The Busan Museum of Art has announced that it will host "Loop Lab Busan", a digital and media art festival, in collaboration with Loop Barcelona and the cultural planning organization Affliction. The event, running from April to June, will be Asia’s first alternative art festival exploring horizontal solidarity within communities through time-based and image-driven digital media art.
The festival will feature an art fair, exhibitions, and forums, offering a comprehensive platform for digital and media art. The art fair, which will take place from April 24 to 26 at Grand Josun Busan, will introduce experimental digital media art through collaborations with 30 internationally renowned galleries and institutions that have previously participated in Loop Barcelona. The fair will include a section dedicated to galleries and another highlighting individual artists, providing a unique opportunity to engage closely with movement- and time-based works in an interactive environment.
In addition to the art fair, a series of concurrent exhibitions will take place across public and private art venues in Busan. The Busan Museum of Art will transform its outdoor sculpture garden into a site-specific exhibition titled "Digital Subculture," offering a multi-sensory experience that reflects contemporary digital aesthetics.
The festival will also include a series of thematic forums, covering key topics at the intersection of art and society. The "Future Museum Forum" will explore the evolving role of art institutions in contemporary society, while the "Art and Capital Forum" will examine the intersection of art finance and the real economy. Additionally, the "Asia Curators Forum" will bring together curators from across the region to discuss the cultural identity of contemporary Asian art.
Busan Museum of Art Director Seo Jin Seok emphasized the festival’s boundary-pushing approach, stating, "Loop Lab Busan challenges the conventional distinctions between popular culture and contemporary art, as well as between for-profit and non-profit artistic practices. Through collaboration and shared experiences, the festival seeks to create a multifaceted artistic ecosystem that invites audiences to explore new possibilities beyond 20th-century mainstream art."
Further details on participation and event schedules can be obtained through the museum’s curatorial research office. With its ambitious scope and commitment to artistic innovation, Loop Lab Busan is set to become a significant milestone in the evolution of digital and media art in Asia.
Sayart / Jason Yim, yimjongho1969@gmail.com
