This article from Gwangju Ilbo features an interview with Jiyoung Lee and Eunhyun Park, co-founders of Dongdong, a grassroots collective dedicated to expanding access to contemporary art in Gwangju, South Korea.
Inspired by performance festivals like American Realness in New York, the two began to question why similar energy was missing in their hometown. With a shared background in art theory and curatorial studies, they launched Dongdong in early 2015 as a space for open dialogue, shared discovery, and accessible art experiences.
Rather than defining “contemporary art” in academic terms, they focused on building a community of diverse participants—from high school students and working professionals to social workers and artists.
Through film screenings, workshops, artist meetups, and discussions, Dongdong emphasized conversation over curation, and community over institutions.
“We wanted to break the myth that art is only for experts,” Lee says in the article. “Dongdong was about asking questions together and enjoying art in our own way.”
Jiyoung Lee 