SPACE February 2025 (No. 687)
Presentation of ‘A Memorial to the Birds’ by artist Seo Haeyoung in ‘Part 2 – Preview of the Works’ / Images courtesy of PUBLIC PUBLIC
‘Dangjin, A City Connected by Electricity’, ‘Part 3 – Roundtable’ / Images courtesy of PUBLIC PUBLIC
On Jan. 7, a showcase was held to share the outcomes of the project ‘2045 (UN)INHABITABLE CITY’, which explores urban sustainability and energy transition issues centred around the city of Dangjin, Chungcheongnam-do. The forum was hosted and planned by PUBLIC PUBLIC, a research collaborative and contents curation platform focused on the social net value of art and fostering discourse through research and critique. The project garnered significant attention since it is the first ‘local project’ to reexamine the relationship between metropolises and regions through art and research. It was held in the form of an online colloquium. In the opening session, the project’s lead planner, Lee Kyoungmi (communication director, PUBLIC PUBLIC), introduced the initiative with the fact that ‘Dangjin is one of the country’s largest electricity production hubs, currently generating five times the electricity consumed in the Seoul Metropolitan area’, highlighting the unequal relationship between the ‘electricity city’ Dangin and the ‘electric vampire city’ Seoul. In addition, she noted that the project was a collaborative effort between a diverse group of people, including energy researchers, cultural planners, visual artists, etc., to analyse from various perspectives the issues of resource exploitation and sustainability between electricity generating areas and the metropolitan regions. Lee also explained that during the process, the team expanded their lens to include the history of Dangjin’s urban development, the lives of its residents, and even the role of non-human entities such as migratory birds, uncovering a wide array of viewpoints on these subjects. In the Part 1, the outcomes of the lecture programme ‘ENERGY SCHOOL’ and travel programme ‘ELECTRIP’, both part of the project, was shared. ‘ENERGY SCHOOL’ analysed the impact of transmission towers and coal-fired power plants on both migratory bird habitats and the daily lives of nearby residents, exploring how their interactions are linked to issues of sustainability. ‘ELECTRIP’ invited participants to visit Dangjin firsthand, experiencing the vanished tidal flats, migratory bird habitats, and industrial complexes, fostering an understanding of the city’s complicated realities. ‘The Part 2 – Preview of the Works’ introduced two initiatives reconstructing Danjin’s story through artworks. First, the ‘Urban Walks Theory 2 – Mystery of the City’ by participating artist Kwon Eunbi, explored the hidden narratives between Dangjin’s reclaimed lands and transmission towers, shedding light on the dynamics between local and urban areas. Meanwhile, participating artist Seo Haeyoung presented ‘A Memorial to the Birds’, a project highlighting the reality of migratory birds sacrificed due to transmission towers and emphasising the importance of coexistence between human and non-human beings. During the following ‘Conversation with Artists’ session, Seo Haeyoung stated that the ultimate goal of her project was to ‘reverse the monumental narrative and focus on the ecological value of non-human entities’. In the final session, ‘Part 3 – Roundtable’, titled ‘Dangjin, A City Connected by Electricity’ brought together four experts – a local artist, an activist, a cultural policy researcher, and an administrator – for continued discussions. The panelists identified pressing challenges and opportunities, sharing the message that, ‘we must uncover the potential of local areas and promote balanced development with metropolitan areas’ while discussing practical measures for collaboration. This colloquium serves as a hopeful starting point, aspiring to leverage artistic imagination and cooperation to pave the way for cities and regions to mutually respect each other’s values and move toward a sustainable future.
