– Opening ceremony at Icheon World Ceramic Center at 2:30 on Apr.27
– 30 days of marvelous festival from Apr. 28 to May. 27
– 686 artworks from 40 countries will be exhibited, under the theme ‘Reshaping Asia”

The 4th World Ceramic Biennale 2007 Korea has started its great journey, from the 28th of this month to May 27th. The global event will be held in three sites, Icheon, Gwangju, and Yeoju, all in Gyeonggi Province.

Marking the start of the 4th international festival, Gyeonggi Province and the World Ceramic Exposition Foundation are trying to reinvent the event, transforming it from an ordinary expo simply focused on exhibitions, to a venue for the creation of new demand for ceramic art and industry, and the promotion of sales of ceramic ware and pottery.

As part of such efforts, a wide variety of events and performances will be offered, for visitors to actively participate in and enjoy. The scale of the exposition component will be reduced to six key exhibitions, while programs where people can participate and learn about pottery will be strengthened. In particular, a fringe festival will be opened where amateur bands and b-boy teams from all around the country will join in.

Tremendous opening show at Icheon World Ceramic Center on Apr. 27

The opening ceremony of the 4th World Ceramic Biennale 2007 Korea was held at 2:30 PM on April 27th, on a special stage set in front of Icheon International Ceramic Center in Seolbong Park.

The opening ceremony, which took a unique ‘story-telling style’, marked a distinctive start for the festival, and was quite different from typical opening events, where people simply sit and watch the show. The governor of Gyeonggi Province Kim Moon-soo, Prime Minister Han Deok-soo, Chairman of International Academy of Ceramics (IAC) Janet Mansfield, Chairman of Gyeonggi Provincial Assembly Yang Tae-hong, two Ambassadors of the Biennale-actor Park Chul and Lee Se-na, a young lady famous for her UCC on pottery making, and 2,300 guests enjoyed the ceremony.

Diverse pre-ceremony events included a ‘Drum Feast’, a traditional drum dance performance of Gyeonggi Provincial Dance Troupe and a clay flute performance. In the unveiling event, ceramic wind-bells were hung on Sorinamu, the symbol of World Ceramic Biennale 2007 Korea.