Tango dance, yoga and craft beer brewing -- activities you may never imagine would be taking place at museums -- are happening in traditional art museums. 

In an effort to broaden their audience base, museums are coming up with programs to make themselves more accessible to the general public. In addition to the traditional docent-guided tours and artist talks, museums now offer a chance for visitors to have a hands-on experience not only with art, but also with other diverse cultural fields. 

D Museum in Hannam-dong, Seoul, is not just for quiet museumgoers anymore. The museum, which opened in December 2015, has become a popular weekend spot on Fridays and Saturdays with a variety of activities that range from tango, jazz and disco dance to yoga and craft beer brewing classes.

“We would like our visitors to enjoy diverse programs rather than simply viewing an exhibition. We thought it would be nice to offer something that visitors can learn as a hobby,” said Koh Hee-gyeong of the promotional marketing division of the D Museum. 

In the month of March, the museum is holding spring-themed workshops at 7 p.m. every Friday. Starting with the French embroidery class on March 4, the museum is offering a class on making simple spring picnic food on March 11 and making flower centerpieces to decorate a spring picnic table on March 18.

In April, it will present a three-part craft beer workshop with a local craft brewery in Itaewon on Saturdays.

The museum’s Yoga class in January was so popular that it hosting another yoga class, this time of yoga combined with more intense fitness programs with Reebok on March 26. In February, the museum hosted tango, jazz and disco dance classes, featuring professional dancers from Seoul Tanz Station and a backup dancer from K-pop group 2NE1. 


Although such classes may sound irrelevant to the museum’s art exhibitions, the museum makes sure that a certain artistic element is featured in the activities.

“We always try to make a connection between the ongoing exhibition and activities. For example, we played images of works of art currently showing at the museum during the meditation session in the yoga class in January. There is always a connection with art,” said Koh. Currently, the museum is showing “9 Lights in 9 Rooms,” an installation exhibition that presents large-scale light-themed installation pieces.

Tickets to classes and workshops range from 15,000 won ($12.60) to 30,000 won. Tickets can be purchased online at Interpark.com. 


In order to bridge the distance between artists and viewers, the city-run Seoul Museum of Art has been hosting Lunch Box events, which invite citizens to lunch with artists and engage in their artistic world.

“The program targets office workers whose offices are close to the museum. It offers them a chance to enjoy art during lunchtime,” said Byun Ji-hye, a curator at the museum.

The museum, located near Seoul City Hall, is surrounded by offices and embassies. Its front yard is a popular spot where office workers frequently come with colleagues for coffee and chatting.

The Lunch Box event, which began in late 2014, is being held on the first and third Tuesday of every month. It invites 35 participants who sign up for the event on the museum website to have lunch with an artist or an artist group for an hour from noon to 1 p.m. Tickets are priced at 10,000 won. 

 
“The seats sell out quickly,” said Byun. “We have people who come regularly. People find the fact that they can chat with artists really interesting. There have been visitors who had no museum experience before who develop interest in art through this event.”

The National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Korea has made viewing experience something of a game.

It offers a reward system that gives discounts on museum facilities to visitors who sign up for their “Friends” reward program and win points after completing missions. Friends programs, started at the Dallas Museum of Art in the U.S., is now being implemented in five museums, including Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Minneapolis Museum and Denver Art Museum. The MMCA of Korea is the first Asian museum to adopt the public-friendly program.

The museum asks visitors to check in at exhibition rooms via kiosks placed in the museum building. They can score points after making a stop at exhibitions and the museum library to claim rewards including free parking, exhibition tickets and discount coupons that can be used at museum shops, restaurants and coffee shops. 

By Lee Woo-young (wylee@heraldcorp.com)