This year’s exhibition takes place under the theme of Art & Environment = CROSSING. A multinational network of artistic practice and discussion on art and environment. 50 artists from 5 countries – Belgium, France, Israel, Korea and Mongolia – take part in exhibitions to present their work discourse in four of Gwangju’s cultural and artistic sites.

Alexandra Dementieva is the curator for the Belgian section. She states:

We live in troubled times. While the 21st century opened the era of high-tech inventions, increasingly implemented in our daily lives making it comfortable and pleasant, the consequences of this development are climate change, the destruction of forest systems, water pollution, extermination of other living species and social changes. Society is increasingly divided between the extremely rich and very poor.

Our era is called Anthropocene coining the moment when human beings became the main driver of changes in the environment. If anthropocentrism were concerned with the good of both present and future generations, it wouldn’t have condoned the global spread of the frivolous excessive exploitation of limited resources which are turned into merchandise.

Art Platform On ‘Art & Environment = Crossing’ creates an opportunity to open up debates on the international level on these pressing topics, to bring into discussions hidden or carefully avoided issues by cutting-edge industries and the leading world elite.

It is a big mistake to think that this murderous tendency can not be resisted. Every person with a small contribution can undermine it, but that means everyone has to be aware of it and realize the power of their contribution to the process. Art and education must henceforth be favoured as the main factors of this movement.

Artists, with their ability to create visual representations can awaken and inspire the worldwide community to get involved in a process of improving life by thinking how to save the earth’s ecology, stop the war for natural resources and show alternative ways of developing our civilization on Earth.

It is certainly not an easy task and we have to create and maintain cooperation among all of us, overcoming all borders, to spread constructive and positive thoughts all over the world.

Belgian artists:

Beatrijs Albers & Reggy Timmermans

Yvonne De Grazia

Alexandra Dementieva

Various Artists

Koen Wastyn

Chonnam National University Museum, Miro Centre, Lee Lee Nam Studio, Thinking Box Gallery

8 – 16 November 2022

Featured images by Alexandra Dementieva