Jeju Gallery in Insa-dong, which will serve as a bridgehead for Jeju artists to advance into the Seoul region, launched with an opening ceremony on March 16th.

The gallery is leasing the entire first floor (448.47㎡) of Gana Art Center in Insa-dong, Seoul.

In the first half of this year, it will be host special exhibitions such as the 4·3 Art Festival and a show for Jeju artists in their mid-career. From the second half of the year, the venue will introduce Jeju artists through offering private rentals for Jeju artists, organizing exchanges between young artists, and holding special exhibitions linked to Jeju Art Festival.

In particular, to provide transparent opportunities for local and Jeju-born artists to exhibit in Seoul, the province’s Cultural Policy Division will conduct contests to select renting artists.

Also, the Jeju Province Branch of the Korean Fine Arts Association is the entrusted institution in charge of organizing the special exhibition for Jeju artists, as well as supporting and managing the Jeju Gallery exhibition.

To commemorate the opening of the Jeju Gallery, a special invited exhibition, “Butterfly Dream (胡蝶夢)” by Jeju-born artist Ko Yeong-hoon will be held from March 16th to April 11th.

Ko is one of the most renowned Korean artists who opened a new horizon in Korean figurative art with hyper-realistic paintings.

Exhibition rooms on the first and second floors will display Ko’s works owned by Gana Cultural Foundation, and his new works will be showcased in the basement exhibition room. Video archives are available in the special exhibition room on the basement floor.

Director Go Chun-hwa of the Jeju Culture and Sports External Cooperation Bureau said, “We will strive to ensure that the Jeju Gallery in Insa-dong becomes an exhibition space for talented Jeju artists and a place that showcases Jeju’s culture and arts.”