The Sea Art Festival in Busan has been transforming South Korea's largest port city into a unique outdoor art gallery since 1987, using the coastal environment as both canvas and inspiration. This year's festival takes place where the Nakdong River, the country's longest waterway, flows into the sea, creating a dynamic natural setting for contemporary artistic expression.
Dadaepo Beach serves as the main venue for this year's edition, offering a landscape constantly reshaped by the collision of river and ocean currents. Artistic directors Kim Keum-hwa and Bernard Vienat view this location as a site of continuous creation and erosion, where new ecological and cultural stories emerge with each tide. The ever-changing nature of this coastal environment provides the perfect backdrop for art that responds to and interacts with natural forces.
Operating under the theme "Undercurrents: Waves Walking on the Water," this year's biennale showcases 46 site-specific installations created by 23 artists and collectives from around the world. These outdoor artworks guide visitors on a journey through various locations across Busan, including a former incineration plant, an abandoned seaside cafe, and carefully restored wetlands. Each piece is designed to harmonize with its specific environment, creating art that seems to breathe and move with the natural rhythms of the coast.
Several standout installations demonstrate the festival's commitment to environmental themes and community engagement. Marco Barotti's "Sonic Drift" combines underwater recordings of marine life captured off Busan's coast with Huri Sori, a traditional fishing chant from the region. His environmental soundscape plays through six horn-shaped biodegradable speakers positioned along the Morundae Observatory Deck Trail, creating an immersive audio experience that connects visitors to both natural and cultural heritage.
Collaboration with local communities features prominently in many works, exemplified by Mathias Kessler and Ahmet Civelek's "Making Something out of Nothing." Working alongside Busan residents, the artists transformed discarded packaging and plastic waste into a striking 10-meter textile installation. This colorful creation demonstrates how art can address environmental concerns while celebrating the creativity that emerges from everyday materials and community cooperation.
Other notable installations push the boundaries of where art can exist and how audiences can experience it. The Busan-based collective OMIJA created a massive organic sphere using mixed plants and seeds gathered from the Nakdong River estuary, celebrating the region's biodiversity. Meanwhile, Marie Griesmar's metal and ceramic sculpture "The Green Between Waters" takes environmental art to its extreme by being partially submerged off Dadaepo Beach, revealing itself only to visitors brave enough to wade into the ocean waters.
The festival's unique approach to site-specific art creates installations that respond directly to their coastal environment, from Seba Calfuqueo's "FOLIL" to Viron Erol Vert's "Club Under The Fog." Each piece is designed to work in harmony with the natural elements, whether that means withstanding salt spray, responding to tidal changes, or incorporating local materials and cultural traditions.
The Sea Art Festival 2025 continues through November 2, offering visitors multiple weeks to experience how contemporary art can transform familiar coastal landscapes into spaces for reflection, discovery, and environmental awareness. The festival's enduring success over nearly four decades demonstrates Busan's commitment to using its unique geographic setting as a platform for international artistic dialogue and environmental consciousness.
