The 12th Seoul Mediacity Pre-Biennale I STATION was organized to re-read media practices and experiments in Korean art history in conjunction with the resources of Seoul Mediacity Biennale and to examine perceptions of media art at an empirical level. Inaugurated as media_city seoul in 2000, the Seoul Mediacity Biennale has since introduced exhibitions and programs in various locations throughout the city of Seoul. While many biennials, both domestically and abroad, have engaged with the context of modern art history vis-a-vis their own magnitudes, traditions, authorities, and characteristics, as a representative international exhibition of the Seoul Museum of Art, Seoul Mediacity Biennale has always sought to resonate with changes in media and urban landscapes in its capacity as a platform for contemporary art and experiments. Returning to the identity of such biennials, we encounter an exhibition called Seoul in Media, which was held three times between 1996 and 1999. During this period, the fledgling Seoul Museum of Art operated as a Cultural Facilities Management Office and managed exhibitions that were organized by external associations or organizations, in cooperation with the Seoul Metropolitan Government. In 1994, the Seoul Metropolitan Government opened the Seoul 600-Year Memorial Hall and mounted a large-scale event that both celebrated the founding of Joseon and marked Seoul’s 600-year history as the nation’s capital. In subsequent years, the managing entity overseeing the building was transferred to the Seoul Museum of Art, which began to organize regular exhibitions at the Seoul 600-Year Memorial Hall. 

The 1st Seoul in Media 1988-2002 focused not only on traditional media such as paintings, calligraphy, and sculpture, but also included contemporary art mediums that reflected the times―video, installation, graphics, film, and animation―and centered its discourse on the notion of viewing each medium through the perspective of everyday life. Such an exhibit, which presented images that both inside and out of the exhibition space, was extremely unconventional in Korea at the time. This unique, experimental spirit manifested in the form of a biennial exhibition that was held every two years, with each edition embracing its own distinct aesthetic that collectively yielded institutionally shared experiences. The 25-year narrative of Seoul Mediacity Biennale to date inherently leads toward an investigation of media art. This pre-biennale exhibition program functions as a protocol for testing the ideal operation of the Seoul Mediacity Biennale according to three parameters―a globally connected region, various intangible resources and an enduring institution are thus integrated like interlocking gears that propel the biennale forward. Conceived as a form of media unto itself, the 12th Seoul Mediacity Pre-Biennale Station serves as a stopover point and platform for aesthetic participation and production in the present.

Collaborating spaces: Citizen Hall, Roundnd cafe and Louis Collections at Jung-gu, Seoul Metropolitan Archives at Eunpyeong-gu, Midopa Coffeehouse at Seodaemun-gu, Object and Colorado Project at Mapo-gu and OEAT at Yongsan-gu

Admissions for Hong Cheolki’s Faux Wall and Inside of Round Kyuchul at the attic space are required online reservation from https://forms.gle/AYdNNTAtHNAgPmwE7

Please visit Seoul Mediacity Biennale's website for more information https://mediacityseoul.kr

[Photo Info] The 12th Seoul Mediacity Pre-Biennale Station  Exhibition View at Nam-Seoul Museum of Art, 2022. Photography by Euirock Lee