Exhibition poster ©Total Museum

This regional emerging artist development project is a multi-phase program composed of four stages: open call for promising artists, artwork acquisition, in-museum exhibitions, and off-site exhibitions. Beginning with one-on-one portfolio reviews between artists and critics, this ongoing and multi-dimensional support structure—culminating in the current off-site exhibition at the Total Museum—is regarded as a rare and pioneering attempt by a regional museum to shift the center of artistic discourse.

It is true that the Seoul–Gyeonggi-centric structure of art history writing and exhibition planning has long discouraged many promising artists in the regions. To address the cultural discourse imbalance between central and peripheral regions, and to offer new opportunities to regional emerging artists, 24 artists selected through the open call are now showcasing their full potential at a major art institution in Seoul. The museum hopes that visitors and professionals alike will offer generous feedback and encouragement, helping these artists develop sustainable and independent practices.

This exhibition aims to provide a small but meaningful impetus toward redefining locality and building a new artistic ecosystem through decentralization.

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