Tate Modern curator appointed as artistic director for 2023 Gwangju Biennale

Lee Sook-kyung, the newly appointed artistic director of the 14th Gwangju Biennale / Courtesy of Gwangju Biennale Foundation

By Park Han-sol

Lee Sook-kyung, the senior curator of international art at the Tate Modern in London, has been named the artistic director for the 14th edition of the Gwangju Biennale. Slated for April 2023, the event is one of the most renowned contemporary art biennales in Asia.

Her appointment marks the first time for a Korean national to organize the exhibition since 2006, when former Seoul Museum of Art director Kim Hong-hee led the event.

"As we approach a historic turning point [of the 30th anniversary of the biennale], there are many meanings to a South Korea-born curator with an international presence taking the lead in enhancing an organic link between Korean and international arts," the Gwangju Biennale Foundation said in a statement.

Lee has been active in the international contemporary art curating scene for the past 28 years. Prior to her 14 years of working at Tate, she curated for the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Korea (MMCA) in the 1990s. She also commissioned and curated the Korean Pavilion for the 2015 Venice Biennale.

Her commitments to steering away from Western-centric discourses and supporting alternative critical narratives are reflected in her curatorial practice, the foundation continued ― including the recent Nam June Paik retrospective in celebration of the video art visionary, as well as "A Year in Art: Australia 1992," which aptly addresses the indigenous land rights of Aboriginals and Torres Strait Islanders.

For its 2023 edition, the biennale aims to bring the "Gwangju Spirit" of its regional host city under a transnational lens. The exhibition will focus on creating dialogues in regards to a wide range of issues, such as the ongoing history of pro-democracy movements, the hidden legacy of colonialism, indigenous cultures and the future of our climate.

"The role of art is to address our shared crisis and to propose future directions," Lee stressed, bringing attention to contemporary artists' exploration of themes of race and class inequality, climate action and the COVID-19 pandemic.

"I aim to create a message unique to Gwangju based on the spirit of the city and its Biennale, with a commitment to a non-Western perspective. A transformation of the relationship between centers and peripheries, truly equal connections and exchanges and a vision for better human communities will all be present."

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