Busan Biennial 2010

		Opening: September 11, 2010 Theme: Living in Evolution 161 works, 72 artists Venues: Busan Museum of Art, Busan Yacht Center, Gwangalli Beach, etc. Busan, Korea Host: Busan Metropolitan City, Busan Biennale Organizing Committee www.busanbiennale.org
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The major objective of the 2010 Busan Biennale is to strengthen the cohesion of exhibitions and their access to the public. The previous Busan biennales had three disparate exhibitions with respective exhibition directors, that is, the Contemporary Art Exhibition, the Sea Art Festival and the Busan Sculpture Project. Departing from the tradition, the 2010 Busan Biennale has one director planning for all exhibitions. By taking this approach, organic cohesion between works and exhibition venues can be achieved and planning directions and messages can be delivered more effectively. Access to the public will be expanded not just through shorter distances between exhibition venues but also through the aim of ensuring organic cohesion between art works and exhibition venues. Forging links between works displayed indoors and outdoors and creating stories will help the public to better understand art works and exhibitions in general as well as to appreciate contemporary art and works on display. This will ultimately lead to bringing contemporary art one step closer to the public. The 2010 Busan Biennale is composed of exhibitions and different programs aimed at connecting viewers with exhibitions. This year's biennale seeks to simplify exhibition content and focus more on the exhibition theme. Combining the Contemporary Art Exhibition, the Sea Art Festival and the Busan Sculpture Project into a single exhibition will help secure consistency in exhibition planning. Furthermore, interlinking exhibition venues and factors affecting exhibitions like the spokes of a wheel will strengthen interconnectedness. For example, an artist can create works both for indoor and outdoor exhibition to see how art works reflect spatial characteristics. Placing similar art works both at a traditional exhibition venue such as an art museum and at an experimental venue like a yachting center will generate quite different perspectives. Along with this, large-scale installations will be placed at several key spots in the city to serve as landmarks, which depict the exhibition theme and symbolize civilizations. (Covered so far is the main exhibition at the Busan Museum of Art, the Busan Yachting Center, Gwanganri Beach and other venues, where 72 artists from 23 countries entered 158 works.) The "Now, Asian Art" exhibition will take place at the exhibition halls in the Busan Cultural Center and the Busan City Hall, and the subway station Geumryunsan Gallery with the objective to tighten regional networks in Asia and introduce the trend of contemporary Asian art as it is. Young and experimental artists from Korea, China and Japan will participate in the exhibition. "Now, Asian Art" is not an exhibition featuring a single theme like the main exhibition. Rather, it will provide an opportunity to read the current state of Asian art and observe trends of up-and-coming artists. Since it will give easier access to contemporary art than the main exhibition, it is expected to draw the attention of quite a number of art experts and art lovers. In addition, a conference of art editors in Asia will be convened on September 12, 2010 under the title of the "Asian Editors' Conference" to take stock of the current state of Asian art. The conference will serve to pique interest in Asian art. As in the 2008 Busan Biennale, another major project in the 2010 Busan Biennale is to organize exhibitions engaging local artists to expand the fan base for contemporary art and support the creative work of local artists. First of all, the Gallery Festival is a set of special exhibitions of local art galleries featuring artists participating in the 2010 Busan Biennale and up-and-coming local artists. Artists from Korea, China and Japan will take up the majority of works to be exhibited at the Gallery Festival. Unlike existing art fairs, the Festival aims to revitalize commercial art galleries to be utilized as artistic bases not just for the art industry but also for the general public. Another attempt made by the 2010 Busan Biennale is to establish a strategic partnership with alternative art spaces in the city and undertake experimental projects in order to support local artists and encourage avant-garde activity. Among the partners are the "Open Space Bae," which participated in the 2008 Biennale , the "Art in Dadaepo," which is rising as a new art icon in the region with the track record of quite a few exhibitions and projects, and the "Moonjeonseongsi Project," which takes place in the Bujeon Market, an old traditional market in Busan. In particular, the "Moonjeonseongsi Project" is not designed to create spaces for producing or displaying art works. Rather, it aims to seek out a possibility for a new art trend by forging solidarity with people making a living in the market. The top priority of the 2010 Busan Biennale has been given to educational programs. To make educational programs more effective, adult art lovers and middle school students have been set aside as main targets. A contemporary art course to be called "Art Story" will open for adult art lovers and students aspiring to become artists. Scheduled to open in October to commemorate the 10th anniversary of the Busan Biennale, the course will have the previous exhibition directors of the Busan Biennale giving lectures, which will touch upon interesting topics and stories on contemporary art. A workbook will be produced to serve as a customized guidebook for middle school students to help them to better understand works and exhibitions. The workbook promises a richer educational experience gained from exhibitions, creating potential demand for biennales.