The Performing Arts Market in Seoul (PAMS) takes place every October under the organization of the Korea Arts Management Service, with support from the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism. Its aim is to promote creation and production activity in the performing arts and encourage distribution and overseas expansion. With features such as showcases of outstanding works in the performing arts, a booth exhibition to support the promotion of groups and performances, and a variety of sessions and networking programs, it provides a setting for information exchanges among performing arts professionals in Korea and abroad.
In addition to being a channel for the distribution of finished performances, PAMS has also provided a wealth of opportunities for communication, sharing, and cooperation. With the running theme of "Creative Cooperation_Conception to Circulation," it has focused attention on the role of the performing arts professionals working closely throughout this process. Our aim is to increase the networking opportunities available to allow performing arts professionals---a group that is constantly working to discover new ideas and develop them with audience members---to share their professional expertise and experience and bring a rich discourse to fruition.
In addition to being a channel for the distribution of finished performances, PAMS has also provided a wealth of opportunities for communication, sharing, and cooperation. With the running theme of "Creative Cooperation_Conception to Circulation," it has focused attention on the role of the performing arts professionals working closely throughout this process. Our aim is to increase the networking opportunities available to allow performing arts professionals---a group that is constantly working to discover new ideas and develop them with audience members---to share their professional expertise and experience and bring a rich discourse to fruition.
PAMS 2011 is focusing its attention on the value and marketability of Asian performing arts. Major world performing arts festivals have been captivated by the potential and marketability of Asian contents. In response to this current, PAMS is working to play the roles of bridge and window connecting Asia with the rest of the world. With its 2011 event, PAMS is making its move toward becoming a venue for discussing currency and collaboration in Asia from a perspective of difference, using this to stimulate the artistic imagination of performing arts professionals from around the world and encourage discussions of concrete possibilities for collaboration.
PAMS aims to be more than just a market for providing information -- it also seeks to function as a true platform for substantive international exchange through mutual communication among its participants. To this end, a number of avenues for communication are offered, including programs such as the Round Table, a setting for small-group discussions on different areas of collaboration, and Speed Dating, an occasion for brief but fruitful meetings among professionals. Also including LIP(Looking for International Partners), where participants can meet collaborators for international co-productions in the conception stage, and Connection programs for different professional areas (producers, festival and theater programmers, etc.) operated in partnership with various international organizations, these networking programs geared toward genuine communication rated as a unique strength of PAMS.
Every year, the PAMS Choice showcase offers a selection of works that show both artistic excellence and international competitiveness. This year's performances run the gamut from works by artists with an established reputation among overseas audiences to performances that attempt bold new experiments with form, a diversity that allows for a more comprehensive picture of the contemporary nature of the Korean performing arts. Together, the 104 works selected for PAMS Choice since 2005 have been shown more than 400 times in overseas.
