2024 SPAF

2024 Seoul Performing Arts Festival
New Narratives: Returning the Gaze
We invite you to ways of seeing things differently.
John Berger, a photographic theorist and art critic, says in his book , “The way we see things is affected by what we know or what we believe.” But he also says, “Each evening we see the sun set. We know that the earth is turning away from the sun. Nevertheless, this knowledge does not necessarily correspond to what we see with our eyes.” Like this, the relation between what we see and what we know continually changes, depending on your perspectives, emotions and thoughts as well as your position in time and space. It is never settled.

Organized under the theme of “New Narratives: Returning the Gaze,” the 2024 Seoul Performing Arts Festival presents a new perspective of our changing times as well as diverse creative views by the artists. The Festival is about ways of seeing things differently, from a variety of perspectives such as Arab·Islam·Middle East, women, disability and Asia-Pacific geo-politics and decolonization. It is also a gaze of a new relation between the arts and technology/ science, reinterpretation and deconstruction of the classic, expansion and variation of sound in a performative way, and examining the human inner self through the philosophy of the body.

This year’s SPAF is coming to you with 17 performances (theater, dance and multidisciplinary), two creative labs and various workshops. You will discover a wide range of narratives and gazes, starting from very personal narratives led by artists to gazes of imagination that involve social, cultural, political and different sensory experiences. We look forward to this occasion for profound reflection shared with all of you, throughout the month of October. We always deeply appreciate the audiences who join us to make the festival together.
-Kyu Choi, Artistic Director of SPAF
Poster DOWN Reaflet DOWN

The Seoul Performing Arts Festival is Korea’ oldest and largest performing arts festival representing the country. SPAF 2024 is co-hosted by the Korea Arts Management Service (KAMS), National Theater of Korea and Seoul Foundation for Arts and Culture.
Celebrating its 24th anniversary this year, the 2024 Seoul Performing Arts Festival (SPAF) takes place from Thursday, October 3 to Sunday, October 27 at venues including Daloreum Theater at the National Theater of Korea, Daehakro Theater QUAD, Arko & Daehakro Arts Theater, PLATFORM-L, Arts Korea Lab and LG Arts Center.