Namhee Park appointed Director

Dr. Park Namhee has been appointed as the new director of the Nam June Paik Art Center as of September 2023. In light of the nomination, Park has commented: “At a time when the value of world peace is required more than ever, I look forward to presenting an open and inclusive institution, just as Nam June Paik had done in perceiving the future of humanity and technology with warm eyes and presenting diverse works.” Further, Park has stated that she will “strive to cultivate the ‘house where Paik lives on’ as ‘the home to media art where the future lives.’” In 2024, NJP Art Center will present Good Morning, Mr. Orwell, which celebrates the 40th anniversary of the world’s first satellite project with the same title created by Paik, allowing an experience of the new vision system.

Park has presented the new vision for the NJP Art Center as “a hyper-connected shared platform in the 21st century heritage community,” with “art & technology, the heritage community, and polyphony” as its core values. In addition, three strategic goals have been set: First, to establish a hyper-connected shared platform as a public forum geared toward a post-Nam June Paik exhibition and research of art & technology. Second, to foster the revaluation of Paik’s art as a public asset in the “heritage community” by collaborating with media artists, media art centers, and museums in Korea and abroad. Lastly, to realize the expansion of the artistic spirit of Paik, characterized by world peace and solidarity, as well as the futuristic values of polyphony that sees no isolation or discrimination.

Park has studied at Hongik University, achieving a BA, MA and a PhD in Art Studies. She has actively taken part in the art scene for many years, including her role as the director of the 3rd Jeju Biennale (2022), the visiting professor of the Graduate School of Visual Communication at Hongik University (2021 – present), the head of exhibitions at the Asia Culture Center’s ACT Festival (2018-19), the artistic director of the 25th International Symposium on Electronic Art (2019), the director of Education Department at ACC Asia Culture Institute (2016-20), and adjunct professor at the Seoul National University of Science and Technology (1998–2005). Park is the co-author of Virtual Reality: The Reality of the Virtual, the Virtual of the Reality (2021) and Arts & technologies dans l’art contemporain:Archives & technologies a l’ere des archives de l’art (2019) and is the author of Discovering the craft and color of asia (2016). She has also published theses, including “An Analysis of Communications Among Cultures in Nam June Paik’s ‘Exposition of Music’” (2010) and “Meaning of Nam June Paik’s TV, ‘Moon is the Oldest TV’” (2012).