Sinan-gun Transforms Neglected Hall into Village Art Museum

Selected for Small Art Gallery Contest Project, Utilizing Idle Spaces in Culturally Marginalized Areas

Shinan-gun has transformed an abandoned village hall into a small art gallery, opening a small gallery in Dunjang Village on Jaeun Island. (Photo by Shinan-gun)

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters, Reporter Seo Young-seo] The ‘Dunjang Village Art Museum’ is opening on Jaeun Island in Sinan, known as the 1004 Islands, emerging as a new contactless tourist destination in the COVID-19 era.

According to Sinan County on the 9th, after being selected for the Korea Arts & Culture Education Service’s Small Art Museum Contest project and gathering opinions from village residents, the old Dunjang Village Hall was remodeled. Following preparations such as artwork creation, the exhibition ‘Dunjang Village People 展’ has been held since the 8th and will continue until the 20th.

The Small Art Museum Contest project aims to create small-scale art museums by utilizing idle spaces in culturally underserved areas without art spaces within their living areas, with the purpose of revitalizing art culture and enhancing opportunities for the public to enjoy culture.

Jaeun Island is known as the “Island of Green Onions” because the entire island is covered with green onion fields. Even in the middle of winter, visitors can see the exotic sight of sprinklers running over the green onion fields.

The Dunjang Village Hall on Jaeun Island, where the art museum was established, was built in the early 1970s when the Saemaul Undong (New Village Movement) began. The villagers of Dunjang Village themselves carried sand and stacked bricks to construct the building, which has served as the central space for various village events for over 50 years.

However, as the number of young people decreased and the building aged, the hall was neglected but has now been transformed into a village art museum, holding a special exhibition as its first event.

The opening exhibition of the Dunjang Village Small Art Museum features 32 portraits by artist Ahn Hye-kyung, who stayed in Dunjang Village for a month, meeting villagers and capturing their island life and life stories, along with works depicting the green onion fields of Dunjang Village.

Following the opening exhibition, the subsequent exhibition titled ‘Jaeun 慈恩 3 Artists 3 Colors 展’ will be held from the 22nd until January 3rd of next year. From an artist’s perspective, Kim Eun-sook (photography), Woo Yong-min (Korean painting), and Ahn Hye-kyung (Western painting) created works over three months portraying the 1004 Islands’ Jaeun and Dunjang Village.

The small art museum’s opening ceremony will be held on the 11th and will be conducted simply with a minimal number of attendees, strictly adhering to quarantine guidelines to prevent the spread of COVID-19.

County Governor Park Woo-ryang said, “The village art museum established in Dunjang Village on Jaeun Island will spread the 1 Island 1 Museum Art Project, a key artistic initiative of Sinan County, enhance the pride of residents, and allow many visitors to the 1004 Islands of Sinan to appreciate the beauty and value of the village art museum.”

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