Highlights from Busan Biennale 2018: Divided We Stand
By HG Masters
The exterior of the Museum of Contemporary Art Busan, with AUGUSTIN MAURS’
In recent years, South Korea’s second city Busan—known for its beaches, film festival, wriggling-fresh seafood and nightlife—has been endeavoring to establish itself on the national and regional art scene. The city has its own artist community and even an art fair since 2012. The municipality-sponsored Busan Biennale, now in its 11th edition, is a big part of the city’s cultural dynamic. In 2016, the Biennale took place in the Busan Museum of Art—which has a notable collection of modern and contemporary art from the region and is also home to the Lee Ufan-designed Space Lee Ufan—and F1963, a factory converted into a cultural space, where Seoul’s powerhouse Kukje Gallery has now set up an outpost. For the 2018 edition, the Biennale shifted its primary venue to the newly opened Museum of Contemporary Art Busan (MoCA Busan), located on the island of Eulsukdo, with a portion of the show unfolding at the former Bank of Korea building in the downtown area.
