ART SALE! At Hong Dae.

Hong Ik University playground, also known as Hong Dae playground for short. The 'Hong' is taken from the first word of the universities name and 'Dae' is taken from the first word of the Korea word 'dae hak gyo' which literally means big school, which also translates to the work university in korean. Hong Dae has a metro station dedicated to it self and it prides itself as the collective meeting ground for many young creative individuals ranging from musicians, dancers, artist, comedians and so on. Hong dae is also known for opening a free market for creative individuals to perform and sell their crafts. The freemarket accepts applicants of all ages and you can pretty much sell any kind of craft there as long as people are interested. Artists can apply at a weekly basis and the management will decide on which artists can participate. It does take a bit of luck and persistence, but I think it was well worth the effort because the experience was great. 

The picture below is how I set up my stall. It was quite meager compared to others but I really put my all into the preparation. 

I had to figure out a way to advertise my brand name 'Robotology' so I made a simple poster. The large drawing is the original drawing of 'somewhere'. I had to protect the front of the drawing by covering it with some kind of vinyl material, and I placed it behind and foam board with some blue tac'. It was pretty ghetto but it worked for its purpose. I was really glad that I decided to bring this piece because the response that I got from people passing by were really great. They helped me gain confidence in my craft and it reminded me that all my hard work was paying off. 

A friend of mine stopped by and took these photos of me selling my work. I had no idea that I looked so serious when I was selling my work. lol! 

There were street performers as well. They were really interactive, and the dude kept talking to me on the mic because I was right in front of him. I was really embarrassed but at the same time it was good fun. Their music was very alternative but I really enjoyed it. It was fresh, unlike the usual K-pop that keeps blasting through speakers all around me. 

Another friend of mine, a church colleague from Hong Kong came to visit me. I actually don't go to church any more but our parents and we pretty much made our acquaintance there. The child below is called Grace. She is my friends daughter. She was not shy at all about approaching the mic, and out of the blue she just started rockin' out some super cute korean nursery songs that she learnt from her kindergarden. Very soon Grace was a mini celebrity for a brief moment with people gathering around her and cheering on for her. It was an exciting moment for me because I have known Grace ever since she was a baby and to see her growing up like this was really amazing. Sometimes the the most beautiful things for me doesn't come from art and it come from people. Grace's mother was very embarrassed about her daughters performance but at the same time she was very proud! 

By the end of the day I ended ups selling about half of my itinerary, but I also gave a bunch a way as a service. Most of my customers were foreigners from around the world. The moment I connected with these people by speaking in English it made me realize how blessed I was for being able to speak the language and communicate with a wider audience range. I do wish my Korean was a bit better because with Korean customers I had a bit of trouble striking up a a decent conversation, but nonetheless the ones who were really interested just blasted away with lots of curious questions. Those kinda people are what made me feel great and they did not hide it either. Thank you all who visited my booth at the art fair! I hope to use this experience to further fuel my long adventure as an aspiring artist.