Outreach Project #1-6_Seeing with 10 Fingers

Period

Wednesday, September 25, 2024 ~ Sunday, October 20, 2024

Venue

Donga University, Seokdang Museum of Art

Artists

Kim Doki, Kim Eunseol, Oum Jeongsoon, Cho Youngjoo, Hong Bomi, SEOM:

Media

Installation, Sound, Performance, Community Art

Curator

Hanna Park

내용

Since May of this year, the Busan Museum of Contemporary Art has been engaged in six art projects with various communities of people with and without disabilities. These projects are to conclude with a report exhibition called Outreach Art Projects #1–6 at the Seokdang Museum of Art at Dong-a University.

The title Outreach Art Projects #1–6: Seeing with 10 Fingers encompasses three messages:

① OUTREACH: Going beyond the fixed space of the art museum

② PROJECTS #1–6: Six projects taking place in advance of the 2025 special exhibition

③ SEEING WITH 10 FINGERS: A metaphor for the eyes, exploring the senses and sensations that change creatively according to the situation

 

Outreach Art Projects #1–6 are taking place as a lead-in to the 2025 special exhibition Seeing with 10 Fingers. It is being organized as the first barrier-free exhibition of the Busan Museum of Contemporary Art, able to be appreciated by the disabled and non-disabled alike. Towards planning an inclusive art exhibition that creatively accommodates disabilities, we have identified three key themes for groundwork that must be laid first. The Outreach Art Projects #1–6 series is accordingly being implemented to create a solid foundation for a universally accessible exhibition, seeking substantive change.

 

1. The New Museology

In bringing disability issues into the art museum, our primary focus is on ‘museum’ rather than ‘disability’. An art museum now plays a key role in addressing social disconnection and disparities through the medium of art. However, to the public, an art museum is generally considered a ‘hip’ or perhaps an esoteric place. It is hard to get away from the impression that, among the many functions of an art museum, those of entertainment and knowledge production have been overblown or distorted. In order to make the ‘public-ness’ of art museums be recognized, the museum’s operations must be reorganized from the perspective of the ‘new museology’. Who are the audiences that art museums have failed to consider? What kinds of experiences have not been provided? Are art museums neutral in performing their social function? Seeing with 10 Fingers is an exhibition highlighting the theme of sensory transference, created to be appreciated by both disabled and non-disabled visitors to seek practical solutions to questions like those above.

 

2. Access and Intimacy

When it comes to organizations welcoming and accommodating visitors with disabilities, the factors generally given first consideration are facilities and assistive devices. However, what matters still more is building close relationships with people who have disabilities and offering a warm welcome. For the place to be perceived as a safe and comfortable space for people with disabilities, what must come first are relationships and an enjoyable experience.

Outreach Art Projects #1–6 meet and interact both inside and outside the museum with stakeholders interested in disability issues, including artists, individuals, groups, and people with disabilities. We intend to build up understanding and trust and then bring this back to the museum, developing a roadmap for gradually working on barrier-free exhibitions and improving the museum’s accessibility.

 

3. Ten Thousand Senses

Outreach Art Projects #1–6 is a series of art projects based on the premise that sensory functions and responses vary across the spectrum of physical diversity. Different sensory functions of the body are explored from the standpoint that physical senses such as touch, sight, and hearing are not fixed but rather fluid, subject to change and renewal under different situations and conditions. Through this series, we envision a world where sensory diversity is respected, and offer a critique of the disparities of a modern society designed from an ableist and visual-centric perspective.

 

** Download of Exhibition Guide