Frequently Asked Questions
CONTRIBUTING A DREAM
How do I submit a dream to DREAM AUCTION?
Submit your dream by fill out this form here:
What should I write when submitting my dream?
Describe your dream as much as you can remember in a simple text. If you agree and grant permission, the artist may print and list it in a future DREAM AUCTION event. This dream would be sold in the auction as the text written at the time of submission with no alterations or corrections.
Describe your dream in as much detail as you can remember in simple language. It can have a narrative or perhaps just some descriptions or words of scenes that you can remember. Please write freely as you feel. The details of a dream may naturally be restructured or changed as you are trying to remember them, while other details simply vanish.
Please contribute your dream with care. It is a transfer of energy in good faith, an act of friendly generosity. The dream you are selling should be a dream that you personally have dreamt. Please don’t submit a dream that you don’t want to sell or you have already sold to someone else.
How should I describe a dream-within-a-dream, or snippets of dreams that only seem to connect randomly?
Feel free to describe whole dreams as journeys, even if what you can remember doesn’t seem connected in a traditional story format. We know dreams are not logical, and you can even describe your dream using nonsense or gibberish if that’s what your dream depicted.
Can my dream contribution be anonymous?
You can contribute your dream anonymously.
Can I submit more than one dream?
We welcome multiple submissions from dreamers.
ABOUT DREAM AUCTION
Do I get any kind of tangible object or proof of purchase if I buy someone’s dream?
DREAM AUCTION will print the dream text on a scroll, and the successful bidder will receive this dream scroll, authenticated by DREAM AUCTION. Each scroll is a unique edition of one and is hand made by artist Bongsu Park.
Does the dream contributor receive 100% of the sale value? Isn’t the DREAM AUCTION just capitalizing on a cultural practice?
DREAM AUCTION is a not-for-profit artistic venture which honors the contributions of dreamers. The profits from the auction will be donated to Sobosa, a non-profit organization creating programs for people with disabilities (Instagram: @sobosa2006).
The auction is part of the artist’s project and overall artistic practice. This event offers a way to formalize an informal practice while honoring the contributions of dreamers. It will be playful and casual, providing a fun way to think about the process of transaction in buying and selling dreams. The auction is not a commodification of such a transaction, rather it invites the audience to reflect on the practice of buying and selling dreams, and how it might exist beyond the material realm.
What is the point of owning someone else’s dream? How can something as intangible as a dream ever be owned?
Many people believe dreams can have a positive meaning, or can contain an omen that may bring them luck or good fortune. In the Korean practice of buying and selling dreams, the exchange is based on mutual trust and belief which would normally happen between friends or family in casual conversation. If one person thinks a dream has a beneficial meaning they might ask the dream owner to sell them the dream. The buyer would pay with money, or perhaps offer a valuable object or service in exchange, or even provide a nice meal. But both sides should agree and be happy about what they are exchanging.
Are certain types of dreams more valuable than others?
Certain dreams are indicators of positive meaning in Korean culture. For example, one involving a pig would traditionally allude to the arrival of wealth. One involving ripening fruit may indicate a message about fertility and childbirth. Any dream which has a positive interpretation has a subjective value that makes it desirable.
At the same time, dream interpretation varies between cultures and individuals. Some people can find meaning in a dream where others see only confusion. Also, someone’s nightmare may indicate something more positive to someone else. We encourage you to trust your feelings and instincts, and to buy the dream that feels good for you, whether or not the meaning is overtly clear.
BUYING A DREAM
I’ve never attended an auction before and I don’t have any experience buying dreams. Can I still participate?
Everyone is welcome to join the DREAM AUCTION. No prior experience or knowledge of auctions, or buying and dreams, is necessary. Also, no financial requirements are needed in order to be a part of the auction. Our kind and patient team who will make sure that everyone who participates in the auction is comfortable and treated with care and respect.
How does someone bidding for a dream know it’s a real dream and not just an invented story?
Selling and buying dreams is based on trust, belief and goodwill. We ask everyone that contributes their dream to do so with care and to submit a dream that they personally have dreamt - so we in turn place this same implicit principle of trust into every dreamer who makes a contribution.
If I buy a dream, can I re-sell it to someone else?
Re-selling would be highly unusual and one suspects that the dream’s potency would somehow be diminished. However, once the buyer has purchased a dream, the dream belongs to them. It becomes their dream and theirs alone. It is up to the buyer to decide what to do with it. In keeping with the trust that we ask of everyone who participates, we recommend that you treat the dream you buy with care.
CONTRIBUTING A DREAM
Does the dream contributor cease to benefit from the meaning or content of their dream once they submit it and/or sell it?
Once the dream is sold the meaning or content of the dream is transferred to the buyer. Your dream can be a friendly gift for an unknown stranger. Please don’t submit a dream that you don’t want to sell or you have already sold to someone else.
What happens if my dream doesn’t find a buyer?
Your dream will remain as your dream. If your dream doesn’t sell it will remain posted on the website and may be sold at future DREAM AUCTION events.