Gwangju Art Honors 5·18: Remembering Resistance and Extending Solidarity
Creatrip Team
7 days ago
In May, Gwangju’s major art venues present exhibitions commemorating the 5·18 Democratic Uprising, turning mourning into active testimony for democracy, human rights and peace. The National Asia Culture Center (ACC) hosts “Devices of Asia,” featuring expanded video work by Jang Min-seung that intercuts 1980 Gwangju scenes with present-day traces to create an immersive experience. Other ACC pieces connect past and ongoing struggles across Asia—Hong Jin-hwan’s video pairs 1980s democratization with 2000s labor protests, while works by Hong Kong and Taiwanese artists document pro-democracy and migrant labor actions. The thematic show “Cosmo Asia People” reframes 5·18 as a call for plural values and solidarity; works highlighted include Lee Ungno’s depiction of the people and a collaborative video by Professor Jin Tae-won and artist Jeon Ji-in that honors mutual testimony among marginalized protesters. The Gwangju Museum of Art features new large paintings by renowned minjung (people’s) artist Kang Yo-bae evoking tense scenes from May 1980, and the 5·18 Democracy Movement Archive gathers photos and videos from journalists and citizens to show how the uprising has been documented and resisted erasure. The archive’s photo exhibition, shown internationally, aims to revive the uprising’s spirit amid global democratic crises. (5·18 refers to the May 18, 1980 Gwangju Democratization Uprising.)
