Hosted and Curated by Arts Council Korea

The exhibition closing event Every Island is a Mountain : Epilogue will be held on August 29^th at Artist House Lounge Cafe, Arts Council Korea. Through this public program, participants will share and review various achievements of the 30^th anniversary exhibition Every Island is a Mountain. Also, it will provide an opportunity to discuss the sustainable future of the Korean Pavilion of the Venice Biennale.

Time: 2-4pm, Thursday, 29^th August, 2024
Venue: Artist House Lounge Cafe, Arts Council Korea, Artist House, 3 Dongsung-gil, Jongno-gu, Seoul, 03087
Number of Attendees: 40 people

14:00-14:05 Introduction
14:05-14:20 Exhibition Achievement Presentation, Exhibition Catalogue Release
14:20-15:20 Presentation of history and background of 30th Anniversary of the Korean Pavilion at the Venice Biennale
• Exhibition: Somi Sim (Co-curator of Every Island is a Mountain)
• Public Program: Juhyun Cho (Co-curator of discursive program)
• Archive: Kyoung-Yun Ho (Director of B Foundation, Archivist)
15:20-15:50 Discussion, Q&A
15:50-16:00 Closing, Exhibition Catalogue Release Announcement

[Link for RSVP]
* For cancellation, please e-mail jiyeon@arko.or.kr

Hosted by Arts Council Korea
In Collaboration with TBA21 Academy at Ocean Space
Co-curated by ARKO Art Center (Arts Council Korea) & Drifting Curriculum
Supported by LUSH Korea

The discourse program Dear Ocean Friends, held on June 26th and 27th at Ocean Space and Palazzo Malta - Ordine di Malta, Venice, Italy, is a forum for public discussion designed to confront urgent global issues and reorganize the role and model of the Biennale beyond the existing paradigm.

Part 1, “Monsoon Futurism: (Post) Anthropocene Asian Futurism,” with participants Chih-Chung Chang, Young-Gyung Paik, Markus Reymann, Ute Meta Bauer, and IkkibawiKrrr, examines 20th- and 21st-century cultural texts from Asian, Pacific, and Indian Ocean communities in opposition to dominant Eurocentrism, using "oceanic thinking" to explore hybrid and mixed narratives through interrelationships. Part 2, Design Earth, Colin Sterling, Eleonora Sovrani, Joasia Krysa, Philippe Pirotte & Vera Mey, Jade Keunhye Lim contextualizes and expands the various social and ecological practices and debates that exist in each regional biennale under the theme of “(Post) Anthropocene Institutions – Is Another World Possible?” The following discussion, moderated by Juhyun Cho, will examine what strategies the Biennials need to take in the new climate regime to break away from all epistemological and sensory value systems previously recognized in the world.

This discourse program, consisting of lecture-performances, presentations, discussions, and screenings, etc., shares curatorial strategies and experiences to highlight the urgency of an existential crisis and develop new thinking in solidarity with the local community in Venice, where the issue of sea level rise is becoming increasingly acute through interdisciplinary exchanges between domestic and foreign experts.

A video recording of the program will be uploaded at the end of July.

Day. 1 - Monsoon Futurism - (Post) Anthropocene Asian Futurism

Time: 2 - 5pm, Wednesday, 26th June, 2024
Venue: Ocean Space [Google Maps]
Campo San Lorenzo, 5069 30122, Venezia

14:00-14:05 Introduction: Juhyun Cho
14:05-14:10 Greetings: Jade Keunhye Lim
14:10-14:30 (Pre-recorded) Lecture Performance: Chih-Chung Chang Monsoon Northwards
14:30-15:00 Lecture: Young-Gyung Paik In Search of Life, Repair, and Peace: The Story of the Korean Ocean in the Age of Anthropocene
15:00-15:20 (Pre-recorded) Talks: Markus Reymann Navigating Oceania: Programs Built on Relations
15:20-15:30 Break Time 15:30-16:00 Lecture: Ute Meta Bauer Climate Crisis and Cultural Loss
16:00-16:10 Screening: ikkibawiKrr Seaweed Story (2022)
16:10-16:50 Discussion: Young-Gyung Paik, Ute Meta Bauer, Jieun Cho (ikkibawiKrr) - moderated by Juhyun Cho)
16:50-17:00 Q&A

Day. 2 - (Post) Anthropocene Institutions - Is Another World Possible?

Time: 2 - 5pm, Thursday, 27th June, 2024
Venue: Palazzo Malta - Ordine di Malta [Google Maps]
3252 Castello, 30122 Venezia

14:00-14:05 Introduction: Juhyun Cho
14:05-14:10 Greetings: Jade Keunhye Lim
14:10-14:20 Screening: DESIGN EARTH, Elephant in the Room (2021, Narrated by Donna J. Haraway)
14:20-14:50 Lecture: Colin Sterling, Museum Planet: Marking Time in the Anthropocene Event
14:50-15:20 Presentation: Eleonora Sovrani Exploring the Living City
15:20-15:30 Break Time
15:30-16:00 Presentation: Joasia Krysa New Directions May Emerge
16:00-16:20 (Pre-recorded) Talks: Philippe Pirotte & Vera Mey, Jade Keunhye Lim, Seeing in the Dark: Exploring Alternative Enlightenment through the Biennale
16:20-16:50 Discussion: Jade Keunhye Lim, Joasia Krysa, Eleonora Sovrani, Colin Sterling - moderated by Juhyun Cho
16:50-17:00 Q&A

Curators: Lee Soo Young, Lim Chae Eun (Nam June Paik Art Center), Junyoung Lee (Arts Council Korea)
Artists: HWI, Kwon HeeSue, Lee Yanghee, Mang Esilo, Nam June Paik, So Yoon
In partnership with Hyundai Motor

Opening ceremony view of Every Island is a Mountain (2024). Provided by Bf. Photograph by Hyunjung Kwon.

Opening ceremony view of Every Island is a Mountain (2024). Provided by Bf. Photograph by Hyunjung Kwon.

Opening ceremony view of Every Island is a Mountain (2024). Provided by Bf. Photograph by Hyunjung Kwon.

Opening ceremony view of Every Island is a Mountain (2024). Courtesy of Arts Council Korea.

Buon Giorno Signor Paik is the opening performance announcing the start of Every Island is a Mountain, the 30th anniversary exhibition celebrating the Korean Pavilion at the Venice Art Biennale. This performance is curated following Nam June Paik's Good Morning, Mr. Orwell (1984), which connected artists from Paris and New York via satellite 40 years ago. It depicts scenes of rendez-vous between Paik's iconic performance videos and contemporary artists. Kwon HeeSue, Lee Yanghee, and HWI, who participate at the Nam June Paik Art Center's Big Brother Blockchain exhibition, along with Mang Esilo and So Yoon will be featured in this performance.

Repertoire
Nam June Paik, Douglas Davis, Joseph Beuys, Documenta 6: Satellite Telecast, performance excerpt, 1977
HWI, Prayer, 2024
HWI, Your My Past Life, 2024
HWI, My Jubilee ist Unverhemmet, 2022
Nam June Paik, Incidental Music, Bit-Pop Station (NHK), 1984
Nam June Paik, Global Groove, 1973
Kwon HeeSue, Pollinators, live performance excerpt, Nam June Paik Art Center, 2024
So Yoon, reading Nam June Paik’s Art and Satellite (1984), 2022
Nam June Paik, Piano Concert, SeOUL NYmAX, 1997
Lee Yanghee, Shimmering (music by Mang Esilo), 2024

Credit
Audio Produced by Baek Da Som
Song Kyeong Keun on the Hun
Traditional Hanbok by Kim Young Seok

Opening ceremony view of Every Island is a Mountain (2024). Courtesy of Arts Council Korea.

The daegeum, also revered as Manpasikjeok¹, has been a distinguished Korean woodwind since the Silla Dynasty. It is reputed to have the mystical power to quell all earthly sorrows. Through the corridors of time, it has been cherished as both an emblem of celebration and a precious diplomatic offering among nations.

Today's inaugural event, in which artist Kwak Hoon unites with the daegeum, traces its roots to the 1995 inaugural exhibition of the Korean Pavilion, titled Kalpa/Sound, What Marco Polo Left Behind. The experimental spirit of the Kwak, manifested in Kim Young Dong's daegeum performances and the involvement of twenty Buddhist nuns, has forged a legacy of innovation and resonance, continually inspiring future generations of artists. In the continuum of time, eternally circling back to its origins, we now interlace the threads of archived dialogues with a single photograph to signal a new beginning.

The year 1995 marked my first solo performance, where I played Pamun (1989) by Kim Young Dong. The recording of the daegeum from that pivotal performance, enriched with sounds dear to me for many years—the chants of Bongeunsa Temple, birdsong, and the tolling of bells—and the sublime melodies of Yeongsanhoesang² and Hun³, were interwoven in a prelude audio mix, complemented by an interview with the artist. Now, at this 30th anniversary event at the Korean Pavilion, we celebrate the occasion with a melody of unity and blessings for this distinguished gathering.

The significance we bestow upon today's event will give rise to new meanings. Unraveling and interweaving the themes intrinsic to Kwak's work, akin to piecing together a puzzle, serves to both assuage concerns and to presenting treasured offerings to the world.

2024.4.
Seo Seung Mi (Daegeum Player, Council Member of the Arts Council Korea)