New SeMA director vows to make 'mindful' museum
By Kwon Mee-yoo
Choi Hyo-jun
The Seoul Museum of Art (SeMA) will take a step closer to the public with its new director Choi Hyo-jun, 65, who took his post on Feb. 9.
"I want the museum to be mindful," Choi said at a press conference Monday. "It is about being more considerate about visitors, balancing public character and popularity."
Choi, who studied economics at Seoul National University, began his career in the art field as a researcher at the Samsung Foundation of Culture in the 1990s. He built his career at SeMA, the Jeonbuk Museum of Art, the Gyeonggi Museum of Modern Art and the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Deoksugung.
“I worked for SeMA when it moved to its current location and it helped familiarize me with the museum better. SeMA is not limited to contemporary or modern art and that makes us organize the best art exhibits regardless of period or genre.”
Coming from the economic background, Choi emphasized the importance of marketing for the museum.
“Currently, art museums are centered on supply. What is important is an analysis on demand and the market,” Choi said. "We will research and analyze what people want from an art museum and how to make people visit museums.”
Though this year's lineup was already created before Choi took the post, Choi said he will do his best to make the exhibitions available to more public.
“SeMA is a public museum funded by the Seoul Metropolitan Government and we have to execute the budget. However, we will make the museum more public-friendly.”
The museum's major exhibits planned this year includes Korean typography designer Ahn Sang-soo's "Wing, PaTI" in March, "Otaku Project" in April and "2017 Title Match" contrasting senior artist Kim Tchah-sup and young artist Jun So-jung in July.
It will also strengthen international exchanges by inviting the Foundation Cartier in May and the British Council in September. An exhibition on Latin American art will be held in December.
The "Asia Diva" exhibit will shed light on modern history of woman through popular music and photography, while the architectural exhibit "The Self-Evolving City" will collaborate with the International Union of Architects (UIA) Congress in Seoul in September.
SeMA is one of the most-sought-after venues in Seoul for so-called “blockbuster” exhibits of well-known artists such as Vincent van Gogh, but Choi said the museum will focus on self-produced exhibits instead of renting the galleries for big exhibits.
“To enhance our own planning capability, we have to stage own exhibits,” Choi said. “Also I think the demand on modern masters is decreasing as people’s interest diversifies. We will come up with new collaboration models, instead of renting out the space.”