Hechyeomoyeo opens 18th mass exhibition at KOTE featuring over 500 artists

The Hechyeomoyeo (HCMY) opened its 18th mass exhibition at KOTE in central Seoul's Insa-dong on Wednesday. The opening party featured music, live drawing, face painting, clowns and flash tattoos, as art lovers from Korea and all around the world crowded into all five floors plus the roof and basement of the aging building that houses KOTE. “My approach is straightforward: If someone tells me they have a creative skill to share, I try to find a place for them in the event,” Neil Wheelock Deforest Smith, the American artist who started HCMY, told The Korea Times. HCMY is an independent art initiative that began in Korea as an effort to make exhibition opportunities more accessible to Korea-based artists. It has grown into an international community, connecting hundreds of creators across continents. Despite its global reach, HCMY maintains a strong connection to its Korean roots. Smith estimates that approximately 65 percent of the participants at HCMY's Korean exhibitions are Korean nationals, while around 20 to 30 percent are foreign residents, and the rest are international artists