환영합니다 Hwangyong-hamnida! Welcome to my humble blog. This blog is set up for the purpose of my online portfolio for my observations on festivals or events. In this report, I will cover topics such as:
- Introduction about the Event
- Effective use of Marketing Mix
- Tourism roles and Economic value of the Event
- Conclusion on the Event
1. INTRODUCTION
The festival that I visited to was the Korean Art entitled Transcendence: Modernity and Beyond. This art exhibition is in conjunction with Korean Festival 2008 that started on 1 November 2008.
BROCHURES 2 & SAM Admission Ticket
The art exhibition is held Singapore Arts Museum (SAM) from 8 November 2008 to 15 March 2009. The day of my visit was on 19 November 2008. This art exhibition is the first of its kind to be held in Singapore. The exhibition examines Korean contemporary art development over the last five decades and features over 40 works by 13 artists.
In order to appreciate Korean art today, it is necessary to contextualise its development against the larger backdrop of Korea’s national development – from it colonial rule under the Japanese in 1910-1945, and the transition to self-rule and independence from the Korean War in 1950-1953.
In the 1950s, many artists turned towards abstraction, which was then popular in post- WWII in Europe and America. Many artists yearned for freedom of expression found in Abstraction, Art Informel, Hyperrealism, and Minimalism and they adapted these styles and infused it with a unique blend of Korean sensibility, aesthetics and Eastern philosophy.
2. EFFECTIVE USE OF MARKETING MIX
Product
Many events suffer from Product Orientation as the event organizers are not aware of what their potential customers need, want and will pay for. Korea Festival 2008 is a mixture of Film, Music, Concert, Dance, Taekwondo and Art all happening in various locations and timings. In other words, it does cater to potential customers coming from different backgrounds and with different tastes and preferences towards a festival.
In the Korean Art context, the product is the Art pieces showcased in the museum. Artists like Cheong Kwang Ho, Hong Kyoung Tack and many others exhibit their various collections at the Singapore Arts Museum (SAM), occupying the 3 levels of the museum.
Pencil 2, 1994-1997
Art Piece by Hong Kyoung Tack
Oil on Canvas
The Pot, 2008
Art Piece by Cheong Kwang Ho
Copper Wire
Place
This refers to the physical place and how it is created through design programming. The facilitating component of ‘Place’ is the distribution of event products and how they are sold to customers.
Firstly, Korean Art is organized by Singapore Arts Museum (SAM) with their mission to preserve and present the art histories and contemporary art practices of Singapore and the Southeast Asian region. It is a good location for an art exhibition because not only SAM was a former St. Joseph’s Institute, it is strategically located near other historical buildings such as Singapore National Museum and CHIJMES. These places are also famous among tourists who are interested in Southeast Asian Art.
Partnerships
This Korean Art is in collaboration with the official Korea Festival 2008. It is also supported by Korean Embassy and Arts Council Korea.
Organised By Singapore Arts Museum (SAM)
Promotion
This refers to the range of “communication mix” to reach out to potential customers. Since this art exhibition is organized by SAM, most of the advertisements are done through SAM’ s website. [CLICK HERE]
Furthermore, brochures are also printed and made available at the entrance of the museum. [pic of brochure] In addition, Korean Art can also be found in Korea Festival 2008 website. [CLICK HERE]
People
The staff, organizers, and volunteers are usually essential in making the event a success because they are literally part of the product. In this case, the people involved would be staff of SAM, that includes the curator of the Korean Art, Ms Suenne Megan Tan. The people who support this event are Korean Embassy, Arts Council Korea and SMRT Media.
Programming
The whole duration of the Korean Art is from 8 November 2008 to 15 March 2009. There are a wide range of programmes lined up. For example, the Korean Art and Aesthetics for Kids by Studio Haroobee and SAM. This has been ongoing from 9 November 2008 and will end on 15 March 2009. This is a good opportunity for families with children as currently it is the school holidays for primary school children. Therefore, families will be able to spend time together with their children at the Korean Art and Aesthetics for Kids. In this activity, children will be able to learn the basis of art appreciation and experiment with different art medium in through 11 weeks of hands-on workshops. The weekly workshop series include:
- Monochromatism inspired by Park Seo Bo
- Lines and Paper inspired by Lee Ufan
- Symbolism inspired by Kim Tschang Yeul
- Nature and Still Life inspired by Cheong Kwang Ho
- Sculpturing with Wire or Clay and so on.
Furthermore, there is an engaging programme that enables visitors to sample tantalizing Korean cuisine and traditional Korean music and also learn some Korean phrases. This will take place on 9 February 2009 at SAM courtyard.
Since this Korean Art is only an exhibition and only those who are interested are able to appreciate it. However, in order to attract a wider range of visitors, there are some ways that can be done to attract them especially in terms of packaging.
Any visitor who visits the exhibition, they will only get brochures. There are no further items given to them. This is somehow not favourable as it does not attract other visitors who are just starting to be interested in Korean Art. What SAM can do is to sell souvenirs relating to Korean Art. For example, once visitors are done with the exhibition, they will walk into a small souvenir kiosk or push-cart selling interesting miniature art pieces that was featured in the exhibition earlier. This way, they can purchase these items to bring home as momentos to remind them of their trip.
3. TOURISM ROLES AND ECONOMIC VALUE OF THE EVENT
Since Transcendence: Modernity and Beyond is the first of its kind to be held in Singapore, it is likely that visitors from other countries would like to visit this exhibition. In order to bring in visitors who are keen towards Korean Art and other Southeast Asian arts, Uniquely Singapore has lend a helping hand to attract these visitors to Singapore. This can be done by offering attractive travel packages for these visitors. In other words, Singapore Tourism Board (STB) is also promoting Singapore as a tourist destination. This is because, if tourists are visiting the Korean Art, once they are done with it, they will also be able to visit other attractions in Singapore. Thus, this will create a spillover effect on tourism receipts in terms of accommodation, food and beverage consumption and shopping.
4. CONCLUSION
Overall, I think that the Korean Art is an interesting exhibition. A few of the art pieces really amazes me on my point of view about art.
Basically, the effectiveness of the marketing mix used is good in terms of location and programming. The location for the exhibition is suitable since SAM housed several other Southeast Asian region art pieces. They also have an interactive programmes for children taking place now, since it is the school holidays season. So, I strongly believe that this Korean Art event is a success.
감사합니다 Kamsahamnida!
