“We know that avant-garde is a universal belief. But how this universal belief has materialized in the Asian context has not been dealt with in-depth,” said Bartomeu Mari, director of the MMCA, at a press conference on Friday when he announced a three-year plan from 2016 to 2018, for the museum.

“In this global dialogue, the MMCA and the Korean art system cannot be absent in such discussion,” Mari said.

Research is one of the areas that will be strengthened during his term (2016-2018), Mari explained, with the museum acting as a platform that encourages independent study programs, symposiums and lectures. It will also be a platform for generating creative ideas that can later turn into exhibitions and other museum programs.

“A museum is not a box full of precious things,” Mari noted. “It’s an enzyme of intelligence where experiences, ideas are generated and exchanged.”

Mari is the first foreign director of the Korean national art museum. He served as a director of the Barcelona Museum of Contemporary Art from 2008-2015. He currently serves as the president of the International Committee of Museums and Collections of Modern Art, which has 510 member museums across 74 countries.

Mari’s appointment came as part of the Culture Ministry’s plan to turn the Museum into a top global art institution.

“My mission that I received from the Culture Ministry was very specific -- to turn the MMCA into a top international level museum,” Mari said.

“If you question what it takes to globalize Korean art, the answer would be make it better known. We have to go from individual artists -- that is my belief. There is a strong museum if there is a very important community of artists who are very diverse and up-to-date on the series of current languages in the art world.”

The MMCA will cut down the number of exhibitions it usually holds each year so as to upgrade the quality of exhibitions and encourage its staff to specialize in different areas of art. This year, the museum is presenting a total of 46 exhibitions, most of which were planned a few years ago.

Mari’s plan will also involve restructuring the museum organization and relocating staff members so they can focus on their areas of expertise.

“By doing so, we would like to generate new audiences, introduce new voices and programs and obtain a much higher level of impact on contemporary Korean culture,” said Mari.

By Lee Woo-young  (wylee@heraldcorp.com)