Gwangju’s city government apologises to China over Taiwan Pavilion naming

Gwangju’s city government issued a formal apology to mainland China after the Gwangju Biennale renamed an exhibition the “Taiwan Pavilion,” and it reiterated support for the “One China Policy,” according to Korean media reports. The dispute emerged ahead of the 16th Gwangju Biennale (5 September–15 November) after the Gwangju Biennale Foundation initially titled Taiwan’s pavilion using the sponsoring institution’s name, the National Taiwan Museum of Fine Art (NTMoFA), prompting protests from Taiwan’s ministry of culture and pavilion participants; on 25 August, the foundation changed the title to “Taiwan Pavilion.” On 27 August, China’s ambassador to South Korea, Dai Bing, told Gwangju mayor Min Hyung-bae that China’s pavilion would be suspended in response, and installation at the Seo-gu Ha Jung-ung Museum of Art has since been halted. The suspended China Pavilion, organized by Liu Tian, Wang Ran, and Ruan Yuanlai and backed by a consortium including the China Academy of Art and China’s diplomatic missions in Korea, was to feature 18 artists and collectives such as Qiu Zhijie, Shi Hui, and Wang Xin and examine the China-Europe Railway Express launched in 2011 and earlier routes dating to the 1980s.

Read the full article at The Art Newspaper - International art news and events