Touring craft exhibition brings Korean artisans to regions nationwide

A touring exhibition is set to bring craft shows — long concentrated in the greater Seoul area — to communities across the country.

The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the Korea Craft and Design Foundation announced Thursday that the touring craft exhibition program "Craft Masterpieces Come to You" will run from July 3 through February next year.

The exhibition is part of the ministry's "Our Town, Here It Comes!" initiative, which supports the staging of well-known performances and exhibitions in regional areas to narrow the cultural gap between the capital and the rest of the country. This year's edition marks the program's first foray into craft.

This year's "Craft Masterpieces Come to You" features four curated exhibitions, each reflecting the cultural and craft traditions of one of four regions: Gangwon, Yeongnam, Chungcheong and Honam-Jeju. Four specialist craft curators organized the shows, which bring together 104 artists from across the country presenting more than 600 works.

Each exhibition also features craft artists based in the respective region, giving the shows a distinctly local character. The program opened Thursday at Cheonan City Art Museum and will travel to 13 venues nationwide, including national and public museums, art museums and regional cultural spaces.

The Gangwon exhibition, "Homo Faber / Homo Sentiens: To Make, To Sense," was organized by curator Oh Ga-young and features 28 artists, including Gangwon Special Self-Governing Province intangible heritage holders Yang Yu-jin and Kim Byeong-uk. The show explores the sensory experience created by the physical properties of craft materials and the techniques used to work them. It will be held at Wonju Hakseong Gallery, the National Chuncheon Museum and Gangneung Arts Center.

The Yeongnam exhibition, "Yeongnam Yullyeo," curated by Hong Ji-su, brings together 32 artists — among them glass artist Park Sung-hoon, who won the gold prize at the 2023 Cheongju International Craft Competition — to reinterpret the natural landscapes and climate of the Yeongnam region through the harmonic framework of "yullyeo," the tonal system of Korean traditional music. The show opens at Busan Domoheon before moving to the Jinju Railway Culture Park Vehicle Maintenance Depot and Changwon Seongsan Art Hall.

The Chungcheong exhibition, "The Masterpieces of Korean Craft: Roots and Fruits," curated by Jang In-gi, uses the contrast between traditional and contemporary craft to illuminate new dimensions of Korean craft. Sixteen artists participate, including "Craft Artist of the Year" award winners Lee Heon-jeong, Go Bo-hyeong, Ha Ji-hun and Kim Jun-yong. The show runs at Cheonan City Art Museum, the Asan Onyang Folk Museum and Cheongju Korea Craft Museum.

The Honam-Jeju exhibition, "Common Wealth," curated by Kim Ye-seong, features 28 artists — including Kim Seung-u, a holder of a national intangible heritage designation — exploring the cultural value and communal significance of craft. It will be held at the National Iksan Museum, Yeosu Expo Convention Center, the Gwangju Design Center and Art Space Ia in Jeju.

A ministry official said the program was designed "to share the excellence of Korean craft with communities across the country and to help more people enjoy craft as part of their everyday lives," adding that the ministry hopes "this touring exhibition will forge closer ties between regions and craft culture, and help expand both the artistry and everyday relevance of Korean craft."