China stops work on its Gwangju Biennale space after organizers allow 'Taiwan Pavilion'
The walk-off came after event organizers walked back on a decision to promote the island’s set-up under the name of the signing museum.
A poster for the pavilion project at the 2026 Gwangju Biennale shows Taiwan along with China.
GWANGJU BIENNALE FOUNDATION
The Gwangju Biennale has been dragged into a naming dispute between China and Taiwan a week before it opens. China halted work on its own pavilion after organizers agreed to let the Taiwanese exhibition use the name "Taiwan Pavilion."
Chinese creators and installation staff walked off the site at the Ha Jung-woong Museum of Art in Gwangju on Friday and left the Chinese pavilion unfinished, the Gwangju Biennale Foundation said Sunday. The walkout is seen as a response to Chinese objections over the use of "Taiwan."
The biennale has run a pavilion project along with its main exhibition since 2018, bringing in art and cultural institutions from Korea and abroad. This year, 16 national pavilions and 11 institutions are taking part, among them the National Taiwan Museum of Fine Arts (NTMoFA).
The Taiwanese side had negotiated throughout on the understanding that its space would be called the Taiwan Pavilion. It protested when the organizers switched to the museum's acronym, NTMoFA, in June. Artists in Taiwan and in Korea backed the objection, and the foundation approved the change back to the Taiwan Pavilion on Wednesday.
China objected in turn. Dai Bing, the Chinese ambassador to Korea, met Min Hyung-bae, the mayor of the merged Gwangju and South Jeolla region, on Thursday. He expressed regret at the approval of what he called a Taiwanese national pavilion name. The halt to the Chinese side's installation work followed.
"We signed an exhibition agreement with the NTMoFA, and under that agreement and our administrative procedures, we have used the name of the signing institution in official promotional materials," the foundation said.
"The foundation will keep the formal name set out in the agreement, and will continue to guarantee curatorial autonomy and freedom of expression inside the exhibition space. How a participant chooses to present itself in the hall is a separate matter from the naming rules that apply to our official documents and promotional materials."
The foundation said the Chinese side had not gone so far as to remove the works already installed, and that it would work to make sure the exhibition opens as planned.
The 16th Gwangju Biennale opens on Sept. 5 under the theme "You Must Change Your Life" and runs until Nov. 15.
BY HA NAM-HYUN [[email protected]]
This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
