The Gateway Korea Foundation (GKF) will host its sixth annual Dano Spring Festival on June 7th and 8th in St. Louis. “Dano” is a traditional Korean holiday marking the end of the spring sowing season and typically celebrated with a day of song, dance and games. The Gateway Korea Foundation celebrates Dano every year in St. Louis by providing a free educational event with a lecture on Korean art and culture. This year’s Dano Festival will highlight the distinctive contemporary Korean art scene and its intersection with K-POP as it has developed over the past forty years.

GKF is excited to feature  this year’s special guest Hyonjeong Kim Han (Associate Curator of Korean Art at the San Francisco Asian Art Museum) and her lecture “Contemporary Korean Art- 1980’s to Today: The Intersection of Art and K-POP” at the Saint Louis Art Museum on Friday, June 7th. Since the 1980s, Korea has experienced many transformations which has helped to create a unique art scene. This year's lecture by Han will focus on the many transformations in Korea's modern history from politics, technology and globalization that have influenced Korea's contemporary art scene. She will also discuss the influence and dispersion of Korean art and K-Pop throughout the world known as the Hallyu wave. The talk will conclude with an open discussion about the influence of traditional and contemporary art on K-pop culture.  Dano events conclude on Saturday, June 8th with a reception and panel discussion where Han will be joined by renowned local experts (Wassan Al Khudhairi, Chief Curator of the Contemporary Art Museum of St. Louis and Philip Hu, Curator of Asian Art at the St. Louis Art Museum) to discuss contemporary art in Korea and around the world.

This year’s Dano Korean Festival features the following events:

Contemporary Korean Art Lecture Friday, June 7, 2019 (Free to the public)

6:00-7:00 pm Reception: Conversation with Hyonjeong Kim Han and a performance by the Children’s Choirs from Korean Academy of St. Louis  

7:00-8:15 pm Lecture: Contemporary Korean Art – 1980s to Today: The Intersection of Art and K-POP

The Farrell Auditorium, Saint Louis Art Museum

One Fine Arts Drive, Forest Park, St. Louis (63110)

(Presented in partnership with the Saint Louis Art Museum)

Reception and Panel Discussion Saturday, June 8, 2019

4:00 – 5:00 P.M. A Conversation with Hyonjeong Kim Han on Contemporary Korean Art

5:00 – 6:30 P.M. GKF Program & Buffet Dinner with Traditional Korean Food, Music by Local Artists Kara McAtee & Grant Argent

7:00 – 8:30 P.M. Panel Discussion: The Intersection of Contemporary Arts with Hyonjeong Kim Han and special guests

Lakeside Patio & Auditorium at CityPlace 1

1 CityPlace Drive, Creve Coeur, MO 63141

Tickets to Saturday’s reception is $60 per person which includes a traditional Korean buffet dinner and supports the ongoing mission of The Gateway Korea Foundation. Panel discussion only tickets are available for $10 per person. For advanced ticket purchase and more information about the Dano Spring Festival, please visit www.gateway-korea.org/dano2019.