Introduction
The Seoul Artists’ Governance Platform is a joint art sharing platform scheduled to open in June 2021. The new Seoul Artists’ Governance Platform (expected to open inside the remodeled (former) Dongsung Art Center on Daehak-ro) will serve as a testing ground for various art programs that are governed by stakeholders in the art world. With the bulk of its focus on governance-related issues, the Platform will look to become a channel for open communication in the art world, while continuing experimental art activities, and building a safety net within the art world. Furthermore, the Platform is expected to function as an information outlet that provides information and education required by artists.
In December 2018, Seoul created the Seoul Artists’ Governance Platform Planning Group, and in 2019, various projects were conducted to promote the Platform’s potential to artists in the field. More specifically, the Planning Group carried out the “Dongsung Arts Salon,” which discussed the identity and operational method of the Seoul Artists’ Governance Platform, “Art Project Empty Place,” which explored the artistic use of the Platform’s facilities, and “Test Project for Idle Spaces,” which involved utilizing existing office spaces as workspaces or shared office spaces for artists.
In 2020, based on the activities of the Seoul Artists’ Governance Platform Planning Group in 2019, as well as public discussions on the Platform, Seoul is currently running the Seoul Artists’ Governance Platform Preparation Group. This Preparation Group features the Seoul Artists’ Governance Platform Planning Group, Working Groups, and the Seoul Artists’ Governance Platform Team at the Seoul Foundation for Arts and Culture. The Preparation Group, which was created through a public recruitment process in December 2019, is a more expanded governance system for the Seoul Artists’ Governance Platform that Art Office based on the system used for the planning group. It also remains operational as of 2020 (since December 2019). The Seoul Artists’ Governance Platform Working Group is conducting projects, each with individual missions to experiment with the core roles and functions of the Seoul Artists’ Governance Platform, which is scheduled to open in 2021. A total of four Working Groups are active: “Experimental Art Project” group, “Operational Model Development Working Group,” “Progressive Network Amplifier” group, and the “Sustainable Creative Platform” group.
The “Experimental Art Project” group is a working group in which artists from different genres and backgrounds work together to discover a common agenda through multiple meetings sessions and put it into practice through art-related work. The “Operational Model Development Working Group” works to establish a governance operating system unique to the Seoul Artists’ Governance Platform moving forward. The “Progressive Network Amplifier” group conducts experiments and research on the meaning and role of networks for artists, and it identifies networking methods suitable for different artists. Finally, the “Sustainable Creation Platform” is a creative platform that focuses on sharing between community platforms, sharing knowledge owned by artists, and developing a platform for public discussions on artists, all revolving around the subject of the Seoul Artists’ Governance Platform’s sustainability.