Art Busan is incontestably South Korea's second biggest fair, despite a venue outside the capital of this highly centralised country. Its founder and director, Younghee Sohn, talks about the birth of a highly ambitious project.
Why did you want to create a fair? Fairs help to promote the local art ecosystem around a specific moment, and indirectly give it more structure and maturity. This means that regional artists receive greater support, and fairs also act as a vehicle for developing a city's culture and economy (...). In addition, Art Busan is more like an art festival than an event for wealthy collectors. Last year, we received 60,000 visitors in four days.
How has Art Busan developed since its creation? The company was founded in 2011 and we staged the first fair the following year. At that point we had 90 exhibitors, mainly from Asia. Many more have joined us since then, and we now have 164 participants from 17 countries. This year we are delighted to be hosting some new European galleries, including Almine Rech, Peres Projects and König, which have chosen us for their first steps in Korea.
Art…
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