This time.. about exhibition

The recent task for me was to check the collections of traditional crafts donated by Cultural Heritage Administration, Korea. We have got around 40 traditional crafts which are highly valuable. The job I was asked from our headquater in Korea seems to be described as a job of registrar and conservator. I should provide the condition of the crafts by sending the photo of them how they are stored or exhibited. I assume that this kind of regular checking of the crafts condition is very important and necessary to conserve the crafts always in the best way. In addition, it also keep awaking us to seek a way to expose the stored works for the public in somehow in near future. This process also reminds me of the basic functions of a museum. It is not only exhibiting the artworks, but also conserving them.

Working in a small art institution provides us very diverse experiences because a (or two) staffs there should conduct various roles at the same time. The should curate a show, register the artworks, promote an exhibition, take care of the transport and insurance of the artworks, also conserve them, and so on. I think it is a good opportunity to learn the different roles at once, but at the same time I feel it is overwhelming job. To complete a good exhibition, curating a show itself is very big job. The more time and efforts you put in curating, the better show will come out at the end I reckon. I am sure many of you will agree with this. However, it seems small galleries and art organisations are just too busy with keeping up with their exhibition schedule. I know that different organisations have different characters. Some might want to have many shows in a year, but others would like to have good quality shows a few times in a year. I think galleries are able to keep open solely because of the enthusiasm of the gallery owners or staffs in the arts.    

Yes, I mean we are doing very important job!!

Where..Where..Where

The visit of the National Taekwondo Demonstration team was settled early this year. Since then, we have started to research a suitable venue for the event. Starting from the commercial theatres in the CBD area, such as Capitol theatre, as well as Townhall, The Concourse, etc., we were planning to expect more than 1,000 audiences for the event, it was a bit challenge to find a good venue with a limited budget.

The first thing I have found through looking at different venues is that it is way too expensive. I totally understand very high living cost in Australia, but I feel it is unreasonably expensive to hire a decent venue in the CBD area. Most of the venues' hiring fee is over $12,000!, and they will even charge additional fees for hiring and using extra facilities and staffs for a performance. I think I have naively expected a generous mercy for a non-profit from a commercialised world.

The other thing I found out is that there is not many big sporting venues in Sydney. The one in the Olympic Park (State Centre) is the best and affordable one in Sydney. The others, for example, Entertainment Centre or Uni Sports facilities are either expensive or incapable to have more than 800 people.

It has been tough to discover a good venue in Sydney but we ended up with holding the event at the Exhibition Centre in Darling Harbour. It was pricey, but as we have concerned the uniqueness and the value of the event, we have concluded that it was worth to put a good financial effort for that.

Next step, Promotion!
We have a venue now, and next thing we should focus on is promoting the event!
I am happy to know about any ideas to attract people to the event.
Please let me know the best way to target Sydneysiders interested in Martial Art!

Commence an adventurous journey to performing arts

I have just finished (last week) an opening of the Korean contemporary art exhibition, Hello, Stranger, which features 7 Korean artists from the National Art Studio, Korea. (If you are interested in, please come to the Korean Cultural Office (KCO). The exhibition is till 16 Nov. Just find me at the reception, and I will give you a quick guide tour!)

Now, it is time to start my internship journey to make a performing art happen in Sydney in late Nov or early Dec. We are planning to bring a Korean martial art national demonstration team here in sydney and have a demonstration for the Australian audiences. There are many tasks I am facing to at the moment such as venue hiring, managing the visit of the demonstration team (about 20 people), marketing and etc. It is my first time to deal with performing arts, but I hope it works as a good opportunity for me to learn some other fields rather than exhibition. I have contacted several venues already and will try to finalise as soon as possible. I will let you know once we have decided.

Please leave me any comments or suggest me any ideas to make the event successful!!