A distribution network project that expands content across the entire city of Seoul
About 100 venues including cafés, bookstores, clubs, and public cultural institutions
The Seoul Museum of Art (Director Baek Jisuk) is launching the ‘Distribution Network’ project of the 11th Seoul Mediacity Biennale, which unfolds across 97 locations throughout Seoul, running until December 31.
The ‘Distribution Network’ is a special project of the 11th Seoul Mediacity Biennale, held under the title <One Escape at a Time>. Diverse private cultural hubs in Seoul—such as cafés, bookstores, and clubs—along with cultural institutions under the Seoul Metropolitan Government participate in the Distribution Network to explore ways in which contemporary art can coexist with the everyday lives of citizens. Furthermore, it proposes a network-type biennale model that breaks free from the confines of the museum and connects every corner of Seoul in all directions.
The Distribution Network also collaborates with media canvases large and small throughout Seoul, video media on public transportation, and mass media to experiment with the multifaceted distribution of contemporary art. In particular, the large media canvas on the front of the COEX Artium near Samseong Station will regularly screen video works by artists participating in the biennale, seeking an encounter between contemporary art and the super-large video media that shape the urban environment. A special program that broadcasts video works on the public broadcasting network has also been organized, presenting a multifaceted initiative that spans both new and traditional media.
In addition, the Distribution Network will exclusively distribute ‘Route Map,’ the monthly newsletter of the 11th Seoul Mediacity Biennale. ‘Route Map’ will offer artist interviews, behind-the-scenes stories of the biennale, and more, serving as a guide that helps citizens understand the biennale more easily.
This ‘Distribution Network’ project was conceived as part of ‘Echo,’ the public program of the 11th Seoul Mediacity Biennale. Echo is a key conceptual term of the <11th Seoul Mediacity Biennale> and the overarching title of the biennale’s public program, which unfolds in various forms across both online and offline channels.
Baek Jisuk, Director of the Seoul Museum of Art, said, “The Distribution Network project, launched as the 11th Seoul Mediacity Biennale—which had been postponed due to the fallout from COVID-19—prepares to open next month, presents a new way of enjoying culture and the arts amid the prolonged pandemic, and will demonstrate that art can be sustainable through new modes of distribution, freeing itself from fixed frameworks and inertia.”
Detailed information about the Seoul Mediacity Biennale can be found on the Seoul Mediacity Biennale website (mediacityseoul.kr) and the Seoul Museum of Art website (sema.seoul.go.kr).
▲ Midopa Coffee House, Seodaemun-gu, photographed by Hong Cheol-gi
▲ Bookstore Gopssem, Mapo-gu, photographed by Hong Cheol-gi
▲ PER, Jung-gu, photographed by Hong Cheol-gi