Gyeonggi Province's Architectural Artwork System Eliminates Artist Bias Following Review Committee Improvements

[Suwon Ilbo=Reporter Park No-hun] Gyeonggi Province announced on the 18th that, as a result of operating the review committee and quality management inspection team for artworks in its architectural works system over the past year, improvements have been achieved, including the alleviation of artist bias.

The architectural artwork system requires building owners undertaking new construction or expansion of buildings with a total floor area of 10,000 square meters or more to either use a certain percentage of construction costs for installing artworks or contribute to the Culture and Arts Promotion Fund (70% of artwork installation costs).

However, as issues such as unfair artwork selection and monopoly by specific artists emerged during the review process for architectural artworks, Governor Lee Jae-myung of Gyeonggi Province instructed system improvements in November 2018 to protect artists' creative environments and guarantee residents' cultural appreciation rights. The province subsequently reorganized and operated the review committee beginning last year.

As a result, artists who submitted 5 or more works during the years 2017 and 2018, which numbered 10 each, were reduced to zero following the system reforms in the second half of last year. The proportion of artists submitting one work per year increased from 40% to 56% during the same period, improving the concentration of submitting artists. Field-based architectural artists have evaluated that this expansion of participation opportunities for diverse artists and improved artwork quality.

To dispel negative perceptions regarding the review process for architectural artworks, Gyeonggi Province has prohibited review committee members from submitting architectural artworks to the province during their tenure, and has made meeting records publicly available so anyone can understand the review process. Additionally, the province has operated a pool system of 56 review committee members, with the governor appointing the committee chair and vice chair and assigning them to fixed participation in the review committee, thereby ensuring responsibility and enabling transparent and fair operations of the review committee.

In conjunction with these measures, Gyeonggi Province has, for the first time in Korea, organized and operated an inspection team of 69 members with professional knowledge of artwork quality management beginning September 3rd of last year to verify implementation of reviews and provide consultation on newly installed architectural artworks. Additionally, the province has investigated the management and damage status of 4,921 architectural artworks already installed.

The operation of such an inspection team has served as an opportunity for artists to develop a sense of responsibility by raising their awareness that they must produce works according to the review specifications, and is fulfilling its role as a guardian of architectural artworks, receiving enthusiastic support from artists and field inspectors at the city and county level.

Shim Sang-yong, chair of the Gyeonggi Province Architectural Artwork Review Committee, stated, "The review system improvements for architectural artworks in Gyeonggi Province are serving as a positive catalyst for change among architectural artwork agencies and artists, and are becoming a meaningful model for local governments throughout the nation."