SEOUL – Hyundai Motor Company unveiled its new partnership program, the "Hyundai Translocal Series," on February 18th. This initiative aims to bolster the development of the art ecosystem by supporting international exchange and collaboration between public art institutions in Korea and abroad.
The Translocal Series is a project that facilitates joint exhibitions through cooperation between art institutions worldwide. It seeks to create a platform for exploring new possibilities in art by examining trans-regional themes that commonly resonate with these institutions.
Hyundai Motor plans to support trans-regional art collaborations between various institutions over the next 10 years. By fostering regional revitalization and promoting diversity and scalability in art, the company aims to contribute to a more open and integrated art ecosystem.
Hyundai will provide comprehensive support to participating institutions, including research, new work commissions, exhibitions, and related programs, to establish sustainable collaborative relationships based on shared visions.
Translocal Series exhibitions will go beyond simple traveling formats. They will be planned in a differentiated way that encompasses both the specificity of each institution's location and trans-regional values.
Participating institutions will create joint exhibitions that respect the identity of each region while promoting multi-layered communication and understanding. These exhibitions will connect individuals, communities, regions, and the past and future, and will be showcased sequentially in the respective locations of each institution.
Hyundai Motor Group Chairman Euisun Chung stated, "Through the Hyundai Translocal Series, we will contribute to the revitalization of regional art for the sustainable development of the Korean art ecosystem. We intend to support institutions that wish to participate in new artistic practices from various perspectives and create a platform for trans-regional collaboration."
The First Collaborations
The first collaborations of the Hyundai Translocal Series will feature the 2025 Cheongju Craft Biennale (Cheongju, Korea) and the Whitworth Art Gallery (Manchester, UK).
The Cheongju Craft Biennale is a leading craft biennale that attracts around 300,000 visitors each time. Since its inception in 1999, it has presented the possibilities of craft with an average of 2,000 works from about 60 countries.
The Whitworth Art Gallery, located in Manchester, England, which was once called "Cottonopolis" and was the center of the global textile industry in the 19th century, has about 60,000 items in its collection, of which about 20,000 are textile works. Based on many ancient works from the Asian region, the gallery has re-examined the cultural and social significance of works using textiles as a medium.
This collaboration will focus on "textile crafts and community" and will consist of new work commissions, research, and exchange programs for eight artists working in Korea and India. It will also cooperate with the National Crafts Museum & Hastkala Academy (New Delhi, India).
The first exchange exhibition of the Hyundai Translocal Series, connecting Cheongju, New Delhi, and Manchester, will be premiered at the special exhibition of the 2025 Cheongju Craft Biennale, which will open on September 4th. It will also be held at the National Crafts Museum in India in February 2026 and at the Whitworth Art Gallery in July 2026.
Additional Partnerships
The second exchange institutions of the Hyundai Translocal Series are the Nam June Paik Art Center (Yongin, Korea) and the Pinacoteca de São Paulo (São Paulo, Brazil).
The Nam June Paik Art Center was established to research and practice the art and life of Nam June Paik, a world-renowned artist representing the 20th century, and to discover the future Nam June Paiks. The Pinacoteca de São Paulo, which opened in 1905, introduces artists from various fields and regions, including media, as well as exchanges centered on Brazilian art from the 19th century to the present.
The two institutions, located at opposite points on the globe, will symbolically show a trans-regional exchange that overcomes physical distance under the theme of "media and performance."
The two institutions will start preparations for new work commissions and exhibitions through forums and joint exhibitions to be held in São Paulo, Brazil in April and Yongin, Gyeonggi-do in May. They plan to present jointly planned exhibitions sequentially from October 2026.
Through the Hyundai Translocal Series, Hyundai Motor Company aims to promote global art exchange and contribute to the development of the art ecosystem.
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