In 2022, Arko Art Center, under the theme of “Accessibility of the Art Museums”, hosted “Inclusive Curation: Disability Art as Radical Movement” in collaboration with the Goethe-Institut Korea. This year, the roundtable expands the theme to cover Barrier-free creative activities and invites speakers, including those from institutions in Korea, Germany, and Canada, disability art curators, and artists. There will be various case studies and presentations on creating and running a barrier-free creative environment.

This year’s roundtable will be held from 1:30 PM to 6:30 PM on November 28 (Tue.) at Space Yeolim (1F) of the ARKO Art Center. It will feature seven Korean and international presenters and two panelists. The roundtable will present presentations in two parts, followed by an open discussion. Simultaneous Korean-English interpretation, sign language interpretation, and real-time text interpretation will be provided.

In Session I, Heyyoung Jeong, who is leading the Art Hug Communication Center of the Gwangju Cultural Foundation, will present the “Current Status and Challenges of Creative Support for Disabled Artists in Gwangju.” Kyoungrin Park, the director of the exhibition space RE:PLAT, will share her experience in curating the disability art exhibition “Your World Where I Live.” Artist Dayoung Yu will share her experience about disabled artists’ independence and creative practices overseas - Focusing on Festival Tanz im August. Lastly, Juhyeong Kang, assistant manager of the Busan Cultural Foundation, will deliver her presentation on the collaboration between disabled and non-disabled artists as well as creative space operations at the Busan Cultural Foundation.

Session II will feature case studies of the ARKO Art Center and international speakers from Germany and Canada. Mijung Kim, curator at the ARKO Art Center, will share the process of implementing accessibility through the exhibition “To you: Move Toward Where You Are”; Jung-Suk Ryu, president and CEO of Canada’s National accessArts Centre (NaAC), will discuss the ecosystem of disability art creation in Canada; Angela Müller-Giannetti, project manager at Germany’s EUCREA, will share experiences with the topic of ‘From Inclusion to Diversity’. Lastly, there will be a free discussion with panelists Hwan Kim, a visual artist, and Yi Jihye, director of the Culture Mediation Practice Lab.

Following the event, there will be a tour of the Open Studio of the Seoul Foundation for Arts and Culture’s Creative Center. Everyone is encouraged to participate.

The roundtable will be recorded and made available later on the official YouTube channels of Arts Council Korea and ARKO Art Center.

*The resource book will be uploaded on November 28.

Related links

• Gwangju Cultural Foundation’s Disability Culture and Art Support
• “Your World Where I Live” Exhibition
• Artist Dayoung Yu’s website
• Busan Cultural Foundation’s Creative Space for Disabled Artists
• 2022 ARKO Art Center Themed Exhibition “To You: Your Direction”
• Canada’s National accessArts Center
• EUCREA(Germany)’s artistic education for creative individuals with disabilities