Art Busan, one of Korea's leading homegrown art fairs based in the southeastern port city, is returning to the Busan Exhibition and Convention Center for its 13th iteration from May 9 to 12. Courtesy of Art Busan

Art Busan is poised to make a comeback next month with an expanded array of main and satellite programs, aiming to strengthen its identity as one of Korea's leading homegrown art fairs in the southeastern port city amid a markedly cooling market.

Kicking off with a VIP preview on May 9, the four-day fair will gather 127 galleries from 20 countries at the Busan Exhibition and Convention Center (BEXCO). The lineup includes Pearl Lam Galleries, Peres Projects and Tang Contemporary Art, along with newcomers such as New York-based Art Tribeca and Madrid-headquartered WE COLLECT.

Kang Kang-hoon's "After Sunset" (2022) / Courtesy of Johyun Gallery

Among the local highlights, Kukje Gallery will present the country's first-generation female sculptor Kim Yun-shin alongside postwar "dansaekhwa" (monochrome painting) masters. PKM Gallery is focusing on Koo Jeong-a, who will represent the Korean Pavilion at the upcoming Venice Biennale.

International heavyweights will also be under the spotlight, with Japanese artist Chiharu Shiota, well-known for her room-filling webs of threads, featured at Gana Art, and Robert Indiana, the pop artist behind the instantly recognizable "Love" sculptures, showcased at Gallery Hyundai.

In addition to gallery booths, the 13th edition of Art Busan is hosting eight special exhibitions under the program "Connect."

To ensure a cohesive integration of each show, the fair organizer appointed Henna Joo, an associate professor of arts and cultural management at Hongik University, as the program's inaugural guest director.

The exhibitions are anchored in two central themes: a dialogue among Asian art scenes and a focus on modern and contemporary female artists.

"Herstory" orchestrates a conversation among first-generation Asian women masters — Yayoi Kusama, Jung Kang-ja, Park Re-hyun and Xiao Lu — and their Western contemporaries like Cindy Sherman. Meanwhile, "Focus Asia: China" delves into the works of notable modern Chinese creatives including Zhu Jinshi, Yan Lei, Ma Shuqing and Tan Ping.

The Art Accent, aimed at promoting young promising artists, spotlights the collaboration between Korean ultra-contemporary creatives and their counterparts from London's Royal College of Art.

Mr. Doodle's "Minnie & Daisy" (2023) / Courtesy of Pearl Lam Galleries

Coinciding with the fair is Busan Art Week, a weeklong cultural festivity offering a taste of the port city through art, food and tourist attractions. Visitors can explore selected galleries hosting new exhibitions, late-night openings and parties, as well as local eateries putting forth themed menus and hotels featuring artist-designed suites.

While acknowledging the recent economic slowdown that has impacted sales at mega fairs like the recently ended Art Basel Hong Kong, Jeong Seok-ho, Art Busan's managing director, emphasized that the Busan-based event "has consistently focused on developing programs that only we, as a homegrown platform, can offer, regardless of market conditions."

"As recently as 2019, Korea's status and recognition of Korea as an art hub were nowhere near the last few years," he added. "While global fairs like Art Basel or Frieze have their own important role to play in the market, we have decided not to be conscious of them and to focus on our own path."

In 2023, Art Busan made a foray into the capital city's Seongsu-dong with the launch of "Define: Seoul," a new boutique fair blending fine art with design to target young collectors. The organizer is also mulling over international expansion for next year, with specific plans still under wraps.