Transfer Korea-NRW

“Transfer”, a highly respected international artist and art exchange programme with changing partner countries and institutions, has been running since 1990. “Transfer” is designed to run for several years and not only promotes artists but also seeks to bring different art scenes permanently closer together. Together, the actors engage in intense and permanent transcultural dialogue which often continues way beyond the end of the project. After the last two editions with the host countries Turkey and France, “Transfer” is now leaving the shores of the European continent behind and linking in 2011-2013 with South Korea, and in particular the metropolis of Seoul.
The cooperation structure was already established in 2011. The organisations involved in the current “Transfer” are the Kunsthalle Düsseldorf, the Kunstmuseum Bonn and the Osthaus Museum in Hagen; in Seoul, the Arko Art Centre, the Alternative Space Loop and the National Museum of Contemporary Art are lending their support. Seoul’s Changdong Studio, the Seoul Art Space Geumcheon and the Seoul Art Space Mullae are all acting as local partner institutions for the residences. The cooperation partners include the Korean Goethe Institute and the Korean Culture Centre.
Out of a number of proposals by experts, a bi-national panel of judges selected a total of 14 artists from both countries in November 2011. The winners of the grants will be introduced to all of the participating cities in the first half of 2012. There, they will get to learn more about each other and the local scenes. From the second half of 2012, they will commence their two-month residency in their “other” country. During their stay, they will be actively involved in the respective art scenes of the host cities. Public artists’ forums and cultural background activities will help to foster and intensify dialogue.
In the spring / summer of 2013, the curators will travel to the studios of the artists involved in order to prepare the final exhibitions in the six partner museums. From the autumn of 2013 until the start of 2014, the various works by all “Transfer” artists will be displayed in North Rhine-Westphalia and Korea. Once again, a multi-lingual catalogue in the form of a magazine will document the creative exchange process. A separate website is being set up for the “Transfer”.