○ Attended by around 3,000 people including VR and AR experts and Gyeonggi residents
– Exhibition of works showcasing art and advanced technology convergence well received by visitors, providing them with new experiences
– Glowing reviews for new vision and directions presented for convergence of advance technologies, culture, and art

The Global Developer Forum 2019 (GDF 2019) – hosted by Gyeonggi Province and organized by the Gyeonggi Content Agency (GCA) – ended on July 24, having attracted around 3,000 visitors including VR and AR experts.

Launched in 2017, the Global Developer Forum is Gyeonggi Province’s representative international conference on VR and AR; it presents various programs that explore new market opportunities every year. This year’s forum started on July 18 under the theme of “Beyond Experience.”

During the forum, a total of 22 artworks including Gabriel Barcia-Colombo’s “DESCENT” and Winslow Turner Porter’s “Tree VR” were exhibited, while experts discussed the influence of the disappearance of boundaries between advanced technologies and art on human life.

Of particular note, the lecture entitled “Why Is Art Important in the Era of the Fourth Industrial Revolution?” presented by Lee Dae-hyeong, who served as the Art Director of Korean Pavilion at the 57th Venice Biennale and Art Director at the Hyundai Motor Company, attracted considerable attention. Lee asserted: “The diverse aspects of human nature cannot be fully represented by institutionalized rules and dichotomous viewpoints. So, for philosophy of technology to embrace diversity and variability in humans, art and technology should continue to expand points of contact.”

In addition, in her lecture entitled “Digital Revolution in the Art Market and the Reason Why It Matters,” Independent Contemporary Art Advisors (ICAA) founding member and representative Dr. Annette Doms stressed that: “Various innovative technologies including Big Data and blockchain as well as VR/AR have brought great changes to the digital art market, which is why the market is expected to grow further in the future.” She also introduced several examples of the successful convergence of technology and art in Europe including VR museums.

The forum also featured various other VR/AR artists including Gianfranco Iannuzz, world-renowned choreographer and media artist Gilles Jobin, VR-based film and media content director Eugene YK Chung, Ahn Jeong-seok (who was selected as “Young Korean Talent” by the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art of Korea), and Mathias Jud from Germany. The artists met with the public through lectures, talk concerts, and other programs for interaction between artists and audiences.

Meanwhile, the VR/AR work exhibition held simultaneously with the forum, presenting the direction for the convergence of advanced technology, culture and art, was well received by visitors. Of particular note, Winslow Turner Porter’s “Tree VR” drew the greatest public attention, inviting viewers to experience the growth of a young tree into a large tree in a tropical forest through their five senses. One visitor said, “I didn’t expect much as most of the VR contents are simply recreational, but many of the works in this exhibition that I experienced firsthand were very impressive to me as works of art.”

Noting that he “found the vision for the expansion of VR/AR technology in the artistic world through GDF 2019,” Gyeonggi Province Future Industry Division Director Gong Jeong-sik added: “Gyeonggi Province will strive to expand the GDF’s role as a platform for content developers pursuing the convergence of art and technologies, including VR/AR, and for artists to achieve further growth.”