The Korean Cultural Centre Canada hosts <Home and other places, Ottawa> at the KCC Gallery from November 5 to November 15.  Produced by the Lee KangHa Art Museum, <Home and other places, Ottawa> is an exhibition to showcase the works created over the past two years by Lee Sun, curator of the Lee KangHa Art Museum, and three Korean artists, Kim Seol-a, Lee Jo-Heum and Ju Sae-woong, through exchanges with artists from Kinngait (Cape Dorset) in Nunavut, Canada. Under the theme of “home,” this exhibition presents the Korean artists’ reflections on “home” felt in the Canadian Arctic, a place so distant that it requires five flights to reach from Korea. It demonstrates how through art, artists from Korea and Canada, living far apart, can learn about and understand each other, making unfamiliar places another “home.” The Lee KangHa Art Museum, established in 2018 to study and commemorate the art world of the late Lee KangHa, began exchanges with the West Baffin Eskimo Co-op in Kinngait, Nunavut, in 2022. In 2023, the curator Lee Sun and the three Korean artists visited Iqaluit and Kinngait as part of the Korea-Canada Arctic Research Project, conducting artist residencies. In June 2024, they revisited Kinngait to collaborate with local artists and presented the <The Myth of the Arctic Becomes Image> exhibition at the Kenojuak Cultural Centre in Kinngait.  In response, artists from Kinngait also participated in the 14th Gwangju Biennale Canadian Pavilion in April 2023, showcasing around 90 works by 32 Inuit artists under the theme of <Myth Becomes Reality>. From September 2024, six Inuit and those three Korean artists have co-created the exhibition <Home and other places>, which is on display at the 15th Gwangju Biennale Canadian Pavilion until December 1.  The West Baffin Eskimo Co-operation was established in Kinngait (Cape Dorset), Nunavut, in 1959. Since its inception, the Co-op has supported and promoted local artists’ art making in the areas of printmaking, drawing, and sculpture.  About the Artists Seol-a Kim (b.1983), a painter and installation artist, has been featured in solo exhibitions like <When Numerous Mountains Scatter> (2021) and the Gwangju Museum of Art’s Young Artists Invitation Exhibition (2022). She was selected for the Korean National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art’s Artists Matching Program (2021).  Joheum Lee (b.1984) works with media, photography, and painting to explore contemporary life. Lee participated in the Gwangju Museum of Art’s International Residency program (2021) and exhibited at the Regional Exchange Exhibition at the Seongnam Arts Center and the National Asian Cultural Complex’s Media Wall (2022).  Saewoong Ju (Boogtom) (b.1982), a street dancer with twenty-six years of experience, practices art by means of performance, videography, and photography. Ju participated in “Boogie Woogie” exhibitions at the Ulsan Art Museum and the Toronto Nuit Blanche (2024).  Sun Lee (b. 1982), Chief Curator of the Lee KangHa Art Museum in Gwangju, is an expert in planning creative projects that connect the past and present while breaking down the boundaries of cities and countries. Lee co-curated the Canadian Pavilion at the 14th (2023) and 15th (2024) Gwangju Biennale and the 40th anniversary special exhibition to commemorate the May 18 Gwangju Democratic Uprising, <Maytoday>. She led the Arts Council Korea’s public art projects and the Korean National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art's network projects and spearheaded many exhibitions and international exchange projects while initiating artist workshops like <2019 Out of Museum>. Sungyeol Kim of the Korean Cultural Centre noted, “Held in celebration of the 2024-2025 Year of Korea-Canada Mutual Cultural Exchange, this exhibition portrays the works created by Korean artists based on their experiences of meeting and co-creating with artists living in the distant and different social, historical, and natural environment of Kinngait, Canada. It is specifically meaningful that the KCC shares the outcome of this unique collaboration between Korea and Canada with our fellow Canadians."  At the vernissage, Mathew Nuqingaq, CM, an Iqaluit-based master jeweler, silversmith, metal artist, sculptor, drum dancer, photographer, actor, and educator, will perform a duo with Saewoong Ju. Nuqingaq performed a drum dance for Ju’s collaborative movement video work <The Land> (2024), which will be presented during the exhibition. In addition to the duo performers, the other two Korean artists and the curator will all be present at the vernissage and participate in the following artist talk. This talk will be moderated by William Huffman, General Manager of the West Baffin Eskimo Co-op, who first initiated the Gwangju-Kinngait exchange in 2022 and has continued facilitating this meaningful international collaboration between Korea and Canada until now.  <Home and other places, Ottawa> ▶ Dates: November 5 – 15, 2024  ▶ Venue: The KCC Gallery (101-150 Elgin St., Ottawa)  ▶ Vernissage & Artist talk - Tuesday, November 5, 2024, 6 – 9 pm / The KCC Gallery - Artist Talk Moderator: William Huffman (General Manager, West Baffin Eskimo Co-op.)  - Registration: https://forms.gle/ECneLGNYZBfeiRfF8 ▶ Inquiry: The Korean Cultural Centre Canada (613-233-8008/ canada@korea.kr) Seol-a Kim, <The Shape of the Soul Like wind/ A beluga with a white heat>, 2024,  Pencil on paper, 55cm x 60cm  Joheum Lee, <Reflection>, 2024, Mirror acrylic & stainless steel ring, Variable size Saewoong Ju(Boogtom), <Aurora Harmonies>, 2023, Movement Video 

In celebration of the “2024-25 Year of Korea-Canada Cultural Exchange,” the Korean Cultural Centre Canada co-hosts with the OIS ART OF CANADA, a Korean-Canadian young artists exchange exhibition, <Ongoing>, at Dignam Gallery in Toronto from  October 9 to October 22.   <Ongoing> will feature works by 34 participants, including students from art universities and emerging young artists from both countries. The exhibition will showcase a diverse range of artwork, including paintings, sculptures, and drawings, highlighting the creative talent of the next generation poised to shape the future of cultural and artistic expression in both nations. Additionally, a collaborative live painting show titled “Harmony in Art” by participating artists will be held during the opening reception on Friday, October 11, from 5:00 PM to 8:00 PM. ● Date: October 9, 2024 (Wednesday) – October 22, 2024 (Tuesday) ● Location: Dignam Gallery, Women’s Art Association of Canada (23 Prince Arthur Ave. Toronto) For further information, please visit https://art.oiswith.com/2024/09/12/korean-canadian-young-artists-exchange-exhibition-ongoing/

The Korean Cultural Centre Canada presents <We, May Arrive Somewhere>, a multidisciplinary exhibition by the Montreal-based Korean-Canadian duo group THEIR (T)HERE at the KCC Gallery from September 27 to November 1.   The current Comprehensive Strategic Partnership between Korea and Canada is rooted in the first Canadian visit to Korea in 1888 when James Gale, a student at the University of Toronto, set foot in Busan for missionary work. It was long before the two countries officially established diplomatic relations in 1963. Now, Canada is the second most popular destination for Koreans emigrating to another country and the fifth most attractive destination for Korean students abroad. Canada is also home to some 240,000 people of Korean descent, the world’s fourth-largest Korean diaspora.    Reflecting this rapid development of the close relationship between our two countries, His Excellency YU In Chon, Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism for the Republic of Korea, and the Honourable Pascale St-Onge, Minister of Canadian Heritage, met in Ottawa in the past June and signed the Memorandum of Understanding for the Year of Cultural Exchanges 2024-2025. This historic event laid the foundation for fostering meaningful dialogue and connections between the Korean and Canadian arts and cultural sectors.  Presented as part of the Year of Korea-Canada Cultural Exchanges celebration programs, the exhibition <We, May Arrive Somewhere> is an artistic exploration of “migration” as seen through the eyes of Korean-Canadian artist duo THEIR (T)HERE.   THEIR (T)HERE is a duo composed of Jin Heewoong, a first-generation Korean immigrant visual artist, and Kevin Park Jung-Hoo, a second-generation Korean-Canadian filmmaker and visual artist, based in Tiohtià:ke/Mooniyang/Montréal. Noticing each other as neighbours, Jin and Park converged and discussed their different experiences and immigrant realities. Based on many of these discussions, their practice has contemplated the various dimensions of loss and grief commonly associated with the (im)migrant condition.  Expanding on this artist’s previous focus on "(im)migrants” as transnational nomads, the duo explores through this exhibition the broader concept of migrants who have had to leave their homes due to various recent global social, political, and economic reasons. The exhibition delves into themes such as the anxiety, lack of belonging, issues of mobility and temporality felt by these migrants.  About the Artists Jin Heewoong (b. 1985, Daejon, Korea) Jin Heewoong is an interdisciplinary artist based in Seoul and Tiohtià:ke/Montreal.  Jin holds a Bachelor’s and Master’s in Painting from Cheongju University. He is currently pursuing his MFA program in the sculpture department at Concordia University. Jin’s works have been presented at Centre Mai (Montreal, 2023), Maison de la culture Janine-Sutto (Montreal, 2022), Ignition at Leonard & Bina Art Gallery (Montreal, 2022), Peripheral Hours, Tiohtià:ke/Montreal (2019) and Real DMZ project, Art Sonje Center (KOR, 2015), Cheongju International Craft Biennale 2017 (KOR). He is a co-founding member of Quite Ourselves, a group of artists seeking sustainable mobility in life and art creation. https://jinheewoong.com Kevin Jung-Hoo Park (b. 1991, Toronto, Canada) Kevin Jung-Hoo Park is a Korean-Canadian filmmaker and visual artist based in Tiohtià:ke/Mooniyang/Montréal. He received his BFA in Film Production from Concordia and is currently a MFA candidate at the same university. Park has explored personal narratives through various mediums, including (but not limited to) film/video, photography, and performance as ways to address how one establishes and recreates their spatio-temporality surrounding as they form their identity. Park participated in the Korean Film Festival in Montreal (2023), San Diego Underground Film Festival (2016) and the Instant Video Poetic Festival in France (2016). His works have been presented in Montreal at the Centre Mai (2023), Ignition at Leonard & Bina Art Gallery (2022), FOFA Gallery (2018) and Visual Voice Gallery (2017). https://kevinparkjunghoo.com/About We, May Arrive Somewhere  ○ Dates: 2024. 09. 27. ~ 11. 1. ○ Venue: The Korean Culture Centre Canada (101-150 Elgin St., Ottawa)  ○ Vernissage & Artist talk    - Friday, September 27, 2024, 6~8 pm/ The KCC Gallery    - Artist Talk Moderator: Ming Tiampo (Full Professor of Art History, co-director of the Centre for Transnational Cultural Analysis and the Institute for Comparative Studies in Literature, Art and Culture at Carleton University.)    - Registration: https://forms.gle/hc7U9mVMeziMLhRR6 ○ Inquiry: The Korean Cultural Centre Canada (613-233-8008/ canada@korea.kr)

In commemoration of the designation of ‘2024-2025 Year of Korea-Canada Cultural Exchanges,’ the Korean Cultural Center Canada presents the Korea-Canada Photographic Exhibition <Whispering Silence: Han Sungpil & Leslie Reid> in the KCC Gallery from July 19th to September 6th.  The two countries designated 2024-2025 as the ‘Year of Korea-Canada Cultural Exchanges.’ Last month, the cultural ministers of both nations, H.E. Minister Yu In Chon (Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Republic of Korea) and the Honourable Pascale St-Onge (Minister of Canadian Heritage), met in Ottawa and signed a memorandum of understanding for the operation of the '2024-2025 Korea-Canada Cultural Exchanges'.   The <Whispering Silence: Han Sungpil & Leslie Reid> exhibition showcases the efforts of Korea-Canada mutual cultural exchanges through photographic art.  Han Sungpil, a prominent photographer, introduces the geological beauty of the ancient volcanic landscape and rock formations in the northernmost Yeoncheon DMZ border area of South Korea. His work juxtaposes the potential risks of existence within the reality of the divided Korean Peninsula with hidden surreal landscapes. Additionally, the exhibition features two recent works capturing the aftermath of a large-scale wildfire in western Canada, where winter snow blankets the scorched land. Further information on Han Sungpil and his works: http://hansungpil.com Renowned Canadian painter and photographer Leslie Reid focuses on the changing images of the Kluane icefield in Yukon, near the Alaska border, and the climate change research conducted by scientists in that region. “In looking at issues of displacement, fragility, refuge, survival and resilience, leading to hope and reconciliation, the images reveal the sharp poignancy of standing the moment.” Further information on Leslie Reid and her works: https://lesliereid.ca/bio.html Through this exhibition, the KCC hopes that Korean and Canadian artists convey messages from nature through their artworks, seeking a future-oriented collaborative response and exploring the restoration of humanity.   <Whispering Silence: Han Sungpil & Leslie Reid> - Korea-Canada Photographic Exhibition ○ Dates: Friday, July 19 ~ Friday, September 6, 2024 ○ Venue: The Korean Cultural Centre Gallery (101-150 Elgin St., Ottawa)      (1) Vernissage: Friday, July 19, at 6 pm/ the KCC        Register here:  https://forms.gle/fDiXzhSfbmsSGndB8   (2) Artist talk: Saturday, July 20, at 2 pm/ SPAO Centre (77 Pamilla St, Ottawa)        Register Here: https://forms.gle/o5kq6H5bRFF1EMTt9  ○ Inquiry: Korean Cultural Centre Canada                   (613) 233-8008/ canada@korea.kr

The Korean Cultural Centre Canada hosted an artist talk by Jongwook Park on Friday, June 7, as part of the  <Kaleidoscopic Korea 2: Hangeul Exhibition> public program.