The Gwangju Biennale is facing disruption just days before its opening after the Chinese pavilion team announced it would withdraw its exhibition.
The Chinese exhibition team held a press conference Thursday at the Ha Jungwoong Museum of Art in Gwangju, announcing it had "unanimously decided to withdraw the exhibition to express strong protest."
Ruan Weilai, a curator with the Chinese pavilion's planning team, said the team had placed great importance on the Gwangju Biennale and had put considerable effort into organizing and mounting the Chinese pavilion's exhibition. However, she said the biennale's organizers had used an incorrect name in connection with a Taiwan exhibition's participation, allowing political factors to intrude into the realm of art.
The press conference ended after just three minutes, with no questions taken after the statement was delivered.
The dispute centers on the name used for the National Taiwan Museum of Fine Arts' pavilion.
Taiwan's Ministry of Culture said it had been negotiating to use the name "Taiwan Pavilion" but that organizers abruptly switched to the museum's abbreviated institutional name, NTMoFA, starting in June.
The Gwangju Biennale Foundation argued it was required to use the institutional abbreviation because the contract was for an institutional pavilion, not a national one. But as criticism mounted from the domestic and international art world and installation work fell behind schedule, the foundation approved the National Taiwan Museum of Fine Arts' request to reclassify its pavilion as a national pavilion to allow the exhibition to proceed smoothly.
In response, the Chinese pavilion team halted installation work at the Ha Jungwoong Museum of Art — work that had been underway since Friday — and lodged a formal protest.
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