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2016 Gwngju Biennale Forum
at the University of Hong Kong on March 23
Auditorium at the University of Hong Kong filled with students participating ‘What does art do? Mediating the Gwangju Biennale 2016’ Seminar
Gwangju Biennale (President Yangwoo Park) collaborated for the first time with Hong Kong Arts Development Council (HKADC) on March 23, 2016 and hosted a seminar at the University of Hong Kong, which is known for being one of Asia’s most distinguished university.
‘What does art do? Mediations of the Gwangju Biennale 2016’ is the title of the seminar which kicked off the collaboration between the two organizations to foster this artistic cultural exchange without borders. President of the Gwangju Biennale Foundation, Yangwoo Park; Chief Executive of HKADC, Winsome Chow; the Chairman of Visual Arts Group for HKADC, Chris Chan and many directors, professors, and students from the University of Hong Kong completely filled up the auditorium, signifying that interest and international awareness are present and well-received.
This forum in Hong Kong has been arranged with the intention of announcing the title for the 2016 Gwangju Biennale, ‘THE EIGHTH CLIMATE (WHAT DOES ART DO?)’ which was made public in Gwangju on Monday the 21st. The purpose of this initiative was to not only inform and communicate the theme of 11th edition of the Gwangju Biennale in Asia but to also share and explore the professional and public understanding of art and its capacities.
The panel discussion about ‘What does art do? Mediating the Gwangju Biennale 2016’ is as follows:
“At this moment in time when it seems easier to talk about the public and private infrastructures that support art than art itself, the 2016 Gwangju Biennale aims to direct our attention to art works and projects. The central concerns of the Biennale are hence the question “What does art do?”, and how situations in which each art work and project meets its public can be meaningfully generated.
For 2016 GB, one such sites of mediation is that of the university, where art, as well as art history, is taught to future generations of practitioners. An ongoing series of lectures under the name of ‘Infra-school’ is organised in both Gwangju and Seoul as part of the Biennale, not only a way of pushing the boundaries of an art biennale as an event, but also an effort to embed it – by weaving the flow of people it brings such as artists and curators into existing infrastructure of art education.
This panel taking place in Hong Kong can too be considered a “satellite” of ‘Infra-School’, in which concerns on what art does is shared and mediated through conversation and discussion. All participants of the panel will anchor their presentations and response on one art work/project in a particular context of mediation, as part a collective effort to articulate what art is as a verb, and what it does.“
The President of Gwangju Biennale Foundation states that, “Following the 2016 Gwangju Biennale Title announcement in Gwangju, hosting this forum in Hong Kong, where arts and culture of Asia are currently emerging from, has further promoted and encouraged the potential of the biennale and possibilities of art and conjointly publicized the fact that Gwangju Biennale is the first and foremost biennale in Asia.
For press enquiries, please contact:
Esther Kang
International Relations and Communications
Gwangju Biennale Foundation
Tel: +82 (0) 62 608 4223
kieun.kang@gwangjubiennale.org