The Gwangju Biennale Foundation and GIZI Foundation will launch the “Gwangju Biennale Park Seo-bo Art Prize” at the 14th Gwangju Biennale scheduled to open in April next year to recognize a promising artist participating at the biennale.

GIZI Foundation, established by Korean contemporary artist Park Seo-bo, has committed $1 million to the prize, with $100,000 in prize money to winning artists or collectives through 2042. The winner will be selected among those who participate in the country’s largest art biennale by a judging committee of domestic and overseas art experts.

The award aimed at supporting contemporary artists will continue until 2042 after the inaugural award at next year’s biennale, according to the Gwangju Biennale Foundation on Monday.

“As a senior artist who has devoted his whole life to painting, I wanted to encourage artists who participate in the Gwangju Biennale. It is a tough career, but I hope they can persevere in their career as an artist who contributes to changing and improving society in a positive way,” said Park in the press release.

Park founded GIZI Foundation in 2019 to support talented artists across a variety of art genres.

Born in 1931, Park is one of the best known and respected artists in the country, having led the dansaekhwa movement since the late 1960s. His dansaekhwa art has evolved with a philosophy that a painting is a means to cultivate the artist him or herself, and should ultimately serve to heal people.

By Park Yuna (yunapark@heraldcorp.com)