[KS] Fulbright Forum Friday May 4

[Horace H. Underwood]

FULBRIGHT FORUM!!

Fulbright in Seoul (the Korean American Educational Commission) is pleased
to invite you to attend the Fulbright Forum for May, which will be held on
Friday, May 4, 2001, at 6:30 p.m. at the Commission offices in Mapo.

In a departure from our usual lecture-style presentations, the Forum
presentation this time will feature the performance art of Kate Hers, Korean
American conceptual performance artist and Fulbright grantee to Korea.

Adopted at the age of 6 months by a white American couple, Kate Hers grew up
in Detroit, Michigan.  She graduated from the School of the Art Institute of
Chicago with a BFA in Time Arts (film, video, performance, sound).  Since
her return to Korea for the first time in 1997, she has been dedicated to an
art-making that attempts to reinvent "Korean-ness," while incorporating the
influences of her adoption history, her recent explorations in Korean
culture, and her Western upbringing. She hopes to raise a consciousness in
the Korean race, American people, and Adoptee community that there is not
just one way to be an American, a woman, a Korean, or an Adoptee.  Her works
are about a process of art-making as well as performing a "finished" gesture
in front of an audience and receiving a response.  It is not only about
expressing an identity as a Korean American, who happens to be adopted and
who happens to be a woman, but also discovering the meanings of identities
within a precise context.  Each action is created specifically for the
country in which it is shown, with a deep interest in the culture and race
of the viewers.  Her most recent projects explore the integration of western
performance art techniques with Korean traditions and modern culture,
seeking to create a dialogue between the east and the west.

We welcome to the Forum all Fulbrighters, senior lecturers and graduate
student researchers and ETAs, as  well as Board Members, Fulbright alumni,
Peace Corps alumni, Korean studies scholars, foreign graduate students, and
other friends of Korea and members of the Fulbright family.  Kate has asked,
as part of the audience's involvement in the spirit of her conceptual
performance, if those attending would come in formal attire.

This Forum as usual will be followed by a reception.  We hope many friends
will come to enjoy the lecture, the discussion, and the good food and drink.

Place: Fulbright Building
168-15 Yomni-dong, Mapo-gu
(see maps on our website: www.fulbright.or.kr)
Date: Friday, May 4, 2001
Time: 6:30 p.m.
(for RSVP or directions, call Miss Park, 3275-4000)

See you on the 4th!

Horace H. Underwood
Executive Director (Fulbright)
Korean-American Educational Commission
168-15 Yomni-dong, Mapo-gu
Seoul 121-874, South Korea
Ph:+82-2-3275-4000; fax:+82-2-3275-4028
hhu at fulbright.or.kr
www.fulbright.or.kr