The Whanki Museum devotes itself to developing not only special exhibitions focused on academic researches on KIM Whanki’s life and works, but also supporting the exhibitions and creations of contemporary artists. The exhibitions and education programs of the museum designed to venue with professional and specialized role offering culture and arts as service for citizens and public education for civil society.

Through bridging the boundaries of art-industries such as exhibitions, publications, and so on, the museum program has committed to the contents development and management of the “Cultural Welfare Program.” It has continually built up programs to take care of culturally underprivileged people: teenagers exposed to violence, Alzheimer patients, silver generation, and so on, with ongoing research and investment. As an “Institution of Art & Cultural Education,” various programs have been integrated to lead our society in order for the realization of “Culture Welfare” along with high quality art contents. All the exhibitions, events, and educational programs held in the Whanki Museum have the purpose to create new history constantly, rather than pursuing trends or any commercial interests.

Consolation and Sympathy Sharing through Arts and Culture

* The Whanki Museum’s Education Program for Elderly People with Dementia
: Knock Project <Knock on the Heart>

The Whanki Museum has continuously planned and run various programs for the seniors and art activities including the implementation of Knock Project that intend to warmly knock on the hearts of the elderly with dementia throughout conducting thoughtful research and being systematically trained along with experts in diverse fields since 2013.

Knock Project collaborated with MoMA
The Knock Project of the Whanki Museum was selected for the Alzheimer Project in MoMA (The Museum of Modern Art). As a result, the Whanki Museum Education Team conducted programs targeting the elderly with Dementia at Hebrew Home, Senior Care Center, collaborating with MoMA, New York in November, 2013. This project is marked as one of the art educational solutions corresponding to global issues, specifically with understanding and respect of the minority, and it broadens the scope of our perception on museum education through a new approach to the possible problems in the rising number of seniors in aging society.

Knock Project conducted along with Cheongwoon Silver Center
In the fall of 2013, the Whanki Museum planned programs for the elderly with dementia with Cheongwoon Silver Center located in Jongno-gu, the same district where the Whanki Museum is located. In the late 2013, the museum transformed and expanded the Knock Project Program which the museum had successfully presented in New York with additional changes contextualizing Korean society. This outreach program has been operated as the museum education program to visit the elderly with dementia in Cheongwoon Silver Center every month since January, 2014. The Whanki Museum aims to provide the elderly from Cheongwoon Silver Center with an easy and intriguing program, a combination of appreciating, creating, and exhibiting artwork by utilizing various visual contents of the museum. As a result of such effort, the museum has managed to establish MOU with other public welfare facilities for the aged such as Yongsan District Multipurpose Senior Center and Jongno-gu Center for Dementia. With the support of those who share sympathy with the value of the program, the museum actively carries the educational and social role of the museum within the local community.

The Vision of Knock Project
The Whanki Museum, the first museum to be designated as the “Dementia Overcoming Leading Group” by the National Institute of Dementia, shares more responsibility with the program. Knock Project consistently conducts to realize cultural welfare with the spirit of the museum, and cooperates with various institutes and organizations by sharing the same vision with education consulting for solidarity of museum education for the elderly with Dementia. Also, by leading cooperation with the specialized dementia hospitals and nursing homes, the museum will periodically hold workshops and seminars to share its expertise and experience and will expand the museum’s culture-sharing ideas. The museum will diligently develop and operate art healing programs for caretakers like families and care workers who might get exhausted from important work of caring for the elderly with Dementia so that they can get through these difficult periods. Furthermore, through the Knock Project Program Competition, we will introduce the diversity of culture and arts education and will set the stage for international exchanges with cooperation with related institutions, individuals, and museum education teams such as the Centre Pompidou in France, MoMA in U.S.A., Montreal Museum in Canada, and so on, that are envisioning to work on education for the aged with dementia.

* The Whanki Museum as Companion with Local Communities
Sharing and Caring through Art Education

The Whanki Museum has conducted outreach education programs by developing cooperation projects with various external institutions: the Children’s Public Library, Moojigae Middle School, the Korean Federation for Environmental Movement (KFEM), and many more. It has served as the “Culture and Art Education Institution” to realize “cultural welfare” by utilizing its unique artistic contents in order to create an opportunity for the culturally underprivileged and local residents to experience art easily and pleasantly through programs which will allow the museum to be openly accessible to everyone. Especially, the museum attempts to promote positive stimulations through culture and arts offering art healing programs, which is a combination of art therapy and arts appreciation, accomodates special groups of aggressors and victims of school violence, single mothers, disabled people, and North Korean refugee adolescents. It hopes that the works of art and the space of the art museum would provide another level of energy and comfort in their lives.

Time to Enjoy Art in Depth

The Whanki Museum offers various education programs in correspond with contents of exhibitions, aiming at diverse age groups, e.g., preschoolers, elementary school students, teenagers, adults and seniors, and offers an opportunity to experience exhibition appreciation and various activities for many visitors in exciting and refreshing ways.

Education Programs in Parallel with Exhibitions, ARTree
: from Pre-school children to High School Students
ARTree consists of exhibition interpretation from an expert educator geared towards the eye level of viewer groups along with activity sheets, enabling viewer’s thoughts and feelings to be expressed and special time for creative activities that one can create own artwork.

Exhibition Guided-Tour Programs, ARTalk
The curators of the Whanki Museum provide guided tour for all age groups.

Art Course for Adults, ARTable
The museum develops and accomodates customized courses modified to the characteristics of adult groups through ARTable, and especially, it hosts art & culture education courses such as exhibition appreciation, and art healing programs targeting various companies’ executives and employees.

Envisioning Your Dreams in the Museum

Work Experience Program for Youth, ARTalent
: Finding the World of Various Professions in Art Museum
It is a career experience program for youth that offers opportunities to meet real experts, making connections and network with them. The participants of our program are enabled to experience a variety of careers in museums (painter, architect, preservation specialist, curator, educator, and many more).

Gentle Breeze ICT Supported Career Mentoring Program for the Rural Communities via Remote video
The program aims to eliminate the regional inequality and helps students from rural communities, who have relatively less opportunities for gaining career experience, by setting up career goals and developing the career path with broadening career path experiences providing vivid job information and career experience in mentoring class.
*This program is sponsored by the Ministry of Education and Korea Research Institute for Vocational Education & Training.

Museum Expert Training Program, Museum Mentor
It is the museum expert training program dedicated to the promotion of hands-on experience in real setting of museum for prospective workers for museum related fields and help them become proficient at the process of planning, developing, executing, and evaluating by participating the series of mentor programs: Museum Mentor-Educator, Museum Mentor-Curator, Museum Mentor-Archivist.

Visiting Education Programs

The Whanki Museum provides the education program called the ART Outreach Program, tailored to the characteristics of organizations in the external location where demand is required. The Whanki Museum as a lifelong learning institute holds outreach programs consistently at the Children’s Public Library in Jongno-gu and continues to implement a wide range of outreach programs in various fields through more active cooperation with companies, institutions, and local community.

Thinking through Art

The Whanki Museum Children’s Academy : ARThink I,Ⅱ
The Children’s Academy, ARThink, representing children programs provided by the Whanki Museum illustrates children the concept of art as a play, rather than as an educational concept, enabling children to enjoy and actively participate in, and fosters closer relationships among educator and other children through small groups. The ARThink I (basic course) will be held in the spring semester (March to May) and ARThink II (intensive course) will be held in the fall semester (September to November).

ARThink I (Basic Course)
•Think 1 : Eco Whanki Reflecting art in nature
•Think 2 : Dream Whanki Reflecting dream in museum
•Think 3 : Healing Whanki Reflecting heart in painting

ARThink II (Intensive Course)
• Think 1 : Many_More
Experimenting on various art materials and techniques
• Think 2 : Deep_Deeper
Binding an image book for “myself”
• Think 3 : Various_More Various
Searching the world of various professions outside the museum

Communication through Art

Through touring of exhibition and creating of artwork, Arton suggests time to mutually establish intimate relationship with the concept of “You and Me” and “Us”. This program conveys the positive art therapy that can relieve the hearts of the restless modern people.

ARTon M : Communication with Myself
The program consists of exhibition appreciation adopting art therapy technique and atelier activity with the theme of personal introspection and healing.
Anyone who wants to look into one’s own heart, release one’s stress and heal the wounded heart (for individual).

ARTon Y : Communication with You
The program consists of exhibition appreciation adopting art therapy technique and atelier activity with the theme of the relationship and sympathy between people.
Anyone who wants real communication through reading and sharing “my” heart and “your” heart in the museum (for couples, friends, family and so on).

ARTon U : Communication between Us
The program consists of exhibition appreciation adopting art therapy technique and atelier activity with the theme of communication and solidarity in community life.
Anyone who wants to heal one’s heart through reading and sharing “our” hearts in the museum.