Korea Bojagi Forum

Chunghie Lee (Critic, Textiles) is organizer of the Korea Bojagi Forum to take place in Seoul, Korea from August 22-26, 2012. Anais Missakian (Professor, Textiles/Interim Dean, Fine Arts) will be one of the featured lecturers.

Bojagi is the traditional Korean folk art of making wrapping cloths. Bojagi, first sewn in the 15th century by a few nameless women in small villages, it now inspires many influential artists of the 21st century throughout the world. Bojagi has been introduced to the western world over the past 30 years, and the Bojagi Forum (2012) will provide a meaningful and comprehensive multicultural survey of Bojagi, exploring its origin, materials, uses, history, and creative transformations.

Forum Program

The Bojagi Forum Keynote Speaker is Dr. Hur, Donghwa, Director of the Museum of Korean Embroidery and an early collector of traditional bojagi. Other lectures by artists and textile scholars from three continents include Jennifer McCabe, Director of the Museum of Craft and Folk Art, San Francisco, CA, Anais Missakian, Dean of Fine Arts, Rhode Island School of Design, Kirsi Niinimaki, Aalto University School of Art and Design, Finland, and Hroko Watanabe,

International Textile Network, Japan. A series of special Workshops will be offered by Korean experts
on various aspects of bojagi-making, traditional natural dyeing, Korean fan-making, and other traditional
textile and paper arts. There will be special exhibitions, visits to museums and galleries, shopping, and
more! Two post-conference one-day tours will also be offered, along with an optional tour to Daegu to
visit the museums for natural dyes and traditional paper flowers.

KBF will convene at Heyri Artists Community, a unique settlement of artists, designers, and architects located on the outskirts of Seoul. All conference sessions and some workshops will take place in Heyri’s Auditorium building.Other workshops will take place in Heyri and in the countryside at the ancient Suwon Hwaseong fortress, a UNESCO-Designated Cultural Site with a museum, outdoor theater, and art center.

KBF is sponsored by the Craft and Folk Art Museum, San Francisco, CA, and the Museum of Korean Embroidery, Seoul, Korea. Host Institutions: The Art Factory, With Artist Foundation, and Suwon Hwaseong Fortress.

Registration information is posted on

www.handsofkorea.com

Watch for conference news and updates on Facebook at

http://www.facebook.com/bojagi.in.seoul

For more information, please email

2012kbf@gmail.com Suwon Hwaseong Fortress