Photography Seoul Museum of Art opens in nothern Seoul

PhotoSeMA, directed by Seoul Museum of Art, is Seoul's first public museum dedicated to photography

Photography Seoul Museum of Art (Courtesy of PhotoSeMA)

Seoul's first public museum solely dedicated to photographic media opened Friday in Dobong-gu Seoul, creating an art cluster in the northern part of the capital where Buk-Seoul Museum of Art is located.

The Photography Seoul Museum of Art, spanning four floors above ground and two below, holds more than 20,000 works of photographic art and archival materials, according to the museum.

Installation view of "The Radiance: Beginnings of Korean Art Photography" (Courtesy of PhotoSeMA)

“By exploring photography as one of the most accessible yet critically positioned mediums in both the history of art and contemporary practice, we aim to establish this institution as Korea’s leading museum of photography and a prominent presence in Asia and beyond,” said Choi Eun-ju, general director of Seoul Museum of Art.

The museum opened with two inaugural exhibitions: “The Radiance: Beginnings of Korean Art Photography” and “Storage Story.” Both run through Oct. 12.

“The Radiance" sheds light on five pivotal artists in Korea’s photography history: Jung Hae-chang, Lim Seuk-je, Lee Hyung-rok, Cho Hyun-du and Park Young-sook. Based on the newly opened museum’s collection, the exhibition walks visitors through the history of photography as an art medium from its introduction in the 1920s to the late 20th century.

Installation view of "Storage Story" (Courtesy of PhotoSeMA)

“Storage Story” shows new works by six contemporary artists — Seo Dong-sin, Won Seoung-won, Jung Ji-hyun, Joo Yong-seong, Oh Joo-young and Chung Mel-mel — that explore the museum’s architecture and spatial design, archival practices, and the notions of memory and place. Collectively, they reimagine the museum not merely as a site of display, but as a space of creation, preservation and reflection.

The building, inspired by a camera aperture as it opens and closes, was designed by Austrian architect Mladen Jadric and Korean architect Yoon Geun-ju.

The Seoul Museum of Art operates as a network of museums across Seoul with eight branches including Seosomun main branch, Buk-Seoul Museum of Art, Art Archives, Photography Seoul Museum of Art and Seo-Seoul Museum of Art, which opens laterthis year.