SK∙Podo Museum announced on November 2 that it held the 'Seonhye-won Art Project 2.5' at Seonhye-won in Samcheong-dong, Seoul, from October 24 to 25.
The Seonhye-won Art Project, planned by Kim Hee-young, the museum's executive director, began last year. Following the 2025 solo exhibition 'Breath-Seonhye-won' by Kim Soo-ja, this year featured the exhibition 'The Well-Being of Things' with three female artists: Mona Hatoum, Choi Sung-im, and Kim Yoon-soo.
This edition of the project expanded beyond visual arts to include performance, education, and international exchange.
On the first day, October 24, a performance of 'Chun-aeng-mu,' a traditional Joseon court dance directed by Jeong Gu-ho, took place at the Gyeongheunggak Moondae of Seonhye-won. Following that, soprano Park Hye-sang, mezzo-soprano Kim Hyo-na, tenor Rene Barbera, and baritone Lucas Meachem, all active at the Metropolitan Opera in New York, performed key arias from Verdi's opera 'La Traviata' inside Gyeongheunggak.
The singers wore hanbok designed by Jeong, who reinterpreted the opera characters. Mona Hatoum's glass bead installation 'Web' was exhibited in the performance space, blending traditional architecture with contemporary art and Western opera.
On October 25, Lucas Meachem conducted a masterclass for four vocal students from Korea National University of Arts, Seoul National University, Hanyang University, and Seoul Arts High School. Meachem advised, "Instead of focusing solely on how it sounds to your own ears, you should sing with the intention of conveying the meaning of the sound and lyrics to the audience at the back of the hall." Following the masterclass, the four Metropolitan Opera singers performed a special concert, which was open to the public for free, attracting around 100 attendees.
This event was organized through the collaboration between Kim Hee-young and the Korean Friends of the Met, a support group for the Metropolitan Opera. Kim stated, "Through this project, we aim to support Korean artists active abroad and facilitate the sharing of experiences and knowledge gained on the international stage, hoping that Seonhye-won becomes a space that connects different cultures and people."
* This article has been translated by AI.
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