The Neighborhood Artists - 17.Jaesam Lee

A studio is the indispensable space for artists.
For their studios are not only their living spaces that reflect the life of an artist but also the creative places that have continuously evolved into a challenging and open laboratory. Just as his attic with books was the best art work studio for author Umberto Eco, artists’ studios are innumerably diverse. The remodeled wig factory where five artists huddle together, the small and lively studio located in the basement of a multi-family house, the mountain view studio in a rural area with lots of fresh air, the studio that is faced with imminent demolition for redevelopment…… Studios of 『The Neighborhood Artists』look like these.

Gyeonggi Cultural Foundation(GGCF) planed a festival to open the studio doors of Gyeonggi residents artists for the public. The objective is to explore and make use of the possibility for their studios’ cultural regeneration as the vital asset to our community the center of the cultural spaces. GGCF gathered artists who want to utilize their studio for the community’s cultural regeneration through recruiting openly or inviting recommendees, and selected the artists for “The Neighborhood Artists”, the open studio festival through document screening and on-the-spot examination.

『The Neighborhood Artists』is able to show an artist’s own story and everyday life.
The studio opens twice every week, once during the week and once on weekends. And 18 studios of 34 artists in eight areas within Gyeonggi opens in sequence, starting from Ansung and including Dongdoochun, Yongin, Paju, Suwon, Yangpyeong and etc. If the artwork in the exhibition is a well-developed inspiration of an artist, 『The Neighborhood Artists』is ‘raw’. I thought that it was an opportunity to take a look at artists as they are. And their lives provided inspiration and stability. I expect that『The Neighborhood Artists』would be a stimulus to not only artists but also culture and art of Gyeonggi-do