After the Japan-Korea Treaty of 1882 was signed, modern civilization began to filter into the small port of Incheon. Japan, China and the Western powers, including the United States and Britain, flocked to the open port, while the settlements housed foreign residences, international consulates, police stations and post office. Trade and financial-related facilities – the Rice Exchange, International Customs and the Bank – clubs and hotels, as well as foreign villas, also took their place. Behind the modern and exotic landscapes that captivated Koreans of that time, the economic exploitation of the Japanese Empire and the eviction of existing residents prevailed.
After Korea’s liberation from Japanese colonial rule and the Korean War, the port area flourished, but after the period of industrialisation and the relocation of principal government offices, it became so dilapidated that by the early 2000s it became extremely difficult for residents to continue living there. The Incheon Art Platform (IAP) was designed as an anchor facility to boost the fortunes of this dilapidated original city centre. Ten years on, let’s take a look at how this area has changed.
10 Years of a Creative Platform
According to the IAP, the past decade has allowed sufficient time to set up a system across operations. Several projects – including exhibitions, education, and international exchanges – were initially planned, focusing primarily on residency programmes, but it was not easy to keep them going smoothly in terms of their budget size and workforce. More specifically, by providing residences and workspaces for more than 30 artists, who move in each year and support their creation with critical and research programmes, required considerable experience. The operation of the 13 facilities also requires significant labour. Except for facility management staff, however, less than five workers were in charge of the actual work, and there were times when the budget was less than 100 million KRW. Like other second-generation art spaces in Korea, some critics said they are not actively engaged in conflicts with artists who need better support or in establishing strong relationships with local communities.
Nevertheless, over the years, the IAP has supported and fostered the careers of more than 300 artists through its residency programme. As the only facility registered as a first-class art museum in Incheon, the IAP also played a role as a public art museum in the region. In addition to the presentation of works by resident artists, the IAP has also devoted its efforts to providing diverse exhibitions and international exchanges, as well as exploring local content such as history, the environment, and the people of Incheon.
‘Over the past ten years, the Incheon Art Platform has focused on developing stable internal systems and content centred on residential artists. There was no know-how in administrative and planning systems in the early days of the opening, and it was not easy to operate, develop and carry out content due to insufficient budgets’ Lee Jae-eon (director, IPA) explained. Lee also added, ‘If projects have been focused on providing creative space and support for resident artists, we now want to explore the ways in which artists’ creation will also benefit Incheon citizens and visitors, as well as the nearby local economy’.
Original City Centre Transformed by Public Intervention
Since 2009, when IAP opened, the transient population has increased. Aside from the artists and residential staff who use this art platform, citizens came from neighbouring regions to experience highquality exhibitions and performances held here and to participate in educational and experiential programmes. Tourists who had only been looking around regional attractions – Wolmido island and Chinatown – also began visiting the area. It is crowded with tourists in the spring and fall, which are suitable months for venturing out. Commercial facilities such as cafés and restaurants have been established in every empty alley, and some handicraft workshops and private galleries have opened.
‘Previously, most of the shop shutters were lowered in the evening, and the streets were dark, making it difficult to identify them as streets where people live. With the IAP, cafés and cultural spaces have been built, and the region’s perception of modern architectural assets has changed’, said Lee Uijung (principal, Architectural Regeneration Workshop), an architect who is using modern industrial facilities (ice storage) as a workroom in the area. ‘Although the changes are not as clear as in Seoul, there is also a trend of buying real estate with capital that could cause gentrification’, he added.
Such vitality is related to public projects in the area, including the IAP. In 2010, the year after the opening of the IAP, the Incheon Metropolitan Government designated the area of Bukseong-dong and Dongincheondong, adjacent to Sinpo-dong, Jung-gu, as ‘Cultural District of Incheon Open Port Area’. The policy, which combines the two purposes of preserving and managing modern buildings and promoting tourism, included a number of administrative and financial support systems. In particular, low-interest loans, subsidies for creating scenic views, and various tax benefits were provided when landlords hosted ‘recommended industries’: culture facilities such as concert halls, galleries, and bookstore, handicrafts businesses such as workshops and clothing shops, and hospitality and convenience businesses such as souvenir shops and cafés. Public cultural facilities such as the Museum of Korean Modern Literature, the Incheon Open Port Modern Architecture Museum, and the Jung-gu Life Center were established, and the ‘Open Port Creative City Regeneration Project’ that connects ports, railways, food, and culture, with the culture and tourism belt, has been active since 2014.
Although the dilapidated original city centre has been revived through public intervention, voices are now rising in concern, perturbed by the excessive rate of commercialisation and touristification. Some point out that the port’s historical characteristics have been simplified and are now simply transmogrified into cultural products. They say that the area around the IAP is turning into a vast ‘theme park’ rather than into a daily space.
Fossilising the Cultural District of Incheon Open Port Area
The initial idea of the art platform was to motivate the artists who had moved here to remain in the area and to continue their work even after the conclusion of their residency. By doing so, artists secure continuity in their work, and regions and communities gain opportunities for recovery. Changes such as the region becoming a tourist destination, which is a non-usual space, and land prices rising, cannot be seen as positive regarding the residency, the main programme behind the art platform.
‘The Incheon Art Platform, which is the only one in the original city centre, is a creative space preferred by artists because it has a high level of convenience’, noted Chae Eunyoung (curator, space imsi), who has established and operated local cultural spaces after participating in her residency. However, she continues, ‘The neighbouring area is filled with office workers by day, entertainment customers by night, and tourists at the weekend. While the atmosphere between day and night is different, and there are not many residents, it is difficult for artists and curators to fit in. Artists who want to move their workrooms or residences after the end of their residency will often look to other areas in Incheon’.
The decreasing population in the region and an ageing society are also roots of the problem. Incheon City’s population has steadily increased over the past decade. The number exceeded 3 million last year, from 2.8 million in 2009. However, in Sinpo-dong, which covers the area around the open port, the number of registered residents decreased by nearly 500 during the same period. The ratio of the elderly population aged 65 or older is also more than 10 percentage points higher than the Incheon average of 12.3 percent and the Incheon Jung-gu average of 14.3 percent as of 2018. This is a kind of stumbling block for artists who make the region or its locality a theme in their work. Furthermore, it is not easy to be positive about which community can be formed here in the future, considering that the leading player who creates and nurtures local communities is the ‘people’.
Direction for the Next 10 Years
SPACE interviewed Hwang Soon-woo, who was in charge of the overall project, at a time before the official opening of the IAP (covered in SPACE, Sep. 2009 issue). Hwang said, ‘We thought hard about the ways local residents and new residents might mingle in a cyclical structure, rather than as a sequence of one-off events’,adding ‘I anticipate numerous small and large studios will come to line a densely populated Incheon Art Platform’. Ten years later, at a time and in a situation when IPA must contemplate its future direction, independent of whether his wishes have been realised or feasible. The reality surrounding the art platform is not very clear. However, as time has passed since the opening, IAP’s internal systems have stabilised, and operational know-how has piled up. In other words, the foundation for a leap forward has been set, with the budget also being expanded.
Amid the history of the region, which has continued since the opening of the port and on-going changes, clues may be placed as to what this future direction might be. It will also need to expand its horizons to the surrounding areas as well as the open port area. ‘As we celebrate our 10th anniversary, we need to readjust our initial establishment goals and status, and not only scrutinise the art platform itself but endeavour to connect with the overall situation in the region and reconfigure our missions and businesses and reset our physical conditions and facilities’, Chae asserted.
