Busan Biennale


The Busan Biennale is a biannual international contemporary art show held in Busan, South Korea. Busan Biennale is held in even-numbered years, and is hosted by Busan metropolitan city and Busan Biennale Organizing Committee.

Exhibition history

The Busan Biennale is a biannual international contemporary art show that integrated three different art events held in the city in 1998: the Busan Youth Biennale, the first Biennale of Korea that was voluntarily organized by local artists in 1981; the Sea Art Festival, an environmental art festival launched in 1987 with the sea serving as a backdrop; and the Busan Outdoor Sculpture Symposium that was first held in 1991. The Biennale was previously called the Pusan International Contemporary Art Festival before it launched.
Furthermore, rather than simply adhere to the white cube but chose unexpected places including culturally backward regions and old industry facilities as exhibition halls, Busan Biennale illuminates Busan city and contributes balanced development within Busan.
In the example at the top, KISWIRE Suyeong factory being used for special exhibition hall and main exhibition hall for Busan Biennale 2014 and Busan Biennale 2016 respectively. As of today, F1963 branded itself as one of the most famous culture complexes in Busan. Also, it is considered as a model case of urban regeneration.
YearPeriodVenueDirectorThemeNote-
2002Sep.15~Nov.22
Busan Museum of Modern Art, Haeundae Beach, Asiad Sculpture Plaza, etcAiryung Kim
Culture Meets Culture-
2004May 22~Oct.31
Busan Museum of Modern Art, Haeundae Beach, Eulsukdo Sculpture park, etcTae Man Choi
Chasm-
2006Sep.16~Nov.25
Busan Museum of Modern Art, Haeundae Beach, APEC Naru park, etcManu D. Park
Everywhere-
2008Sep.6~Nov.15
Busan Museum of Modern Art, Gwangalli Beach, APEC Naru park, etcWon Bang Kim
Expenditure-
2010Sep.11~Nov.20 Busan Museum of Modern Art, Busan Yachting Center, Gwangalli Beach, Busan Cultural Center, etcAzumaya Takashi  Living in Evolution-
2012Sep.22~Nov.24 Busan Museum of Modern Art, Busan Yachting Center, Gwangalli Beach, Busan Cultural Center, etcRoger M. Buergel Garden of LearningSeparated from the Sea Art Festival and became an independent festival.-
2014Sep.20~Nov.22 Busan Museum of Art, Busan Cultural Center, KISWIRE Sooyoung Factory, etcOlivier Kaeppelin Inhabiting the World-
2016Sep.3~Nov.30 Busan Museum of Art, F1963 Yun Cheagab Hybridizing Earth, Discussing MultitudeLaunched an online platform in collaboration with Google
2018Sep.8~Nov.11 Museum of Contemporary Art Busan, former Bank of Korea in BusanCristina Ricupero , Jörg Heiser Divided We Stand-
2020Sep.5~Nov.8
Museum of Contemporary Art Busan, Yeongdo Harbor, Old town Jacob Fabricius Words at an Exhibition - an exhibition in ten chapters and five poems-