FROM MAJORCA TO KOREA...

Joan Collins PALMA council will participate in the next Korean International Art Fair (KIAF) with a stand giving information about the composer Eaktay Ahn, the Korean founder of the Majorcan Symphony Orchestra and composer of the Korean national anthem, according to council sources. They went on to say that the Fair will take place in Seoul from today to May 30 and five galleries for contemporary art from Palma are taking part. This year is the 100th anniversary of the birth of Eaktay Ahn (1906-1965) and the council has started a series of projects to commemmorate him. Among these projects is the participation in the International Fair of Contemporary Art in Seoul (KIAF) with a promotional stand of 3 x 2.5 metres which will recall the years which the composer and director of the orchestra spent in Palma, from 1946 to his death. This will demonstrate to the Koreans, great lovers of culture and beauty, Palma's cultural and historic heritage. In fact, the main picture on the stand will be a panoramic view of Palma's gothic cathedral reflected in the Parc de la Mar lake. On the stand, which will be situated at the entrance to the Fair area, different elements about the relationship between Korea and Majorca will be found, from Palma council's tourist magazine, of which a special edition has been printed in Korean, to promotional postcards with a portrait of Eaktay Ahn and a map which shows the geographic situation of Palma, to leaflets, also in Korean, containing a picture of the sculpture done by Joan Costa which has been put up in the Borne in memory of the composer. This sculpture, which will be inaugurated in the middle of June, is the result of a joint initiative by Palma council and the Government of Gyeonggi. In order to choose a fitting tribute, they had an international competition between Spain and Korea in 2005, the judging panel being formed by representatives of both institutions. The Majorcan artist Juan Costa's project won with his work “The shadows of sound”, which metaphorically suggested waves of sound, music. The Korean authorities paid the 238'609 euros which it cost to install the work in Palma.