Frieze is to launch a new international art fair in Seoul in 2022 via a unique partnership with the Galleries Association of Korea. Frieze Seoul will take place at COEX, the city’s leading venue, located in the Gangnam district in the heart of Seoul from 2nd – 5th September 2022. The new fair will demonstrate a shared commitment to celebrating the city’s thriving creative community.
‘Seoul is a natural home for Frieze with its extraordinary artists, galleries, museums and collections. I am thrilled that it will be the location for our new fair, Frieze Seoul. We are honoured to be working alongside the Galleries Association of Korea in a spirit of collaboration that is right for our times. Together, we will create an unmissable week in Seoul that brings together galleries from all over the world and celebrates the city’s vibrant art scene.’
Victoria Siddall, Board Director of Frieze
Frieze Seoul will run alongside KIAF ART SEOUL, South Korea’s leading art fair, which has showcased the best Korean galleries for the past 20 years. Together, the two events will bring galleries from across Asia and the rest of the world to Seoul, creating an unmissable week of activity for both local and international art audiences.
‘We are proud to announce the partnership with Frieze and we are excited to invite art enthusiasts around the world to Seoul. In a period of high public interest in the Korean art market, the collaboration between South Korea’s largest art fair and Frieze will confirm Seoul as a hub of the global art market, and South Korea a major destination for the art market in Asia.’
Dal-Seung Hwang, the Chairman of Galleries Association of Korea
Frieze Seoul will feature approximately 100 galleries in the first year with a primary focus on contemporary art, supplemented by a Frieze Masters section dedicated to art from antiquity through to the 20th century. Utilising the Frieze global network, world-class programming and civic engagement will be at the centre of Frieze Week in Seoul.
Frieze Seoul is Frieze’s first venture in Asia, and the fifth fair launched by Frieze, joining Frieze Los Angeles, Frieze New York, Frieze London and Frieze Masters on the international art world calendar.
Galleries Association of Korea, established in 1976, consists of members of nationwide galleries. The institute aims not only for the prosperity of the domestic art market but also for the development of the international art market. Through providing a social platform that cultivates the understanding of art, Galleries Association of Korea brings the culture of art closer to the public. In 1979, the institute was first registered as a social organization under the Ministry of Culture and Public Information. During 1991, the organization was promoted as a separate entity which strengthened its social responsibility.
KIAF ART SEOUL is the first and longest running contemporary art fair in Korea. Having opened in 2002, the fair has established itself as a significant event in the Asian art market. For almost twenty years, the fair has played a leading role in the introduction of modern and contemporary Korean art to the world.
