Finding a Language of Resistance: Busan Biennale Opens
Creatrip Team
21 days ago
The 2026 Busan Biennale opened with the theme “Discordant Chorus,” centering sound-based works that link to Korea’s protest culture. Across three venues including Busan Museum of Modern Art and waterfront sites in Yeongdo, 46 artist teams from 22 countries present pieces using protest songs (minjung gayo), chants, shamanic songs (mu-ga), labor songs, club music and newly composed choral works to create a “listening” space confronting political crisis. Highlights include Im Min-uk’s printed fabric works using album jackets from a minjung gayo archive, Thanat Tiradekon’s remix and protest-music-themed merchandise, and a 19‑speaker installation by Belgian artist Brahim Tal that layers individual voices into a chorus evoking the sea’s liberating power. Curators Amal Khalaf and Eveline Saimons frame Busan — its ports, histories of labor struggle (notably Kim Jin-suk’s 2011 crane occupation), and coastal landscape — as both context and collaborator, with community-made large textile scores and site-specific displays in former schoolyards and converted ship-repair warehouses. Parallel shows around the city include a large solo exhibition by French glass artist Jean‑Michel Othoniel at F1963 and a returning solo by Thai artist Korakrit Arunanondchai. The Biennale runs through November 1.
