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November 09, 2009
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From Oct. 31 through yesterday, Sabuk and Gohan in Gangwon held various exhibitions and performances by 23 artists including Linda Aloysius, Richard Woods and James Harris from Great Britain. A three-story building in Sabuk complete with a massive painting of a smiling miner, face covered in dirt, on one outside wall served as the headquarters of the event, called “Art in Village.” This was a huge step for the mining town, which has a sad and painful history tarnished by the deaths of 700 miners in accidents. The culture and arts events included various programs - such as a performance where residents dressed up as coal miners and walked around the streets - and involved the participation of many of the town’s 10,000 residents. The Art in Village program was a joint effort by Mecenat Korea, a company specializing in marketing sports, entertainment and culture, and a group of artists called Gonggong Munhwa Yesul A21. The region’s businesses and merchants also participated in the effort. “We hope that our neighborhood’s culture and economic activities will be rejuvenated through the cooperation of the our residents and these artists,” said Choi Dong-hoon, chairman of Gohan’s merchants group. Kangwon Land, the casino and leisure operator that helped transform the former coal mine village Jeongseon, sponsored the Art in Village project. “We are participating so that the area’s coal mining history won’t be forgotten, and we want to contribute to revitalizing the local economy,” said Kim Chang-wan, secretary general of Kangwon Land’s social contribution committee. There have been cases abroad where the adoption of cultural and artistic movements contributed to the revival of mining towns. Gateshead in Great Britain, for instance, is an old coal-mining town that has become a center for culture and the arts. It became famous after a large sculpture called “The Angel of the North” was erected there. Since 2000, it has been on the receiving end of massive investments by the British central government, which has helped set up museums, performance centers and other venues aimed at breathing new life into the town. By Hong Seung-il [ojlee82@joongang.co.kr] |
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