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New media art fair launches second edition in Busan, questions the genre's direction

Published: 23 Apr. 2026, 15:46 Updated: 23 Apr. 2026, 17:50

LIM JEONG-WON
[email protected]

Media artwork is seen displayed at the Grand Josun Busan hotel in Busan as part of the Loop Plus fair on April 23. [LOOP PLUS]

BUSAN — A new media art fair that opened in Busan on Thursday is challenging the very barrier that the public and even professional collectors have about the genre — whether new media art can be owned at all.

“There’s still real uncertainty around whether individuals can actually collect new media art,” said Amy Kim, the director of Loop Plus, the only art fair in Korea dedicated exclusively to new media art, at a press conference for the 2026 edition of the fair on Thursday in Busan.

New media art refers to works created with electronic media technologies and includes 3-D-printed pieces, computer animation, video games and more.

While Kim’s remarks may seem unusual, given that her job is to champion and sell the medium, they were less of a confession than a thesis, as Loop Plus stakes its second edition on the premise that the market it serves is one it will also have to build.

The fair takes place at the Grand Josun Busan from Thursday through Sunday as part of the broader Loop Lab Busan festival, the citywide media art program hosted by the Busan Museum of Art, which debuted in 2025.

This year’s festival features exhibitions and screenings by approximately 130 artists from 25 countries, staged across more than 30 public spaces around the city.

New media art has long had an awkward relationship with the conventional gallery model, as the genre requires specific display conditions and hardware.

A poster of the Loop Plus media art fair [LOOP PLUS]

“We deal only in new media art, and new media art depends on its environment to be experienced properly,” Kim said about Loop Plus. “The distribution structures haven’t been clearly established — something that we aim to resolve.”

Loop Plus is structured around three pillars: the fair, the art exhibitions and a forum, all designed less to celebrate new media art than to examine where the genre currently stands in the art world and where it may be heading.

“Our role is to contribute to opening up the new media art market and building its ecosystem,” Kim said.

Busan was chosen as the location for the inaugural fair last year because the city “plays a pivotal role in identifying and supporting emerging new media artists” while “serving as a strategic platform that connects regional practices with the global contemporary art landscape,” according to Loop Plus.

The 2026 gallery lineup is more international than the previous one. Esther Schipper and Gallery Zink from Germany and Chiwen Gallery from Taiwan have returned to the fair, and they are joined by major Korean galleries that have consistently supported domestic artists. The mix is deliberate — a balance between an overseas presence and a domestic base substantial enough to anchor the fair locally.

Media artwork is seen displayed at the Grand Josun Busan hotel in Busan as part of the Loop Plus fair on April 23. [LOOP PLUS]

Loop Plus also continues its partnership with Loop Barcelona. This collaboration, in practice, serves as a way for Korean artists and galleries to enter the European circuit.

The most prominent addition to the fair is the “Focus France” section to mark the 140th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Korea and France

The French Embassy in Korea, the steering committee for the anniversary and France’s Galerie Charlot and Artverse Gallery all contributed to the Focus France section, which includes a dedicated solo booth for French artist Justine Emard.

Emard’s works, along with those of fellow French artist Noemie Goudal, will also appear in the festival’s exhibition program at Art Space, the Busan French Cultural Center’s annex housed within the Goeun Museum of Photography. The goal of such off-site exhibitions is to provide Korean audiences with a concentrated look at the current state of contemporary French new media art.

“Every year, we want to show diverse works from a wide range of countries,” Kim said.

General admission for the Loop Plus fair is 30,000 won ($20), though students can get a discounted ticket for 15,000 won. Tickets can be purchased on the fair’s website. The wider Loop Lab Busan runs through June 28, and more information can be found on its official website.

BY LIM JEONG-WON [[email protected]]