Void of Memory, Platform in KIMUSA of Platform 2009

PLATFORM 2009 is the 4 of the series of five international contemporary art festivals. Followed by previous Platforms under the subtitles of Somewhere in Time, Tomorrow, and I have Nothing to Say and I am Saying It, PLATFORM 2009 continues to propose “platforms” on which artists and institutions experiment their diverse ways of how art can be linked to our day to day lives instead of remaining as objectives of “art for art‟s sake.” This year, Platform explores three key ideas of „public,‟ „space,‟ & „life,‟ and seeks to make statements on such issues as redefining the concept of „public,‟ expanding the concept of public art, participation of viewers, reflection of the site‟s history and site-specificity of places, exploring the functional nature of art, bridging art and life, andexamining current criticisms on institutions.

Platform hosts a variety of events across the city of Seoul in 2009 including the areas of Sagan-dong, Sogyeok-dong, and Yeongdeungpo-dong,. Platform 2009 at old Security Defense Command site, in particular, opens up its site and shares its spaces amongst international art communities as well as general public. It hopes to offer an occasion to reflect on the social role of art and propose a new vision of art for communities. The program will not only include exhibits but also permanent or temporary public art projects, new commissions, and educational programs. At the same time, a Public Program consisting of symposiums, seminars, workshops, lectures, and artist talks will also take place throughout 2009 as a means to provide a forum for debates, discussions and study on diverse issues.

2) Curatorial Concept “Platform in KIMUSA” of “Platform 2009” is an exhibition that rediscovers the spaces and places which had been unused or restricted for a period of time. It reminisce these forgotten spaces in the city and aims to revitalize them through contemporary art. KIMUSA, the old site of Defense Security Command (DSC) in Sogyeok-dong is a significant place in terms of historical, architectural and cultural sense as it had undergone several transformation up until today. First it was the site for Gyujanggak (the Royal Library); the current building was redesigned as a hospital building by Gillyong Park in 1929 and is registered as a modern cultural property no.375.

The exhibition introduces a variety of voices from both mainstream and non-mainstream world of art, and provides visions for new institutions. These voices, after all, are the tools that open up the possibility every member of communities in the city communicates. Therefore, “Platform in KIMUSA” is an experimental ground on which critical and alternative discussions of “New Institutionalism” are rendered through exhibitions and events.

“Platform in KIMUSA” comprises of diverse special exhibitions, performances and lectures such as “P1”, “P2: Artists Recommended by Artists”, which introduces artists through recommendations from diverse artists, “P3: Projects by Invited Curators”, which shows visions of international art institutions, “P4: By Curators” which shows artists‟ exhibitions that are curated by independent curators. Also, special events such as “Performance and Event” and “Public Lecture” are prepared during the project. “Platform in the KIMUSA” which comprises of various sections of the above, explores new roles of art by providing diverse aspects of art that has not been uncovered or excluded from contemporary discourses of art as well as re-focusing on unrecognized visions and voices of the art world.

platformseoul.org

Void of Memory, Platform in KIMUSA of Platform 2009
Orte: Kimusa (The Old DSC Defense Security Command Site) & Artsonje Center
Kuratoren: Sunjung Kim, Mami Kataoka, Nathalie Viot, Sunyoung Oh, Kyongfa Che, Lee Yoonhee, Jang Un Kim, Hyunjin Kim, Keum Hyun Han, Electric Palm Tree

Künstler: Ai Weiwei, AVPD , Seung Woo Back, Jin Hwan Bae, Young-Whan Bae, Magnus Bärtas, Christian Boltanski, Nina Fischer & Maroan el Sani, Gregory Maass & Nayoungim , Shilpa Gupta, Mona Hatoum, Hwang Se-Jun, Runa Islam, Jang Min-Sung / Jung Jae-Il, Yeondoo Jung, Chosil Kil, Hyun-jin Kwak, Lee Bul, Seulgi Lee, Christian Marclay, Aiko Miyanaga, Noh Suntag, Park Chan Kyong, Jinnie Seo, Shimabuku , Taro Shinoda, Bob & Roberta Smith, Nedko Solakov, Camila Sposati, Sulki & Min, U Sunok, Jun Yang, Yangachi , Yeesookyung , Tomoko Yoneda, Carey Young, Matthew Darbyshire, Cyprien Gaillard, Peter Newman, Karen Russo, Martin Sastre, Guido van der Werve, Vincent Ganivet
von Nathalie Viot eingeladen: Alain Declercq, Elise Florenty & Marcel Türkowsky, Thu Van Tran