"New Neighbours" by Erika Blikman / Courtesy of Seoul Art Space Geumcheon By Kwon Mee-yoo Check out the studios of 20 artists from six countries at Seoul Art Space Geumcheon (SAG), southwestern Seoul. “The Sociological Imagination of the City,” which consists of an open studio and an exhibition, will be held from Thursday until June 8 to explore the wide range of sociological possibilities within art. The term, originally coined by the American sociologist C. Wright Mills, refers to the ability to analyze the connection between individual experiences and societal relationships. This exhibition aims to explore how the artists in residence of SAG transform personal experience and memories into tangible objects for society to examine in an intellectual and aesthetic way. “We also aim to investigate Seoul’s sociological imagination and suggest alternative ideas,” Heo Eun-hyi of SAG said. At the opening on Thursday, artist Kim Jung-ok, 32, will present interior drawings of factories to factory owners as a part of his “One Factory One Painting” project. Kim studied Korean painting at Chung-Ang University and moved into SAG last September. She visited a nearby industrial complex and drew the interiors of some 10 factories. “More than 1,000 factories are clustered around SAG and the project will inspire artistic energy inside the working environment,” Heo said. Each artist is expected to explain their works through a five-minute presentation and a classical concert will be held to celebrate the opening. The artists’ studios are open for only four days — from Thursday to Sunday. Kim & Hyun, Park Neung-saeng, Yoon Ka-lim and Lee Byung-su are some of the artists slated to offer their studios for public viewing. Visitors can see directly how the artists live and create at SAG. In addition, overseas artists Michael Strasser from Austria, Veronique Pozzi and Attilio Tono from Italy, Erika Blikman and Mai Marie Choon Dijksma from the Netherlands, Abigail Collins and Tammy Kim from the United States and Julien Coignet from France will take part in the exhibition. It is held at SAG’s gallery PS333, and its warehouse, parking lot, corridor and even emergency staircase. Coignet arrived at SAG in March and plans to stay until August. He will present “The continuous cities #15 SL,” a part of his “The Continuous Cities” project. Formerly based in Dijon and Paris, he made a series of gigantic drawings using actual maps of various cities. He first visited Korea in 2008 and was surprised by the changes during the past three years and by how overwhelming skyscrapers influence the city’s image. Coignet’s work will juxtapose the map of Doksan-dong and Garibong-dong near SAG and London, where he stayed before coming to Korea. On Friday and Saturday talks with local residents at the kitchen of SAG with artists Jeong Jeong-ju and Tammy Kim intend to familiarize local residents with the uncommon art, which might be considered obscure and difficult to interpret. Seoul Art Space Geumcheon is located near Doksan Station on subway line 1. Call (02) 807-4800 or visit www.seoulartspace.or.kr for more detailed information.