Citizens to help plan for Busan Biennale

Artists and spectators will communicate through collaboration at the 2012 Busan Biennale to be held in the southern port of Busan from September through November, organizers said Tuesday.

The organizers said in a press briefing that the citizens of Busan will participate in the planning stages of the biennale, which will be held Sept. 22 to Nov. 24 at the Busan Museum of Art and the Busan Cultural Center.

To encourage citizen participation, the organizing committee will set up a “Learning Council” composed of about 10 citizens that will function as a laboratory before the biennale opens. Council members will play the role of intermediaries to connect biennale visitors with participating artists. They will also make suggestions to the organizing committee regarding the history of Busan and the future of the biennale.

About 270 works by 110 artists from around the world will be displayed at this year’s biennale, held under the theme of “Garden of Learning.”

The Busan Biennale is one of the largest art festivals in Korea. Formerly known as the Pusan International Contemporary Art Festival, it was first held in 1998 by combining three existing local events: the Pusan Biennale, the Pusan Sea Art Festival and the International Symposium of Open Air Sculptures. The city’s name was spelled Pusan until the government changed its official romanization system of the Korean language. Yonhap