Six artists, including Park Jung-hyuk, were selected for the 2009 New Artist Contest.

Many artists reside in Goyang City. However, the support programs and infrastructure for these artists are far from satisfactory.

Kim Chan-dong, director of the Arko Art Center, said, “Although the art museums and performance facilities are not poor compared to other regions, considering the number and level of resident artists, the environment is definitely inadequate.” He added, “Since resident artists mostly base their activities in Seoul, the reality is that they do not raise any particular complaints or grievances even if the local infrastructure is not satisfactory.”

Against this backdrop, the Goyang Cultural Foundation has recently launched a project to discover and support local artists in Goyang City. Under the "2009 Goyang Cultural Foundation Emerging Artist Competition," the Foundation will discover emerging artists and support their creative endeavors by providing: exhibition space; online and offline advertising and promotional support; production of promotional postcards and outdoor promotional materials; up to 5 million won in support for artwork and exhibition production costs; and hosting discussions with art critics and exhibitors.      

From August 24th to September 17th, a call for applications was held for emerging local artists active in Goyang City. A total of six artists were selected: Kim Beom-su, Park Ji-hye, Yang Yeon-hwa, Song Jun-ho, Ha Yong-ju, and Park Jeong-hyeok. These six artists were selected through an internal review of their application documents and qualifications, followed by interviews and presentations regarding their proposed works.

These emerging artists will exhibit their works at the Aullim Art Museum for a month, from November 6th to December 6th. The works on display range from two-dimensional (Western painting, Korean painting, photography), three-dimensional (sculpture, installation), and mixed media (media and video).

While these emerging artist contests are important in themselves, the key is to engage experts in the process, thereby serving as a forum for diverse discourse surrounding the exhibitions. Director Kim Chan-dong explained, "To ensure that the selected artists receive proper critique, we must assemble competent critics to support the production of critical analysis of their work."

References

• 참신한 지역작가 발굴·창작의욕 고취
  Discovering New Local Artists and Encouraging Creative Spirit