Infra-School

Dongduk Women’s University, Seoul
A women’s university with 106 years of history, Dongduk Women’s University aims to prepare our students for the innovative future. By providing forward-looking educational programs and curricula with an excellent and fully dedicated faculty, students build their abilities in the humanities, sciences, culture and fine arts. The College of Arts at Dongduk Women’s University offers a specialized and comprehensive curriculum that educates future artists and experts in various disciplines of arts.

Chonnam National University, Gwangju
The Department of Fine Art at Chonnam National University offers six majors: Western Painting, Korean Painting, Sculpture, Visual Design, Craft, and Art Theory. Emphasizing basic training processes, these majors also promote the establishment of theoretical positions and the expression of various creative aspects to the fullest. The aim is to produce “glocal” artists, designers, craftsmen, and art theorists whose expertise can embrace both the global and the local, as well as to cultivate talents for local art and culture.

Chosun University, Gwangju
The College of Art and Design at Chosun University provides various scholarships, academic programs, and international exchange programs and is one of the best colleges of art in our country. It has produced lots of famous artists and its students have won many international awards. With the majors on offer, students can contribute to the development of their artistic sense by nurturing their practical skills, their understanding of aesthetics, and their response to globalism.

Gwangju International Center, Gwangju
The Gwangju International Center (GIC) is a non-profit organization for Korean and international residents of Gwangju to join together and collaborate on community-building. Since 1999, the GIC has been committed to providing services to international residents and visitors to Gwangju, promoting cultural exchanges among diverse groups, and training young people through participation in cultural activities such as weekly Saturday talks, monthly Gwangju news in English, culture tours, music events, and classes in Korean and other subjects. As well as being one of the associates of Infra-School, the GIC is also functioning as the city-center lounge of this edition of the Biennale.

Hongik University, Seoul
The name Hongik, translated into English, literally means “service to mankind.” Hongik University encourages students to develop independent thinking, free from the influence of others. It also strives to cultivate its students’ creative ability, which is vital for individual betterment during one’s lifetime. Hongik University fosters a community where individuals live in harmony with fellow human beings and learn from the knowledge and experience of others, and through this leads our students to work together for the betterment of humankind. In short, Hongik University inculcates students with the values necessary to serve society as independent, creative, and cooperative professionals.

Inter-Asia Biennale Forum, international
The Inter-Asia Biennale Forum is a cross-disciplinary academic project launched by a consortium of Asian intellectuals in association with the Inter-Asia School. The project aims to link together the public platforms of the various biennales taking place in Asia and, based on each individual Biennale, to create a forum of interconnected thought grounded in the context of Asian realities. Starting with several key issues in contemporary Asian thought and art practice, the Forum will respond to the academic topics of each biennale in the hopes of stimulating exchange and reflection among the artistic and philosophical communities in Asia, and to come up with shared concerns and goals for action based on individual life experiences. 

RAT School of Art, Seoul
The RAT School of Art is a self-directed study program for passionate artists who are able to set their own goals and work independently. RAT offers a personalized program that should enable the members to gain autonomy and emancipate themselves. RAT nurtures self-learning and self-organization paired with critical reflection. RAT is a school of people, not of dogmas. The practice and attitude of individuals builds this school. Seoul is a great city for art and RAT hopes to play an active and public role in the Korean art field too.

Seoul National University – Asia Center, Seoul
Seoul National University – Asia Center (SNUAC) aims to serve as a global hub for Asian studies by integrating regional and thematic research across Asia. By creating and sharing forward-thinking ideas, SNUAC contributes to the mutual harmonious development of Asia. 

The New Center, New York and online
The New Center for Research and Practice is conceived upon the idea that the space of knowledge is a laboratory for navigating the links between thought and action. Our pedagogical approach bootstraps the conventional role of the arts and sciences to construct new forms of research and practice alongside, within, and between the existing disciplines, technologies and institutions. We are a non-profit higher education institute offering graduate-level certificate programs, workshops, seminars, exhibitions, residencies, and conferences.' changed to 'Infra-School, GB11’s lecture and seminar series, is driven by some of the core ideas behind the Biennale such as connecting dots, embeddedness, and the importance of the practice of mediation. Infra-School consists of lectures, presentations, group discussions, seminars, and special programs such as video screenings, led by its artists and curators as well as the collective organization of conferences, colloquia, and fora. It is a program in which the Biennale connects its curatorial and artistic knowledge to the existing formal and informal educational institutions in Gwangju and beyond.

Instead of establishing a new, independent educational arm, Infra-School taps into existing educational institutions in both Gwangju and Seoul, and intends to multiply connections and expand relations between them. In doing so it hopes to embed the Biennale in the ecosystem of art in Gwangju and beyond, such that the mutual benefits and interdependence between different entities can further grow and strengthen. By joining forces with various educational platforms in Gwangju, the Biennale hopes to further amplify and highlight the agency of those who will shape the future through learning, research, and speculation.