Gwangju Biennale Opens in September With You Must Change Your Life Theme
The 16th Gwangju Biennale in South Korea is set to open in September and run for 72 days through November at the Gwangju Biennale Exhibition Hall. The Singapore-born Ho Chuni-en serves as artistic director for the event, with Park Chan-kyung, Brian Kuan Wood, and Choi Kyung-hwa acting as curators.
The biennale’s theme is You Must Change Your Life, a nod to the final line of Rainer Maria Rilke’s poem Archaic Torso of Apollo. Organizers say the show will foreground art as a force for transformation and urgent action in the face of global crises, rather than mere contemplation.
Ho Chuni-en described the exhibition as a curated journey in which visitors “experience changes in scale and tempo,” stressing that Gwangju’s history of democratic struggle gives the city a unique resonance for such a project. He added that change here is tangible, not merely a theoretical concept.
Among the commissioned works is Bulrim, a new collaboration by Kwon Byung-joon and Park Chan-kyung. The piece draws on Korea’s shamanic practice of Sŏgulrib, collecting metal objects donated by residents—from dishes to jewelry—and forging them into a sound installation that returns as rhythm, vibration, and shared sound to the community.
Another commissioned work comes from Jacqueline Kiomi Gook (재클린 키요미 고크), who uses air pressure, feedback systems, and multi-channel techno sound to create a maze-like air structure that unfolds into an evolving architectural sound environment, described by the organizers as an emotionally resonant form of space.
Nam Hwa-yeon contributes a piece rooted in late 18th-century Joseon history, examining how Catholicism arrived and faced persecution, and how religious belief shaped women’s agency in that era. The work invites reflection on the long arc of religious and gender dynamics in Korean history.
This edition is notable for featuring the fewest number of artists in the biennale’s history, a deliberate choice by Ho Chuni-en to emphasize density and the cross-cutting throughlines of a smaller, more tightly connected program. He said the aim is to deepen engagement by presenting more sustained, interwoven works and conversations.
Beyond Korea, the biennale matters for U.S. audiences because it highlights a growing exchange between Korean and international artists and curators—exemplified by the inclusion of Brian Kuan Wood, a prominent U.S.-based curator. The event spotlights new media, sound art, and performance that could influence how American museums and contemporary-art audiences approach cross-cultural collaboration, material ethics, and community-centered practice. It also underscores Korea’s ongoing role as a hub for global art discourse, with potential implications for artists, funders, and collectors seeking interconnected opportunities in Asia and beyond.