Artists' center opens in Ansan

A storage in Gyeonggi Creation Center [Gyeonggi Creation Center] Not all artists can afford to own storage rooms where they can keep their unsold paintings and sculptures. The bigger the works are, the bigger the problem gets. Artists should check with Gyeonggi Creation Center, Korea's biggest residential art center which opened last October in Ansan. It will open its storage rooms of more than 800 square meters to store art works. Both Korean and foreign artists who currently reside in Korea can apply for a spot. Divided in two floors, there are 32 storage rooms of different sizes. The rooms are furnished with atmosphere controllers. The center, which is affiliated with Gyeonggi Museum of Modern Art, will not only take care of the works but also promote them and arrange different exhibitions and auctions. "It is difficult for an artist to store and care for their works by themselves as the diversity of art works has increased. This program which offers professional preservation and management of the works is the most substantial program for contemporary artists," said a center official.

The center will accept applications until the end of the month and select works that are worth preserving. There is enough room to store works by at least 30 artists, according to the center. Selected works can be stored from March.

The rent is composed of insurance and a management fee. Artists can pay it also with their artworks. The lease is renewable on an annual basis.

Though the storage rooms are only open to local artists, the center's residency programs are open to artists who live outside Korea.

The center finished its pilot artist-in-residence program with 24 artists - 16 Korean and eight foreign - in December and is currently going over applications of over 850 artists - 400 Korean and 450 foreign - who signed up for the first official residency program.

Among them, 50 artists will be invited to research and create fresh artworks at the center starting from March. The center will pay transport costs for artists from other countries.

For more information, call (032) 890-4823 or visit www.gyeonggicreationcenter.org

(claire@heraldm.com)

By Park Min-young