Founded in 1995 in memory of spirits of civil uprising of the 1980 repression of the Gwangju Democratization Movement, the Gwangju Biennale is Asia's oldest and most prestigious biennial of contemporary art. Under the helm of previous curators that include Kerry Brougher, Sukwon Chang, Okwui Enwezor, Charles Esche, Hou Hanru, Honghee Kim, Yongwoo Lee, Youngchul Lee, Kwangsoo Oh, Wankyoung Sung, and Harald Szeemann, the Gwangju Biennale has established itself as a highlight of the international contemporary art biennale circuit.

Centered on the Biennale Hall in Gwangju’s Jungoui Park, the presence has elevated the city of 1.4 million to become a cultural hub of East Asia. It is home to some of the best-preserved cultural relics in the nation, and is known locally as the “City of Art, Cuisine and Culture.”

Previous editions of Biennales went under the titles Beyond the borders(1995), Unmapping the Earth(1997), Man +Space(2000), Pause(2002), A Grain of Dust, A Drop of Water(2004), Fever Variations(2006) and Annual Report : A year in Exhibitions(2008).