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Adding Arts Education to Everyday Culture: Busan to Host the 2025 Socially Engaged Arts Convention

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Busan Metropolitan City (Mayor Park Heong-joon) announced that it will host the “2025 Socially Engaged Arts Convention,” which combines arts education with everyday culture, for two days from October 25 to 26 at Domoheon (formerly the Busan Mayor’s Residence) and Ongroo, the creative space for artists with disabilities.

The event at Domoheon—opened to the public this year as a multi-cultural venue—will be held there for the first time. It will feature a range of attractions including the opening ceremony, citizen talk concert, group performances, and various hands-on and exhibition programs.

The opening ceremony will include a sky lantern ceremony and a celebratory performance of Hallyangmu (traditional dance), followed by a talk concert with citizens and local cultural panels on the development of regional culture. Group performances by local lifestyle culture clubs and arts education organizations will also take place, along with experience and exhibition programs such as handicrafts, painting, and pottery.

At Ongroo, the creative space for artists with disabilities, there will be open talks with local artists, creative classes led by artists with disabilities, and art play programs for children, providing families with an opportunity to experience cultural diversity and communicate through art.

Programs at Ongroo will include an open talk show under the theme “The Art Education Algorithm of You and Me,” creative classes where artists with disabilities teach citizens about arts and culture, and art play programs that take children on an illustrated book journey.

About 50 teams—comprising lifestyle culture clubs, arts education organizations, and citizen artists from across Busan—will participate in this year’s convention. Each team will present the fruits of their year-long creative efforts, fostering communication and solidarity within the local cultural community.

Among the participants, citizens involved in the “Guitar, etc.” one-person-one-instrument project operated by local cultural centers will perform as part of a citizen orchestra. The “Mongya Performing Arts Group,” a family-oriented arts education program, will showcase performances centered on play, featuring both young children and grandparents—demonstrating intergenerational communication and healthy family culture.

Mayor Park Heong-joon stated, “I am very pleased to host the 2025 Socially Engaged Arts Convention, which continues from last year and serves as a platform to share the achievements of citizens’ everyday cultural activities and arts education.” He added, “I hope this event, a festival where citizens can enjoy everyday culture together, will become a solid stepping stone for Busan to move forward as a healthy cultural community.”