The English-language edition of Japan’s Mainichi newspaper is reporting that a section of the Aichi Triennale 2019 that was closed in August due to outside political pressure and threats of violence will reopen this week. The section includes the sculpture Statue of a Girl of Peace by Kim Seo-kyung and Kim Eun-sung (shown above), which depicts a Korean “comfort woman.” An agreement to reopen the section was reached by the organizers of the Aichi Triennale and officials of the Japanese city of Nagoya, where the event is being held. The reopening comes after an international outcry over the censoring of Statue of a Girl of Peace. Check out an excerpt from the article below.
The agreement came after the two sides reached a settlement in the case during a hearing at the Nagoya District Court on a demand that the exhibit “After ‘Freedom of Expression?’” be reopened.
The executive committee of the exhibit agreed upon four conditions Omura, who serves as chairman of the steering committee of the Triennale festival, presented as necessary for reopening.
They include cooperating with security measures and implementing an advanced reservation system using numbered tickets.
The works in the exhibit prior to the shutdown will continue to be shown, while an educational program will be implemented where appropriate, Omura said.
The exhibit will also provide visitors with an interim report on the background up to its discontinuation, according to the governor.
Image: Kim Seo-kyung and Kim Eun-sung, Statue of a Girl of Peace, (2011), which was taken off at the Aichi Triennale in August. Via Kyodo News.