| Heyri Art Valley | |
| Translit Lang1: | Korean |
| Translit Lang1 Type: | Hangul |
| Translit Lang1 Info: | 헤이리예술마을 |
| Translit Lang1 Type1: | Hanja |
| Translit Lang1 Info2: | Heyrimaeul |
| Translit Lang2 Type: | Hangul |
| Translit Lang2 Type1: | Hanja |
| Subdivision Type: | Country |
| Subdivision Name: | South Korea |
| Subdivision Type1: | Province |
| Subdivision Name1: | Gyeonggi Province |
| Subdivision Type2: | Municipality |
| Subdivision Name2: | Paju |
| Seat Type: | Capital |
| Parts Style: | para |
| Leader Title: | Mayor |
| Blank Name Sec1: | Dialect |
Heyri Art Valley (Korean: 헤이리 마을) is an artistic community in the unification hill district of Tanhyeon-myeon, Paju, Gyeonggi Province, South Korea. It was constructed by artists, writers, painters and other creatives.
Heyri Art Valley is Korea's largest artistic community with an area of approximately 495868m2. In 1997, Heyri was conceived as a planned settlement. It began in 1998 with an inaugural meeting attended by 380 cultural artists. This unique community village integrates concepts that coexist in the fields of production, exhibit, sales, and habitation of cultural art. From a functional perspective, the Heyri Art Valley was planned with an urban form that focused on cultural businesses.[1] It is home to many galleries, museums, exhibit halls, concert halls, small theaters, cafes, restaurants, bookstores, guest houses, art shops, and creative living spaces for artists. Each building was designed by dozens of nationally and internationally renowned architects, who also designed features of the natural landscape, such as mountains, hills, swamps, and brooks.[2] The community derives its name from a traditional Nongyo (farming song), "the sound of Heyri," native to the region.
When it was originally conceptualized in 1997, the village was envisioned as a "book village" that would connect to the nearby Paju Book City as part of the Unification Land Development Project. As development began, the village attracted many artists who contributed ideas to expand the initial vision. Their contributions led to the project's transformation into a broader "cultural art Village" which is now known as Heyri Art Valley.[3]
Each building in Heyri serves one or more cultural purposes and often has a theme. For example, there is a Magazine House; on the first floor there is a magazine store, on the second, a cafe that sells coffee and bagels, and on the third floor a magazine history exhibit space. In Heyri, there are no buildings taller than three stories.[4] [5]
The spaces in Heyri meet one or more of the following purposes:
Heyri Art Valley attracts many tourists year round that visit to view the art created there.
Heyri is located approximately 20 miles northwest of Seoul (approximately 1 hour by public transportation). There is no entry fee to the artistic community; however, some of its spaces may charge admission fees. Most of the spaces are closed on Mondays.[7]
There are various festivals of varying sizes held in Heyri throughout the year. Management of events and festivals is handled by Heyri or by the individual cultural spaces that host them.
Since 1997, the Pan Art Festival has been the primary festival at Heyri. Various visual art festivals, performance art festivals and participatory events are held each day during the Pan Festival.[8] Art Road 77 is one of the significant parts of Pan Art Festival. Since 2009, Art Road 77 has been an art fair as well as a charity event that donates their sales proceeds to Save the Children.[9]