Seocho-gu Young Artists Can Perform Anytime 365 Days a Year... Why?

Seocho's Comprehensive and Meticulous Support for Young Artists' Performances Regardless of Genre or Style... '2021 Seocho Chamber Music Festival' Held to Support Young Artists Facing COVID-19 Challenges... Applications Open 3.29~4.12, 70 Teams Selected with Up to 1.2 Million KRW Performance Fees... Performance Opportunities Provided at Local Small Venues and Cultural Spaces, Expected to Revitalize the Arts Scene... '2021 Visiting Kkotjari Concert' Featuring Various Outdoor Small Music Concerts... Seocho Youth Art Gallery Reopening Exhibition 'O-Rak'

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Jong-il] For young artists, performances are an important opportunity to realize their dreams and sustain their livelihoods. However, due to the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic, most cultural events such as performances and exhibitions have been canceled or postponed, causing difficulties for young artists.

Seocho-gu (Mayor Cho Eun-hee) is expected to become a mecca for performances where young artists can hold online and offline performances 365 days a year. To revitalize the stagnant performing arts scene, Seocho-gu will operate various genres of cultural performances in daily life throughout the week from April to November with comprehensive and meticulous support for performances regardless of the genre or method of young artists.

First, Seocho-gu is publicly recruiting young artists to participate in the ‘2021 Seocho Chamber Music Festival’ to be held from April to November.

The ‘2021 Seocho Chamber Music Festival’ is a relay-style concert that selects talented and skilled young classical musicians to perform various chamber music concerts at small venues, cafes, and other cultural spaces throughout the region.

Based on Seocho-gu’s rich musical infrastructure, which was the first in the nation to be designated as a music culture district, it provides performance opportunities to young artists and contributes to the revitalization of private performance venues by utilizing small concert halls.

This year, the number of young artist teams recruited will be expanded from 40 teams (as of 2020) to 70 teams, providing more stage opportunities to young classical musician groups facing difficulties.

The performance fee has also been increased from 1 million KRW to up to 1.2 million KRW per team, enhancing support for young artists.

Applications and submissions for young classical music groups aged 19 to under 39 will be accepted from March 29 to April 12 (see poster), and after screening, performance teams will be selected. The performances of the selected teams can be enjoyed both online and offline.

Performance videos will be streamed through a YouTube channel, and residents wishing to attend in person can watch the performances by making advance reservations and strictly following quarantine guidelines.

Additionally, during the summer vacation period, a ‘University Chamber Music Festival’ composed solely of university student ensembles will be held to encourage networking among students and provide tailored performance planning lectures. At the end of the year, a planned performance called the ‘Seocho Chamber Music Festival Orchestra,’ composed of young artists participating in the Seocho Chamber Music Festival, will be held to support young artists in showcasing their dreams and talents.

While there are classical concerts to enjoy indoors, various genres of small outdoor concerts called the ‘2021 Visiting Flower Seat Concert’ are also prepared.

The ‘2021 Visiting Flower Seat Concert’ is a music concert where young artists visit outdoor cultural spaces such as parks, plazas, and streets to perform a variety of music genres including classical, band, jazz, K-POP, and fusion gugak (traditional Korean music).

Starting from the 30th, regular Visiting Flower Seat Concerts will be held every Tuesday to Friday at major locations in four regional areas within the district. During performances, quarantine guidelines such as social distancing between audience members will be strictly observed to ensure safe performances and viewing, providing performance opportunities for young artists and offering healing time to residents exhausted by COVID-19 blues.

Furthermore, in the second half of the year, a ‘Music Delivery Concert’ will be held where young artists surprise family members, acquaintances, and colleagues with musical gifts based on story requests directly received from residents.

At the end of the year, 10 outstanding performance teams will be selected to support video recording of performances at major local venues and provide opportunities to promote these videos through YouTube and other platforms in the ‘Seoripul Flower Seat Live’ program. All performance teams will receive stage and sound equipment support along with a modest performance fee.

Meanwhile, the district does not overlook support for exhibitions as well as music performances.

The Seoripul Youth Art Gallery, which had been closed for a long time due to COVID-19, has resumed full operation starting with the gallery curator’s special exhibition ‘五樂室 (Orakshil) Exhibition.’

The ‘五樂室 (Orakshil) Exhibition,’ themed as a space offering five kinds of joy, is the first exhibition since the gallery’s reopening and will be held both online and offline until April 7. It was planned with the intention of providing a comfortable space reminiscent of an arcade for all whose activities have been restricted by COVID-19. Visitors can enjoy a fun exhibition that captivates both eyes and ears through a combination of installation art using 3D LED lighting, paintings, murals, and important exhibition elements such as ‘sound + lighting.’

The next exhibition, ‘Rhythm Garden,’ planned in collaboration with the Seocho-gu Hanuri Information Culture Center and Seoripul Youth Art Gallery to commemorate Disability Day on April 20, visually expresses the rhythms of nature discovered through the pure eyes of artists.

Rhythm Garden will be held from April 13 to 30.

The gallery is open from Tuesday to Sunday, 11 a.m. to 7 p.m., and admission is free. To prevent the spread of COVID-19, the number of visitors per hour is limited to 50, and strict quarantine guidelines are followed.

Seocho-gu Mayor Cho Eun-hee said, “We will continue to provide opportunities to young artists in various genres so that they can grow as key players in the cultural and artistic community.”

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