The Busan Biennale Organizing Committee has announced Tae-Won Park, a sculptor, as the Artistic Director of the Sea Art Festival 2013 and will now begin the preparation of the event.

Following the Sea Art Festival 2013 plan approved at the Annual General Meeting held on February 27, the Organizing Committee had been preparing for an appointment of an Artistic Director. Among the candidates eliminated through two meetings held by the Selection Committee, Tae-Won Park the final approval from the Chairman as the Artistic Director of the Sea Art Festival 2013.

This year’s selection of the Artistic Director was the result of adopting an artistic director system in the management of the exhibition in the means to mature as more comprehensive and specialized event. It also is a reflection of the Organizing Committee’s aim to highlight the unique characteristics of the Sea Art Festival that is open and public-friendly, and to present its future direction.

Tae-Won Park, the Artistic Director of the Sea Art Festival 2013, proposes his curatorial direction using three keywords: ‘Remembrance,’ ‘Marks,’ and ‘People.’ First keyword ‘Remembrance’ is to look back and reminisce the history of 100-year-old Songdo and the 26-year-old Sea Art Festival, and will provide rich variety of attractions such as paintings, photographs, and videos. Second keyword ‘Marks’ symbolizes the present of the Sea Art Festival and will provide a refreshing experience of blending contemporary art in the natural environment of Songdo Beach. The last keyword ‘People’ manifests the Sea Art Festival’s identity, characterized by its openness, and the future that is to be conceived through communication and participation from a variety of people through various genres of art.

Tae-Won Park, the Artistic Director of the Sea Art Festival 2013, born in 1963, is a mid-career artist based in Busan. Park graduated from the Pusan ​​National University where he studied Fine Arts for his bachelor’s and master’s degrees. He has had eight solo exhibitions and has participated in numerous group exhibitions, which include the Busan Biennale Sea Art Festival, the Busan International Sculpture Exhibition, and the Korea Art Association Exhibition. He was also a member of the 2008 and 2009 Busan Biennale Operating Committee and the Sea Art Festival 2011 Exhibition Planning Committee. Currently, he is the Planning Chairman of the Busan Fine Arts Association and the Regional Director of the Korean Sculptor’s Association.