Gwangju City Operates 'Media Art Festival' as On-Off Playground Project

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Park Seon-gang] Gwangju Metropolitan City announced on the 12th that the 2020 Gwangju Media Art Festival, held from the 14th to the 18th, will be promoted as an online-offline media art playground project.

Jointly implemented by Gwangju City and the National Asia Culture Center, this Gwangju Media Art Festival introduces the concept of a playground project by integrating advanced technologies such as artificial intelligence into media art and linking it with existing cultural and artistic events, attempting to transform it into a festival where citizens and artists harmonize within a single program, aiming for change and innovation.

The theme is “Light of Gwangju ? The Aesthetics of Light and Coexistence,” and it will be held along with various linked programs and cultural events in the National Asia Culture Center area and throughout Gwangju City.

First, starting from the 6th, the media art tour exhibition, rookie exhibition, and university student contest began, and on the 14th, the main exhibition, international exchange exhibition, and special exhibition will open.

Also, prior to the main event, the festival opening ceremony held from 7 p.m. on the 14th will feature Mayor Lee Yong-seop’s video message under the theme “Light of Gwangju,” as well as various performances broadcast online to prevent the spread of COVID-19, offering a small comfort to citizens weary from the pandemic.

In particular, the main exhibition held around the National Asia Culture Center will softly illuminate the autumn night city with various works by 13 famous media artists from both the region and nationwide, reflecting on human relationships and living conditions that sustain a life of coexistence.

The international exchange exhibition held at the Asia Culture Square of the National Asia Culture Center will feature artists from 13 cities in 13 countries representing UNESCO Media Art Creative Cities, completing the “Song of Coexistence,” which creates a strong belt of light among media art creative cities.

The special exhibition ? Media Facade, projected onto the front outer wall of the old Jeonnam Provincial Office, is prepared under the theme “Light of Gwangju.” The old Jeonnam Provincial Office is a living site of the May 18 Gwangju Democratization Movement and a symbolic space representing Gwangju. The special exhibition of the Media Art Festival is expected to be a special attraction as works by media artists representing Gwangju and Korea will be projected onto the building’s outer wall.

The media art tour exhibition, ongoing since the 6th and featuring artists from 11 countries including Asia and the United States, is operated in connection with 9 art museums, 7 alternative spaces, Art Street, Daein Art Market, Art Gwangju (online), Art Picnic, and the GSAF Gwangju Social Art Festival.

Also, the rookie exhibition for young artists and the university student contest to discover the next generation of media artists, conducted through a nationwide open call, are being introduced for the first time at this festival.

This project originally focused on new possibilities leading Gwangju, the City of Light, as a cultural tourism-oriented stay city, planning to hold main plaza festivals, children’s playgrounds, and parades, but it was decided to operate on a reduced scale to prevent the spread of COVID-19.

Event details can be found on YouTube, Instagram, Facebook, and blogs, and on-site viewing is possible while complying with quarantine guidelines such as wearing masks and maintaining social distancing.

Gwangju City expects this program to be meaningful as a cooperative cultural project with the National Asia Culture Center, an international event involving 23 cultural and artistic spaces in the Gwangju area, symbolizing Gwangju’s future cultural policy and providing an opportunity for citizens to empathize with the possibilities of media art connected with advanced technologies such as artificial intelligence and immersive content.

Kim Jun-young, Director of the City’s Culture, Tourism, and Sports Office, said, “We have prepared a diverse exhibition so that citizens can see domestic and international media art works at a glance,” and added, “We hope it will be a healing time for citizens tired from COVID-19.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.