Industrial Arts Competition
The Fifteenth Industrial Art Exhibition and the First Industrial Arts Competition, Leaflet, 1965, MMCA Art Research Center Collection, Gift of Chang Chungsoon and Shin Youngok

Industrial Arts Competition

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The Industrial Arts Competition is a nationwide design competition that was organized by the Korean Industrial Artist Association since 1965. It is known as the first design competition held in South Korea because it started a year before the Korea Commerce and Industry Art Exhibition (present-day Korea International Design Award), which began in 1966. In addition to the goal of discovering and promoting new designers, the Industrial Arts Competition aimed to secure excellent new members. The first competition held in 1965 was divided into two categories: Graphic Design and Industrial Design. Its seven winners were Kim Gwanjung, Han Huisun, Kim Sujeong, Jeong Daegil, Lee Inja, Sim Hyoseop, and Lee Myeonghak. The exhibition of the winning works was held at the Seoul Press Center alongside the exhibition of the Korean Industrial Artist Association. The composition of the competition categories varied depending on the period. In the eighth edition held in 1972, the competition was divided into four categories: Commercial Design (Graphic Design), Crafts, Industrial Design, and Commercial Photography. This categorization was maintained until the thirteenth edition in 1977. Since the early 1980s, the competition has been organized into two categories: Visual Design and Crafts. The change in the competition category was linked to the change in the organizational structure of the Korean Industrial Artist Association. Starting from 1981, the association grouped its members into visual designers and craftspeople. In 1986, the Visual Designers Association [Sanmi sigak dijaineohoe] and the Craftspeople Association [Sanmi gongyegahoe] became independent from the Korean Industrial Artist Association, and such a dual system was sustained for a while. The Industrial Art Competition has not been held since its 51st edition in 2016.
* Source: MMCA

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