An introduction to North Korean art and challenges in assembling a collection
Key information
- Date
- Time
-
5:00 pm to 7:00 pm
- Venue
- Russell Square: College Buildings
- Room
- RG01
About this event
North Korean art is tied to the genre of socialist realism, producing works of blatant propaganda as well as those with more subtle allegorical story lines.
All artists work for the DPRK state, producing artworks which typically portray loyal citizens marching in the vanguard of the revolution, vanquishing enemies and fulfilling quotas.
However, within this system there are examples of individual expression, particularly recognisable through the works from artists who left the south of Korea to the north during the division of the country and the Korean War. Nicholas Bonner has been collecting North Korean art since 1993, and is in the first stages of cataloguing over 3,000 pieces of fine art and graphic works. He will discuss his own history of collecting and the challenges he has faced over the years.
Registration
This event is free, open to the public, and held in person only.
Organiser
This event has been organised by the SOAS Centre of Korean Studies.
About the speaker
Nicholas Bonner first visited North Korea (DPRK) in 1993 and set up Koryo Tours & Studio, specialising in tourism and cultural projects in North Korea.
Bonner had production roles for the BBC documentary films The Game of Their Lives, A State of Mind and Crossing the Line. He co-directed the feature film Comrade Kim Goes Flying, North Korea’s first girl-power feature film and the first ever North Korean film to be screened to the public in both North and South Korea. In 2018 Bonner associate produced the travel documentary Michael Palin in North Korea.
Amongst various art projects Bonner co-curated the DPRK inclusion for the APT 2010 (Brisbane Modern Art Gallery), co-curated the North Korea content for Korea pavilion at the 2014 Venice Architecture Biennale, (Golden Lion winner). His books ‘Made in North Korea’ on graphics and ‘Printed in North Korea’ on the art of the linocut were published by Phaidon.
Bonner works with a number of emerging artists in North Korea by providing them with a space and platform to experiment outside of their everyday restrictions. His ongoing projects are setting up the country’s first children’s international film festival and finding a space to house a large collection of artworks from North Korea.
Contact
Contact email: centres@soas.ac.uk.
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