Look Who's Talking is an internet portal committed to promoting the social role of artists.
It is a first step in understanding the contribution of each participant’s activity as part of a larger socially collaborative art project. In 2022, it began with the work of sixteen artists and artist-led organizations in twelve cities in eight countries: Seoul, Hwasun, London, Stoke-on-Trent, Yogyakarta, Bandung, Gunungkidul, Manila, Bangkok, Singapore, Copenhagen, and Berlin.
Look Who’s Talking (idea and direction by Dr. Sunyoung Oh) is a socially collaborative art project that addresses a wide range of issues, including art, society, politics, and ecology. It promotes the activities of individual individuals in cities throughout the world while also facilitating greater solidarity and cooperation among them, despite their geographical distance. Its goal as an online platform initiative is to investigate sustainable approaches in art.
The initiative suggests establishing artistic practices that engage a broad segment of the public in order to encourage collaboration. The goal is to broaden the role of “art” in “society” beyond the scope of modern art institutions; in other words, to make art truly inclusive.
Look Who’s Talking creates a dialogic situation in which participants can reflect on the past, understand the present, and envision a brighter future; it uses interactive platforms as an expanded space for understanding different communities’ social and environmental issues and how we can work together to address them. We think that by coming together in a spirit of solidarity and cooperation, we can reach a large number of individuals.
The online exhibition’s design seeks practical ways to connect participants with a larger public, promoting active participation by people from all disciplines in order to make constructive contributions to society using art as a tool. Look Who’s Talking’s goal in this regard is to empower audiences to actively participate with artists and curators to create exhibitions and artworks, as well as to realize the role that art can play in improving social issues. Look Who’s Talking offers many different ways to communicate with people through art, just as modern art spans a wide range of genres and forms. Participating artists, curators, activists, architects, scholars, and others address social, ecological, and political issues with experts in their professions and members of the communities impacted by their work. Participants also consider other perspectives on how artistic practices might aid in the discovery of new ecological methods. The goal of these processes is to continue initiating socially meaningful projects with more contributors.
Participants are Alaa Abu Asad & Ulufer Çelik; Anang Saptoto, with several groups of women farmers in Yogyakarta, along with children from Indonesia, Korea, and the UK; Another Public+Lasse Moritzen and Denniz Batak; Ceramic Research Center-UK; Clayground Collective; Hee-Sang Kim+Kira Kim; Leap Then Look; Lee Rok-Hyun+Youngsik Choi; Moonwen; Participatory Food Systems: Huiying Ng, Pujita Guha, Christina M. Sayson, Gatari Surya Kusuma, Napong Tao Rugkhapan, Boonanan Natakun, Zeke Sales; Sekolah Pagesangan; Sulki and Min; The Portland Inn Project; Village Community of Tungkluk; Vincent Rumahloine with Ibu Ilah, Mama Febri, Ibu Kokom, Ibu Elah, Ibu Eneng, Ibu Ela, Ibu Ani, Ibu Neneng, Ibu Jamil, Ibu Iis, Bapak Umen, Ibu Siti, Ibu Dede, Ibu Wati, Ibu Sitin Oliyah, Mang Iya, Mang Ojak, Mang Dian, Della Sabarini, Tegar Pratama, Djuli Pamungkas, and Arsya Ardiansyah; Yeongran Suh+Thore Jürgensen. And associate curators are Tessa Peters, Amalie Frederiksen, and Ruth Noack.
Arts Council Korea (ARKO)
