The International Visual Culture and Arts Association(IVCAA) is the legally approved association that has established international networks based in Gwangju and carried out various international art activities. The art relationship with Pascal Girard, who I met at an invitational exhibition in France in 2005, led to a chance that his invitational exhibition was held in Republic of Korea in 2006. This led to another chance that a big exhibition was held in Rouen, France in 2007 with the aim of extending the relationship into group exchanges rather than individual exchanges. The “COREElation(it means Republic of Korea + Exchange)” was the Republic of Korea-France joint printmaking exhibition that 10 Korean and French artists participated in the almost 992m2 large-scale exhibition in Rouen, France in November 2007, invited by the Seine-Maritime Provincial Government. In addition, graduate students from the University of Rouen Normandy came to Gwangju, Republic of Korea in July in 2007 to examine Gwangju culture, and did their research, looking around Gwangju artists’ studios. In November of that year, they had an exhibition in the cultural centre of the University of Rouen Normandy and shared the value of Gwangju culture and arts. Also, two events were held with a workshop and seminar supported by the Grand-Couronne, and the Korean film “A Petal” was shown at the cinemas in downtown Rouen, France. That is how November 2007 in Rouen, France became the days of the Republic of Korea-France joint exchange.

After that, the COREElation 2 exhibition was held at the Sangrok Exhibition Hall in the Gwangju Museum of Art in 2012. And the COREElation 3 was held in Evreux, France in 2016 to celebrate the 130th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Republic of Korea and France. 10 Korean artists were invited by the Evreux City Hall and there were many achievements like their artworks were purchased by both the Seine-Maritime Provincial Government and the Evreux Museum of Art.

The exchanges between Republic of Korea and France led to the chance that a certain Korean association tried to be established in 2013 and it resulted in the establishment of the International Visual Culture and Arts Association(IVCAA). The IVCAA has expanded exchanges and cultivated the foundation of networks. With 189 members from 20 countries, it has made exhibitions, education, and research-oriented exchanges, having exhibitions, workshops, and seminars in France, Germany, Russia, China, Japan, Mongolia, Vietnam, Thailand, etc.

Since 2019, the IVCAA has operated the MIRO Creative Platform in the MIRO Centre in accordance with the public-private partnership with the Gwangju Eastern District Office. It has been establishing the online and on-the-spot international art exchange hub through the international artist-in-residence programmes and helped local artists to work abroad through the international exhibition exchanges, conferences, and workshops.