Ewha Pavilion newly opened as Ewha Art Pavilion on May 7. To commemorate the 133rd anniversary of the school, the College of Art & Design reopened the pavilion as a new platform of art, the Ewha Art Pavilion.
Ewha Art Pavilion located between ECC and Ewha Womans University Museum used to be Ewha Coop and a café, but now it turned into an art pavilion which focuses on visualizing the 3E core strategies- empowerment, exploration, and engagement-under the school’s concept of visualizing women intellectuals pioneering the future. The College of Art & Design started off with the opening exhibition, Switch On, which is a collection of last year’s graduation projects. From May 21 to 26, the exhibition MAYDAY was held. MAYDAY is an annual event for students of the College of Art and Design. As part of the junior class, it is one of the largest scale exhibitions of the college.
The College of Art and Design announced their plans to provide space for not only the art major students but also for all the students of Ewha to voluntarily participate as artists and grow as cultural producers.
“Nowadays, the deficiency of emotion is a real problem. Through Ewha Art Pavilion, we look forward to helping students understand and creatively improve their life through art,” the College of Art and Design replied. “We plan to provide information about art and culture to our students through the Ewha Art Pavilion, as well as provide opportunities for students to communicate through their art.”
“I think the change of the use of the pavilion was a good choice,” said Kim Ji-woo, a senior of the Fiber Arts Major and Switch On exhibitor. “The exhibitions of the College of Art & Design were difficult to approach, but now it is easier for people to walk by and see our works.”
Kim said that the size of the pavilion was appropriate for the opening exhibition and its concept. Although it is small, it is visually appealing and a good venue for displaying art.
Also, as a participant of MAYDAY, Kim explained that the exhibition is important because it is considered a stage for students to debut as artists.
“We used to display our work in the hallways of the College of Art and Design,” Kim commented. “Since there wasn’t much space for the exhibition considering the amount of people participating, lots of students complained about the small display space. However, now that Ewha Pavilion has changed to the Ewha Art Pavilion, we have a more proper space to display MAYDAY, so I believe it will satisfy the students and help the exhibition reach more people.”
Ewha Pavilion was established in 2015 amid protests and disagreement voiced by students. The university’s stance was to make a resting and socializing space for students. However, students worried that the pavilion would just become another tourist attraction. Lee June-yup, the vice president for Office of Facilities Management said the café’s contract expiration was the reason it was taken over by the College of Art and Design. He added that the reason for the change had no relation to how much the café was used or not.
Kim Min-ji, a senior of Fiber Arts Major also expressed her satisfaction about the art pavilion.
“I am happy that the school has provided a place for students to display their art,” Kim said. “I think the change will provide an accessible space for people to enjoy artworks. I look forward to the increased interest in our work and the expansion of space for bigger displays.”