New International Mobility and Circulation
: From How to Move? to What Needs to Move Together with the How?

Kyu Choi (Artistic Director, Seoul Performing Arts Festival)

Next Mobility is a research project on new international mobility and circulation in the post-pandemic era, which started in 2021. This project has been co-organized by KAMS connection run by the Performing Arts Planning Team at Korea Arts Management Service, Performing Arts Market in Seoul (PAMS), and Seoul Performing Arts Festival (SPAF). This research project is questioning what the new international mobility and circulation models are for art, artists and artworks in the post-pandemic era. 

The first question is, how should international mobility, touring, and circulation change in the post-pandemic era, and what are the new formats? Second, what is international mobility when considering the environment in response to climate change and crises? And third, what is the digital mobility that is being transformed along with the development of digital technology?

In the 2022 Next Mobility, KAMS Connection research, Hyeryung Lee, Jin Yim, and Hyemi Lee of Generalkunst, He Jin Jang, Kim Jae Lee, and Jee-Ae Lim of Tangerine Collective, and Jingyi Wang, Lynn Fu, and HeeJin Lee of JUDGE ME participated. In addition, the works of artists with the potential for Next Mobility were introduced through PAMS pitching at the Performing Arts Market in Seoul. And during the Seoul Performing Arts Festival, Rimini Protokoll’s 〈 Conference of the Absent 〉 was introduced from the perspective of Next Mobility, “creating an international conference without anyone moving,” and Stefan Kaegi’s Master Class (Workshop) was held to discuss “Different types of art’s International Mobility.” In this article, I would like to organize the participants’ research questions, topics and results, and the future direction of Next Mobility, with a focus on KAMS Connection 2022. 

〈 Picketline: Asia Housekeeping and Care Work Association 〉 by Generalkunst

ⓒAsia Housekeeping and Care Work Association, Generalkunst

The research of 〈 Picketline 〉 by “Generalkunst” began by connecting places where the international creation and circulation of artworks have been cut off, and by asking what role artworks can play in  international connection and solidarity. 
In other words by studying 〈 Picketline 〉, a proxy protest installation performance, the research aimed to; ① develop ideas for international collaboration and circulation based on contact-free installation workshops and performance scores;② develop online performance ideas as street-public space art to a format in which international contemporary audiences can participate; ③ explore Next Mobility as a possibility of international solidarity that goes beyond simple circulation.  
This research created a fictitious association called the Asia Housekeeping and Care Work Association and established its digital base camp within Google Maps, and experimented with and developed effective keywords for international collaboration and circulation. In this process, it tried to create a model that can comprehensively manage the content and implementation of the work as well as looking at how international exchange can be carried out with this model. In other words, it tried to create an international community by experimenting by having the participants as members of an association rather than audience members or staff members. In addition, it went beyond the generally accepted way of doing concept touring, which is based on manuals and scores, to create a finite creative process with a local mediator. It aims to move  the “relationship” and “narrative exploration” that the work pursues as a performative process internationally. In addition, in order to compensate for the regional narratives and the alienated and redacted experience that English-centered communication creates, it actively encourages the participation of non-English speaking members who do not speak English well, by providing google Translation services despite the limitations that still exist. Generalkunst’s research sought to realize the Next Mobility from the perspective of solidarity in the era of disaster.  

〈 Social Choreography and Nine Songs 〉 by Tangerine Collective

ⓒ Tangerine Collective

The Tangerine Collective critically reflects on the cultural and historical correlations between dance, hatred and taboos through research on the group social dance of Chinese migrants conducted in Dorimcheon, Yeongdeungpo-gu, Seoul. 
In other words, the group reviewed the social regulations and devices that have become muscle memories from the perspective of social choreography, and conducted meta-critical research on international mobility and did this from a post-colonial perspective, while paying attention to the individual body, the others, the nation, and international connectivity. 
Also, they visited Kassel Documenta 15 and Berlin Art Biennale  together and identified “recovery” as the keyword for international mobility. And through seminars and individual art practice (score method, writing, song making) of three artists, created “9 songs about dance”. 
Critical reflection on the cultural and historical correlation of dance, hatred, and taboo in “Social Choreography and Nine Songs” focused on “the myriad things dance can produce” rather than “producing dance works.” This was to explore where art stands, and where it’s headed for, in the post-pandemic era simultaneously, and to question whether the exchange process of research, i.e., the artist’s practice, can become a performative event and move internationally as practice-as-performance/practice-as-exhibition method.
 
〈 Value of Art 〉 by 〈 JUDGE ME 〉

Photos of project  ⓒ Nayara Leite

〈 JUDGE ME 〉 is a work created and based on the experience of artist Jingyi Wang. It premiered in Bergen, Norway in October 2021. This work deals with the issue of whether the value of art is fairly reflected in today’s society. It was created through in-depth interviews and research processes involving performing arts experts and the general public. The performance is in the form of a court trial and the performers are divided into plaintiffs and defendants. Both sides discuss and reflect on the value of individuals, including artists, in today’s society that is dominated by consumerism and entertainment.
A team of three members, Jingyi Wang from Norway, Lynn Fu from China, and HeeJin Lee from Korea, conducted the research over five months. In the study, they looked at how to reconstruct 〈 JUDGE ME 〉 in a Korean context, and looked for a new form of international movement. 
In order to explore mobility, the study was conducted on two separate groups: those who work in the performing arts industry, and the general public. Two groups were subject to contract-free interviews and online surveys. The results discovered many similarities and differences in the views of the value of art held by artists and the public from Norway and Korea. 
The three researchers explored the possibility and challenges of localization of artwork in a concept touring format through online remote research, and derived three models as follows: 1) Licensing concept and script 2) The creators staying in the country for a long time and carrying out research and workshops to re-create the work according to the local context 3) All performers of the original work moving to the destination in a traditional tour format

Findings and the Future of Next Mobility
The three art groups shared their research processes and results respectively through two workshops. From that, the findings of 2022 Next Mobility can be summarized as follows. First, questions about the role of art in the post—pandemic era and the era of disaster appear across the board. Common keywords that have appeared include “care”, “community”, “collaboration”, “solidarity”, and “value of art.” This means that, in international exchange, mobility and circulation, and in art and social relationship building in this year, questioning the role of art is the first thing that creators do. Second, while last year’s research focused on finding the answer for the question, “how to find new ways to move?”, this year’s research focused more on “what needs to move together with the how?”, rather than simply “how” to find ways to move. Generalkunst is exploring the question, whether they should design a process that prioritizes the network of solidarity over “Next Concept Touring”, the way of Next Mobility that moves art clearly and efficiently. That exploration runs through the structure of their work. JUDGE ME focuses on the common narrative that Norway and Korea build together in the process of localization of works through in-depth surveys and interviews. Tangerine Collective explores connections and entanglement, fluidity and mobility, and solidarity from a new perspective through critical awareness of postcolonial mobility and international mobility. This is in the same context as I mentioned in the 2021 Next Mobility Research results sharing session. The international mobility of the performing arts has meant the “circulation of works” so far. But now it’s going beyond that concept, and it’s closely related to the sustainability of art, such as the mobility of individual artists and forming relationships with communities through localization. In other words, mobility is more than a materialistic concept any more. It is a process of transfer that takes place in order to sustain the movement of artist’s thought, movement of values, and cultural diversity. What’s vital in that process is to ensure the mobility of artistic values through experiencing and sharing. 
However, as suggested by Generalkunst as a challenge in the conclusion of their research, the question of whether the new international mobility and circulation is effective for driving art circulation and economic value creation within the capitalist system, remains an unanswered question. This means that not only formats of creation and production must change, but also mediation/circulation and audience/consumption format must change alongside it. The research also mentions the need for careful consideration and preparation for regions with weak digital infrastructure and communities of audiences in different age groups, as a large part of international mobility adopts a digital format. 
For the next two years from 2023, Next Mobility team will work with APAM and the Australia-Korea Foundation to carry out the project as an international collaboration between Australian and Korean artists. In 2025, Seoul Performing Arts Festival and Melbourne’s Asia TOPA will also become collaboration partners to develop a work through research over two years, and they will then present this.

 

Kyu Choi
Currently working as artistic director at Seoul Performing Arts Festival 2022-2026. Kyu Choi is a festival director, creative producer, and researcher. He has built up expertise in theme-based creative practices. He has extensive experience in cross-cultural and interdisciplinary work and is a leading proponent of contemporary arts networks in Asia. Under the themes of ‘diversity and inclusion in art’, ‘art and the city’, ‘art and science & technology’, and ‘next mobility/circulation’, Kyu has recently developed several research-led workshops and practices including ‘Connected city’, ‘The Korea DMZ lab’ and ‘Accessibility and creative development for arts and disability’. Kyu has worked as artistic director as well as creative director for the UK/Korea Season Festival 2017-18, the Chuncheon International Mime Festival, and the Ansan Street Arts Festival. He is a founder of AsiaNow productions in 2005 and has worked to develop the Asian Producers’ Platform and APP Camp 2014-2022.