Expats join 300 artists from 15 countries for Korea’s biggest experimental art fest


Korea’s biggest experimental arts festival hits Seoul this weekend, spreading its reach ever farther and featuring an impressive array of international and local talent.

With 300 artists from 15 countries including Australia, France and Tibet, the award-winning Korea Performance Arts Festival, organized by Korea Performance Arts Spirit, seeks to promote Hongdae as an international “art city.”

Using all mediums and removing boundaries between audience and performer, experimental arts have been active in Korea since the 1960s.

The first KEAF was launched in 2002 to provide a public stage for performance artists, who had few outlets at the time, and to introduce the art form to the Korean public. But it wasn’t until 2006 that international contributions were invited.

“Every year, increased numbers of foreign artists have shown interest in getting involved,” said Casey Ahn, responsible for international affairs for KoPAS, who welcomes further collaboration.

The eight-day festival will kick off Saturday with “Ground, Sea and Air,” an inclusive project featuring flash mobs at subways and crosswalks (ground), Wolmi and Young-jong islands (sea), Incheon International Airport (air). These will be broadcast via iPhone on to a screen on the KEAF Special Stage.

The main events will take place in the art student district of Hongdae ― including installations and exhibits, performances at indoor venues and out on the streets.

The Art Parade, including 30 international artists, 100 Korean artists and 30 community teams, will announce the opening of KEAF 2011 around Hongik University from 4-6 p.m. on Saturday July 23.

A special performance celebrating the 10th anniversary of the event will start at 7 p.m. on the same day. “Gut Evening,” takes the form of a Korean ritual ceremony delivered by a shaman, infused with modern art, performance and music. A silent disco will follow.

Street performers will bring idle or neglected spaces to life with their art. Eric Scott Nelson from the U.S., for instance, will be walking around following a map declaring “CHANGE.”

The Invited Artists Show, occupying 10 cafes during the festival, continues KoPAS’ “Moving In” concept which encourages local artists and residents to connect. For this occasion, five international and five Korean artists will be invited to transform public spaces into art galleries.

The theater performance schedule runs from July 24-30, and Ahn recommends it as offering the “true meaning of performance arts.” On July 24, Mexican artist Martin Renteria will present “Farewell,” about the struggle to release memories.

Other activities on offer include a seminar on creating an art city in a Korean context at the Seogyo Art Center, expressive arts workshops at the Mapo Lifelong Learning Center and a Street Beach Cocktail Bar transporting visitors to an imaginary exotic holiday destination.

Swedish-German duo Tall Blonde Ladies will be putting on their new show using ballet shoes and ice hockey shoulder pads, working with the movement and forms of ballet.

TBL ― Anna Berndtson and Irina Runge ― explore metaphors of the female image. They have not been involved with KEAF before but feel there is a good mix of local and international acts on offer.

“It is very important to participate in this kind of event both nationally and internationally,” said Berndtson.

TBL can be seen in an extended performance on July 29.

“We are hoping that the public will take their time with our performance, to enter the work with their mind,” she added.

Performing for the second time at the event will be expat James Topple, one of the British artists behind Tiger and Bear ― an interactive act using the masks of two legendary animals in Korea to explore how the country has dealt with its rapid modernization.

“There’s nothing quite like KEAF happening elsewhere in Korea, not on this kind of scale anyway,” said Topple, who this year will be performing without his partner in the project Colin Riddle, as they are now pursuing separate projects.

“Art has the potential to be so fresh and exciting and KEAF epitomizes that ideal for me. And of course, Hongdae is the perfect setting.”

He is happy with the level of expat participation but emphasized that submissions should reflect the international quality of the event.

“It can’t be easy for an organization as prestigious as KoPAS to take expats that seriously. But obviously there are some expat artists like myself who are deadly serious about their art practice and would give their right arm to be involved in an event like this.

Tiger and Bear’s contribution to KEAF is “Cave to Humanness,” the first theater show for the act, at Hongdae’s B-Boy Theater on July 29, 5-7 p.m.

KEAF has made access to the event for the expat community easy, posting information to an English Facebook page. This is part of a wider KoPAS effort to embrace international and expat performers in Korea.

“For international artists, KEAF is the right place to present art pieces and build an artist network among not only artists but audiences.

“They can play a vital role in the Korean art scene,” said Ahn.

For more information, visit the Korea Experimental Arts Festival 2011 English page at facebook.com/keaf2011eng. There will also be attendants issuing maps and details of events at the festival.

By Hannah Stuart-Leach  (hannahsl@heraldcorp.com)