Disabled artists participating in a special exhibition at the former presidential compound of Cheong Wa Dae in Seoul pose for a group photo during the opening ceremony of the exhibition on Aug. 31, 2022. (Yonhap)
SEOUL, Aug. 31 (Korea Bizwire) — A special exhibition of art pieces by disabled artists kicked off at the former presidential compound of Cheong Wa Dae with a ceremony Wednesday as the first program to be held under a government plan to use the facility as an art center.
Hosted by the private Federation of Disability Culture and Arts Associations of Korea, the exhibition with the title roughly translated to “Into the People, Into Harmony” will be held till Sept. 19.
On display are some 60 works by 50 artists who are working actively despite their physical disabilities.
For the exhibition, 59 works in various fields such as Western and Korean painting, calligraphy, and crafts were chosen through a public contest.
This photo provided by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism shows a painting by Jung Eun-hye, a caricature artist with Down syndrome who played Yeong-hee, the twin sister of Yeong-ok (played by Han Ji-min), in the popular 2022 tvN drama “Our Blues,” on display in a special exhibition at Cheong Wa Dae in Seoul on Aug. 31, 2022.
A pixel drawing by Kim Hyun-woo, an internationally celebrated Korean artist with Down syndrome, was temporarily moved to the exhibition venue from the wall of President Yoon Suk-yeol’s office.
The drawing caught the attention of U.S. President Joe Biden when he visited there for a summit with Yoon in May.
Jung Eun-hye, a caricature artist with Down syndrome who impressed the public with her performance as Yeong-hee, the twin sister of Yeong-ok (played by Han Ji-min), in the popular 2022 tvN drama “Our Blues,” also took part in the exhibition.
The oldest of the 50 artists is Bang Doo-young, born in 1947.
Bang lost his hearing ability when he was in the fifth grade of elementary school and has since engaged in artistic activities expressing the difficulty of communication through paintings.
His Western painting titled “Unstable City-Where We Are Going,” one of the artworks on display, depicts the birth of all life and the unstable life of today’s urban dwellers who are constantly under pressure to keep going without even knowing where they are heading.
The event sponsored by the culture ministry marks the first exhibition to be held at Cheong Wa Dae after the ministry announced a plan last month to transform the site into a multipurpose cultural complex.
This photo provided by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism shows a painting by Bang Doo-young, which is on display in a special exhibition at Cheong Wa Dae in Seoul on Aug. 31, 2022.
Cheong Wa Dae was the site of the presidential office and residence for over seven decades before President Yoon relocated his office to Seoul’s Yongsan area in May as a way to get closer to the people.
Since then, Cheong Wa Dae has been open to the public, drawing nearly 1.4 million visitors as of the end of July.
Park Bo-gyoon, culture minister, said in his congratulatory message printed on a brochure that the event is meaningful as the first exhibition to be held at the historical site that will serve as a major art and culture center.
“This special exhibition will provide an intense scene of empathy, communication and inclusion of disabled and non-disabled people in the art scene,” he added.
Chunchugwan, the building where the exhibition is being held, had mainly been used as a press center for journalists covering the presidential office since it was built in 1990.
The ministry said it set up makeshift walls inside the former press briefing room on the second floor to hold the exhibition without damaging the building.
(Yonhap)
