The National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Korea kicked off a new online program to introduce Korea’s contemporary artists whose works have been shown at the national museum this year or will be on display next year as part of its efforts to beef up its online content during the pandemic.

Titled “MMCA Artist Talk,” the online program -- which aims to introduce a total of 52 artists -- will be released every week through December 2021 on MMCA’s YouTube channel and its official website, mmca.go.kr; while each 90-minute episode will be uploaded on YouTube, the official website will show only summarized version of each episode shortened to 20 minutes.

The first episode was released at 2 p.m. on Thursday, introducing Korean experimental artist, Kim Ku-lim and his art world. Born in 1936, Kim has led Korea’s avant-garde art movement using a variety of art media from paintings to films.

The artists to be introduced will span from young rising artists to internationally renowned artists; they include avant-garde artist Lee Kun-yong, leading Dansaekhwa painter Park Seo-bo, conceptual artist Lee Kang-so, and three young artists who were selected by MMCA for this year’s Korea Artist Prize, Chung Hee-sung, Lee Seul-gi and Kim Min-ae.

“MMCA Artist Talk is to offer a chance to people who are struggling to appreciate artworks and communicate with artists during the pandemic,” said Yun Bummo, director of MMCA. “We will strengthen online programs for audiences both at home and abroad to enjoy Korean contemporary art anywhere in the world.”

The “MMCA Artist Talk,” will be provided with English subtitles for international audiences who wish to learn Korean contemporary art in depth, according to the museum.

In 2022, South Korea’s avant-garde artists who introduced performance art to the country in the 1960s will be presented at the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum in New York as part of MMCA’s exchange exhibition initiative, becoming the first major international exhibition of Korean avant-garde art.

By Park Yuna (yunapark@heraldcorp.com)