Gangnam-gu will host "2026 Gangnam Art," connecting Dosan Park, galleries and museums across the Cheongdam and Apgujeong neighborhoods into a single sprawling arts stage to coincide with the opening of Kiaf and Frieze Seoul 2026.
The program is designed to let visitors spend their days browsing gallery exhibitions and their evenings moving between Dosan Park and Cheongdam galleries transformed into art spaces, with performances and dining woven throughout.
The centerpiece is "Gangnam Art Salon," a one-day outdoor gallery event running from 5 p.m. to 10 p.m. on Tuesday at Dosan Park. For that evening, the park will shed its identity as an urban green space and become an outdoor arts venue where light, media art and live performance converge. Visitors will be welcomed at the main gate and guided along a walking path past digital works, forest-side performances, brand experiences and food stalls arranged in a single flowing circuit.
A highlight of the path will be a series of white canopies inspired by Korean "bojagi" wrapping cloth and hanji paper, draped over the walkway to give the entire park a unified artistic atmosphere. After dark, soft lighting will illuminate the canopies while large digital screens along the path display media art installations. The main gate welcome area, food trucks, a digital gallery, a live performance stage, traditional liquor and beverage tastings, and a beauty brand zone will all connect along one continuous route, allowing visitors to encounter each element naturally as they stroll through the park.
Live music will add to the festival atmosphere, with the YouTube channel "JKout" — which has 2.29 million subscribers — and a surprise guest taking the stage to fill a Dosan Park autumn evening with music. On-site brand experiences and tasting programs from Bacha Coffee, Hanbino, Seoul Jangsoo and Moev, along with food trucks, will also be in operation.
Also on Tuesday, "Cheongdam Night" will run simultaneously across the Cheongdam and Apgujeong area. Twenty-six galleries and art spaces — including Songeun, Space776, G Gallery, Posco Art Museum and Hansot Art Space — will stay open until 10 p.m., each offering its own programming: docent tours, artist talks, exhibition openings, performances and beverage receptions. A free art shuttle bus connecting major galleries will run from 5 p.m. with support from the Seoul Tourism Foundation.
Scattered throughout both Dosan Park and Cheongdam Night will be "The Find Seoul," a participatory public art project by British artist Ryan Gander. Visitors can hunt for the artist's coin works hidden across galleries and event venues and keep whatever they find. The project launched in Manchester in 2023 and has since traveled to Cáceres, Spain, and Okayama, Japan, before arriving in Seoul; participants can share their discoveries using the hashtag #TheFindSeoul.
From Thursday through Tuesday, a "Gallery Stamp Tour" will link 49 galleries and art spaces across Gangnam — spanning the Sinsa, Apgujeong, Cheongdam, Nonhyeon and Samseong neighborhoods. Visitors who collect verification stickers by attending exhibitions can redeem them for prizes including Kiaf and Frieze Seoul tickets and beauty and health products, depending on how many they accumulate. Gifts will be distributed on a first-come, first-served basis from Sept. 3 to 5 at the general information desk on the first floor of COEX, open from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Additional perks include a discount at the Bacha Coffee Cheongdam flagship store and on-site events at Hansot Art Space.
Gangnam-gu District Mayor Kim Hyun-ki said the festival was designed so that domestic and international visitors coming to Gangnam for Kiaf and Frieze would not simply stay inside the exhibition halls but would walk through Dosan Park, the Cheongdam and Apgujeong streets, and the galleries to experience the neighborhood's art and culture firsthand. "We will continue to develop differentiated arts content so that Gangnam-gu can establish itself as a world-class hub for culture and the arts," he said.
seouldream01@heraldcorp.com
