Open Call for the Artistic Director of the Sea Art Festival 2027
Busan Biennale Organizing Committee · Busan
- ✓ Hand-verified by Arthead editorial · Oct 4, 2026
About this call
The Busan Biennale Organizing Committee is recruiting the Artistic Director of the Sea Art Festival 2027 through an international open call. Running since 1987, the Sea Art Festival is a contemporary art event that keeps reinterpreting Busan's relationship with the sea and with the city, and the 2027 edition is scheduled for September to November 2027 across 37 days. The director sets the exhibition theme and curatorial direction, selects roughly 20 artists and collectives from Korea and abroad, develops the budget with the committee, and works out the spatial configuration of the sites. Venues are proposed by the applicant from places that carry Busan's maritime character, including beaches, riverfronts, ports, islands and coastal areas, with the committee deciding feasibility on access, safety, permits and budget. The brief asks for more than a conventional exhibition: research, workshops, performances and public programmes, developed with public institutions, arts organisations and research partners in the city. One person from Korea or abroad will be appointed, on a non-full-time contract running to December 2027, with a project budget of about KRW 800 million. Applications go in online. Interview candidates are announced by 20 November 2026 and the final selection in December 2026; interviews are held with consecutive Korean and English interpretation where needed.
Who can apply
- International applicants
- Medium: Installation / Performance
- Entry fee: See official site
- Open to one applicant from the Republic of Korea or abroad; collaborators may be proposed within the curatorial proposal. The committee asks for expertise in contemporary art and experience curating a range of exhibitions and projects, the ability to propose site-specific and experimental exhibitions and spatial configurations along with related research and public programmes, an understanding of the festival's history and of Busan's identity as a maritime city, and the ability to work with local stakeholders on inclusive and accessible programming. Applicants must be able to travel to Busan and stay for the periods the planning and installation require. Applications are submitted online at apply.busanbiennale.org. The official page does not mention an application fee.