On May 18, 1980, the city of Gwangju, South Korea, hit the headlines with an explosion of civilian dissent against the military junta that had seized power the day before. The junta's brutal crackdown culminated in the Gwangju Massacre of hundreds of students and civilians. The uprising would spark South Korea's democracy movement, and ultimately the overthrow of the military dictatorship and the installation of its first civilian-led government in 1993.
The Gwangju Biennale was established in 1995 as an international contemporary art festival to revitalize cultural life after years of political and economical crisis.
Rather than mimicking the predictable format of the likes of the Venice Biennale, the organizers wanted to celebrate and extend the spirit of Gwangju's democracy movement. At the opening of this year's Gwangju Biennale on Sept. 10, South Korean President Roh Moo Hyun declared Gwangju as the country's "cultural capital," officially acknowledging the city's political and artistic importance.