preparations for visitors by the late-March and hold an opening ceremony on April 6. President Park said, "The opening of the 14th Gwangju Biennale is only a month away and we are putting all our effort into the final preparations. The 14th Gwangju Biennale will be held in various places in Gwangju for a longer period than ever before, and visitors will have a chance to experience Gwangju as a city of culture and art."

Gwangju Biennale with the Local Community

The Gwangju Biennale Foundation has embarked on various marketing strategies to boost the local economy and tourism.

Recently, the Foundation developed a ticket package for “Biennale City Gwangju” in cooperation with the Gwangju Institute of Design Promotion.

The ticket package is designed to promote opportunities for local residents to experience arts by allowing them to enjoy both the 14th Gwangju Biennale and the 10th Design Biennale with a combined ticket. The price of adult tickets when bought separately on-site is 32,000 Won, but the combined ticket is 22,000 Won, which is a 31 percent discount.

In addition, the 14th Gwangju Biennale ticket was selected as a return gift for Gwangju's Hometown Love Donation System, which provides tax incentives for donations to local governments, focusing on co-existence with the local community. The tickets have been registered on the integrated information system of Hometown Love Donation System, called Hometown Love E-Eum, and donors can get a ticket at a discounted price even after April 7, the official opening day, when the sale of discounted early bird tickets will end.

Donors who donated 100,000 Won through the Hometown Love Donation System will receive 14th Gwangju Biennale tickets as a return gift consisting of two adult tickets and two child tickets, an equivalent of 30,000 points.

The Foundation is also attracting visitors through co-marketing strategies, such as providing discounts for guests staying at local accommodations. During the 14th Gwangju Biennale, guests staying at Holiday Inn Gwangju, Gwangju Utop Boutique Hotel & Residence, A.C.C DESIGN Hotel, and Ramada Plaza Gwangju will get discounts on Gwangju Biennale tickets.

In addition, a two-day ticket was also developed to promote tourism by allowing visitors to enjoy the Gwangju Biennale for a longer period at a discounted price, and other cultural and art spaces in Gwangju. The two-day tickets can only be purchased on-site, after the Biennale opens.

Gwangju Biennale with Citizens

On March 8, with one month left until the opening, the Gwangju Biennale Foundation will hold an opening ceremony for the 14th Gwangju Biennale publicity booth marking the beginning of its operation.

The 14th Gwangju Biennale publicity booth, located at the Culture Square on the 1st floor of the Gwangju Shinsegae Department Store, will be open for one month from March 8 to April 6 to visitors, providing a space for local residents to experience the Gwangju Biennale before it opens.

The online event ‘Decision to Buy Tickets,’ open to any Instagram user to participate, was also held until March 7. For the event, those who purchased tickets through Smartix shared their reservation numbers in the comment section of the event post to enter the draw. Winners will be announced on the Instagram posts and contacted individually on March 14. Prizes include various vouchers, including vouchers for accommodation.

KTX and SRT Gwangju Biennale ticket packages have also been offered since March.

You can purchase early bird tickets for the 14th Gwangju Biennale from the ticket information page of the Foundation website through Smartix until April 6, at up to 40 percent discounted price compared to purchasing tickets on-site.

(Inquiries) PR and Marketing Department (062) 608-4222.