
Seoul Museum of Art will expand its scale and scope, opening two more venues this year -- Photography Seoul Museum of Art and Seo-Seoul Museum of Art -- while continuing to strengthen international ties with a focus on the Middle East as well as Eastern and Northern Europe.
“This year will be one of the busiest years for the city museum,” said Choi Eun-ju, director of Seoul Museum of Art, at a press conference on Monday. “Photography Seoul Museum of Art will open in the first half of the year in Dobong district, northern Seoul and Seo-Seoul Museum of Art in the latter part of the year in Geumcheon district in southern Seoul.”
When the two museums open, Seoul Museum of Art will become a museum system of eight museums across the capital with Seoul Museum of Art as the main venue and including: Nam-Seoul Museum of Art, Buk-Seoul Museum of Art, Art Archives Seoul Museum of Art, SeMa Nanji Residency and the Nam June Paik Memorial House.
The inaugural exhibition at Photography Seoul Museum of Art will be held in May, shedding light on five modern and contemporary photographers. “We have collected more than 20,000 archival documents in Korean photography history before opening the museum,” said Kim Seung-eun, managing director of Buk-Seoul Museum of Art.
“The Seo-Seoul Museum of Art in Geumcheon district will feature media art and, as the area is culturally isolated, the museum is expected to play a role in fostering cultural activities in the neighborhood," said Jung So-la, director of the Curatorial Bureau at SeMA.
The city museum will continue its international projects in cooperation with art institutions in the Middle East, opening the exhibition, “Layered Medium: We Are in Open Circuits,” in May at the Manarat Al Saadiyat in Abu Dhabi.
Another exhibition, “Intense Proximities,” at the Seoul Museum of Art, will be co-organized with the Abu Dhabi Music & Arts Foundation. The museum is planning to build ties with art institutions in Eastern and Northern Europe this year, following the Middle Eastern region, Jung said.
The first exhibition to start the new year is the solo exhibition of Korean painter Kang Myeong-hi in March at the main Seoul Museum of Art in Jeong-dong, which will explore 60 years of Kang's artistic career since the 1960s.
Another major event at the museum, the 13th Seoul Media City Biennale, will kick off in August, running for 79 days.