article on IWAB from the Korea Times

Spotlight on Women Artists at Incheon Biennale

The billboard is part of New York-based artist Lee Chang-jin’s “Comfort Women Wanted” mixed media installation at Incheon Art Platform, as part of the Incheon Women Artists’ Biennale. / Courtesy of the artist

By Cathy Rose A. Garcia
Staff Reporter

Incheon is already known for its international airport, its seaport, Chinatown and the Pentaport rock festival, but the port city also wants to become a contemporary art and cultural hub of Korea.

For the entire month of August, Incheon is the site for a unique contemporary art biennale that shines the spotlight on women artists. Nearly 300 artists from 40 countries are participating in the second Incheon Women Artists’ Biennale (IWAB), which opens Saturday.

It is only timely and relevant to have a contemporary art biennale focusing on women artists. The international art world has always been criticized for being sexist and male-dominated, and Korea is no exception.

Yang Eun-hee, commissioner of the Main Exhibition at the biennale, said there is a big disparity between the number of male and female artists shown in art institutions and museums in Korea.

“In the Korean art world, the museums’ major collections have less than 20 percent, or even 10 percent, of artworks by female artists,” Yang told The Korea Times. “I also did some research at the National Museum of Contemporary Art in Gwacheon. For their new acquisitions in 2007, only 11 percent were women artists. It’s very low.”

Even major contemporary art biennales around the world are traditionally seen as male-dominated events. This is one of the reasons that spurred the creation of the Incheon Women Artists Biennale. ……CONTINUE READING