12 galleries in Hannam-dong join forces for a shared program

Poster for 'Hannam Saturdays.' [Thaddaeus Ropac]
Poster for 'Hannam Saturdays.' [Thaddaeus Ropac]

A neighborhood-wide program bringing together galleries across Hannam-dong for a shared Saturday of exhibitions — "Hannam Saturdays" — launches for the first time Saturday.

Twelve galleries in the Hannam-dong area are taking part: Gallery Bak, Dia Contemporary, Duarte Sequeira, Esther Schipper, PIMM, Galldres, Lehmann Maupin, Meyer Riegger Wolf, New Spring Project, Lani Seoul, Thaddaeus Ropac and This Weekend Room Hannam-dong. Visitors can move freely between all participating venues throughout the day, taking in each gallery's current exhibition and related programming.

Hannam-dong has established itself as a major hub for contemporary art in Seoul, yet visitors have typically experienced it one gallery at a time. The participating galleries developed the program to let audiences move through the neighborhood's exhibitions as a single, connected experience rather than a series of isolated stops.

"Hannam Saturdays" is not built around new standalone events. Instead, it focuses on deepening engagement with exhibitions already on view at each gallery — through guided talks, artist meet-and-greets and gallery-specific programming designed to help visitors understand the works and shows in greater depth. All exhibitions and programs are free.

Among the highlights, Thaddaeus Ropac presents "Studies," an exhibition by Alex Katz, whose singular style has earned him an enduring place in contemporary art. Long devoted to capturing the fleeting instant — the here and now — Katz brings together research works rarely seen in public, offering an in-depth look at his practice from the 1990s to the present. The show features studies that seize the sensory moment of encountering the subjects he holds dear — friends, flowers and forests — alongside three large-scale works from his "Lily" series (2025).

Gallery Bak is showing "State of In-Between" by Armando Chant and Park Sung-min; Dia Contemporary presents Nam Gung-sol's "Blue and Rippling"; Esther Schipper is hosting Merykoçep Berhanu's "Cellular Memory." At Lehmann Maupin, visitors can see Dominic Chambers' "Body Shimmer"; Meyer Riegger Wolf presents "Soft Deviation," featuring works by Katinka Bock, Miriam Cahn, Isa Melsheimer, Santiago de Paoli and Eva Kotátková; and This Weekend Room is showing "Tilted Evidence" by Guna and Vytautas Kumža.

The participating galleries said they hope Saturday's inaugural edition will grow into a long-running program. "Through this, we aim to broaden the flow of artistic exchange across Hannam-dong and create more natural opportunities for galleries, artists and visitors to meet," they said.

All participating galleries will be open from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m., with a range of programming alongside the exhibitions — including docent tours, talks, artist-led sessions and opening receptions.

Visitors can also access an interactive map with exhibition information and program schedules by scanning QR codes posted at each venue.


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