The National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Korea (MMCA) has announced the speaker lineup for the second half of 2026 for “MMCA Art Salon: Perspective”, a large-scale lecture series featuring distinguished figures and offered exclusively to paid membership holders.
 
“MMCA Art Salon: Perspective” is a signature lecture program that invites leading contemporary artists, philosophers, curators, scientists, architects, and other prominent figures to share the ideas and philosophies they have developed through years of research and practice in their respective fields.
 
Launched in 2024 for MMCA members, the public lecture series was created to broaden understanding of contemporary art and the wider landscape of contemporary culture. Since then, it has established itself as one of the museum’s flagship membership programs.

Previous editions have featured leading figures from the Korean and international cultural sectors, earning enthusiastic responses from audiences through insightful and in-depth lectures.
 
Speakers have included photographer Koo Bohnchang, recipient of the 2025 Samsung Ho-Am Prize in the Arts, whose work has expanded the horizons of contemporary Korean photography; artist Ayoung Kim, winner of the 2025 LG Guggenheim Award; architect Minsuk Cho, selected for the Serpentine Pavilion 2024; production designer Ryu Seong-hie, the first Korean recipient of the Vulcan Award at the 2016 Cannes Film Festival; and Nicolas Bourriaud, Artistic Director of the 15th Gwangju Biennale, whose exhibition examined the theoretical practice of his influential concept of Relational Aesthetics (2011).
 
Continuing this legacy, the 2026 fall season will bring together experts whose work traverses the boundaries between science and art. Speakers will address topics including artificial intelligence (August), contemporary art (September), and robotics (November), offering audiences opportunities to engage with some of the most pressing ideas shaping our time.

The first lecture of the second half of the year will be delivered on August 12 (Wednesday) by Professor Dae-Shik Kim of the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST, School of Electrical Engineering). He will examine the significance of artistic thinking in an era of confirmation bias and explore the role and future of museums in the age of artificial intelligence (AI).
 
On September 5 (Saturday), artist Do Ho Suh will take the stage in conjunction with his major solo exhibition at the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Korea, opening in August. The lecture will revisit his artistic practice, which has long explored concepts of space, the body, and identity across installation, drawing, and video works.

In November, the program will invite Dennis Hong, professor in the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) and director of the Robotics & Mechanisms Laboratory (RoMeLa).
 
Known for developing the world’s first vehicle designed for people with visual impairments in 2011 and achieving six victories at the international robot soccer competition RoboCup, Hong will share insights into how robotic technologies can expand human life and artistic imagination beyond engineering innovation.
 
Each lecture will be held at the MMCA Multi-Project Hall at MMCA Seoul (250 seats available on a first-come, first-served basis; free admission). Advance registration for the August lecture opens on July 28 (Tuesday) at 2 p.m. via the MMCA website (registration for the September and November lectures will be announced later on the website).

References

• 국립현대미술관 보도자료 (National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Korea (MMCA) Press Release)