Busan Biennale 2016 'Hybridizing Earth, Discussing Multitude'

The Busan Biennale 2016 curated by the artistic director Yun Cheagab (Director of HOW Art Museum in Shanghai) is being held for 89 days from September 3 to November 30 at the Busan Museum of Art and the F1963 (KISWIRE Suyeong factory) under the theme Hybridizing Earth, Discussing Multitude. The exhibitions are divided into Project 1 which deals with avant-garde art of China, Japan and Korea before the 1990s and Project 2 which deals with the global biennial system that has emerged since the 1990s. Project 3 is composed of academic programs and seminars which intensively examine the relationship between these two.

Project 1 to leave significance in the historical aspects of contemporary art
Project 1 to be held at the Busan Museum of Art under the theme of an/other avant-garde china-japan-korea intends to ruminate on the experimental art of the three Asian countries that has been forgotten and provide a balanced perspective on the world’s history of contemporary art. Five Curators from three countries (Guo Xiaoyan from China, Sawaragi Noi, Tatehata Akira and Ueda Yuzo from J-team of Japan, and Kim Chan-Dong of Korea) intensively showcases the contemporary experimental art emerging from each country. China deals with the times of resistance and conflict starting with the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution up to the Beijing Spring and Tiananmen Square Incident from 1976 to 1995 while Japan deals with avant-garde art such as Gutai Group, Mono-ha and Superflat from the atomic bombing of Hiroshima until the end of the 1980s. In the case of Korea, it deals with the fields of Korea’s contemporary art that have been overshadowed by Dansaekhwa (Korean monochrome painting) and Minjung Misul (People’s art), such as conceptual art, happenings, and media among the experimental art from the 1960s to the 1980s.

The largest Busan Biennale ever using the entire area of F1963
Project 2 of Busan Biennale 2016 is being held at F1963 through the full support of KISWIRE. This year, the entire area, which is about 9,900 square-meters, is utilized contrary to the fact that a part of the entire area was used as the exhibition site for the special exhibition of Busan Biennale 2014. The F1963 area is reborn as a new complex cultural space as it cherishes the original appearance of the factory. The original appearance of the factory remains untouched and is expected to become a space to show the essence of Hybridizing Earth, Discussing Multitude, the theme of Busan Biennale 2016. The square located at the center of the exhibition hall plays a role of a public sphere where academic events and performances are being held.

Various programs operated with the exhibitions
At Busan Biennale 2016, various cultural art programs (Project 3) are planned to be held together along with the exhibitions to make the event even more abundant. International academic programs, education programs, channel B, and others are planned during the exhibition period to express the exhibition theme through various perspectives and genres.

The realization of the exhibition based on an online platform in collaboration with Google The Busan Biennale 2016 is in collaboration with the Google Cultural Institute. The Google Cultural Institute is a non-profit online exhibit site launched by Google that enables anyone across the globe to appreciate cultural heritage. The biennale makes its exhibits accessible to everyone around the world via Google's website and app. Those interested may search for artworks by year and color and appreciate them while guided by audio descriptions. Even after the biennale reaches its conclusion, "Discussing Multitude" will still be able to unfurl in your hands through an exhibition based on an online platform that is open to the public across the world.