Boost Sung Hwan Far Over The Pacific

I've been accepted into the UCLA MFA program with a 50% scholarship.

It's the next stretch of a practice I've spent ten years building, in clay, in performance, in the body, tracing what it means to carry the multiple homes at once, Korea and Aotearoa, and to fashion something whole out of that in-between. UCLA is a chance to bring that work into new hands, new critique, new company.

I'm crowdfunding to cover the rest, tuition, fees, and materials, so I can walk in fully, without financial compromise pulling at the work before it's even begun. I'd love for you to be part of carrying it there.

I'm 박성환, Sung Hwan Bobby Park. 

My friend Cindy is my amazing social media manager. 

This campaign is backed by a circle of potters, mentors, collaborators, and community members who've watched this practice grow across studios, residencies, and performance spaces for years. Their encouragement is the backbone of this campaign, and it's what lets me walk into UCLA with clarity, ambition, and a commitment to give back to the communities I come from and the ones I'm entering.  

• First-Year Tuition & University Fees: The portion not covered by my scholarship so that I can begin the program without compromise.
• Materials: Clay, tools, equipment, performance materials, printing, documentation, and research resources: everything needed to build and test new work.
• Transportation & Project Logistics: Moving between studios, sourcing materials, and accessing UCLA facilities across Los Angeles.

I think this exploration will deepen and widen my curiosity and intrigue about art and provide an environment to network, make incredible work, collaborate, and experiment. To be given the time and space to make those marks and see what works and what fails. School Rocket Projects. 

UCLA is a launchpad. Space and time to follow ideas, test what works, and let the rest fail honestly. It's the structure to stretch my materials and my body, and to sit in conversation with artists who'll challenge how I think.  

This campaign is a blessing. Ten years growing my art practice it has grown like a gorse in the field: sturdy, a little wild, shaped by weather and by all the hands that helped it grow. I owe that shape to so many of Aotearoa's institutions, big and small, and I want to thank them all.

Auckland University of Technology, Auckland Studio Potters, Rick Rudd Foundation, Rayner Brothers Gallery, Driving Creek Pottery, Ceramics New Zealand, Auckland Museum, Foenander Gallery, RM Gallery, Audio Foundation, Old Folks Association, Auckland Pride, Basement Theatre, Festival of Live Arts, Tiny Fest, Auckland Art Gallery, Season Aotearoa, Adam Art Gallery, Nelson Clay Week, Hunters and Collectors, Brickell Brac, Creative New Zealand, Foundation North, Satellites, Objectspace, Masterworks, The National, Public Records, Studio One, Vessels, Portage Ceramic Awards, Te Uru, Auckland Urban Development Office, Nathan Homestead, Waikato Museum, National Contemporary Art Award, The Art Paper, Aotearoa Art Fair, NZ Herald, The Post, Arts Foundation, Stuff, National Library of New Zealand, Terry Stringer Studio, and Olympic Pools and Fitness Centre, to name a few.

This is only the tip of a much bigger tree. The friends and family who've stood by me are always the real source of my gratitude. Aotearoa whāngai'd me into 박성환, Sung Hwan Bobby Park.

I'm grateful for what's next, and I can't wait to share it with you all.

To art, and to looking after each other and the earth.

Thank you, everyone, for your continued support and love.