The spectacular finale of Taipei Fashion Week must be the "Crossover Fashion Show," which will take place on October 24 at the Taipei Music Center. The show once again partners with Isaac Chen, who has served as creative director for Golden Awards, and his creative team: Young Hope to create this highly anticipated international fashion show.

Transcending reality and fantasy, when technological glimmer becomes fashion romantic, "Fashion Romantasy" presents a future gala night where AI light and shadow interweave with poetic sensory experiences. Five wildly stylistic singers and visual performers will collaborate with six designers: PCES、CHIA 、Claudia Wang、TANGTSUNGCHIEN 、UUIN、 JUST IN XX. On a stage where melody and fabric interweave, they will weave a romantic progression. Through "The Show" step into the dreams, transforming imagination of the future into a stage for Taipei's fashion dreams. AI is not just a tool, but an extension of imagination.

Taipei’s tenth edition of Nuit Blanche is almost here! 

The city’s largest annual nighttime arts festival will take place from 2 pm on November 1 to 2 am on November 2, 2025. This milestone edition carries special meaning as it unfolds in Yuanshan, an area rich in history and collective memory. 

The event spans key locations including Yuanshan Natural Landscape Park (formerly the Taipei Children’s Amusement Park, 兒童育樂中心), Taipei Broadcasting Station, Yuanshan Tunnel (圓山坑道), and the Yuanshan section of Taipei Expo Park. It also connects with institutions such as the Taipei Fine Arts Museum and the King Car Cultural & Art Center, joining forces with the Taipei Biennial, Digital Art Festival Taipei, and Taipei Landscape Public Art Project (臺北地景公共藝術計畫). 

As night falls, familiar spaces will be transformed through art, becoming living canvases of creativity and community energy that invite visitors to experience Taipei’s past, present, and future through the lens of contemporary art.

When Art Enters Living History: “Hi Story”

The 2025 theme, Hi Story, playfully intertwines the word “History” with the greeting, “Hi,” using art as a means to revisit the past and awaken collective memory while inviting the public to become storytellers who help turn the pages of the city’s shared narrative. 

For the first time, the event’s main visual is based on paintings. Artist Ching-yuan Chen has contributed three works blending romanticism and surreal symbolism to create a nonlinear, allegorical visual language. The logotype, designed by Chung-lun Chiang, draws inspiration from the DNA double helix—a metaphor for the intertwining of history and personal memory, as though history were the genetic code of urban culture. Continuing this concept, the Hi Story typography uses fluid geometric strokes with the number “10” subtly embedded within the word “Story” to symbolize the 10th anniversary of Nuit Blanche Taipei.

French Curator Returns; Queer Ballroom Extravaganza and New Visual Works Take the Stage

This year, Nuit Blanche Taipei once again welcomes guest curator and former Nuit Blanche Paris artistic director Kitty Hartl, who has been collaborating with two French artists on dazzling new projects.

Lasseindra Lanvin, a legendary figure in France’s queer ballroom culture, will bring Voguing Ball: Scent of Fabrics to northern Taiwan for the first time— an exhilarating fusion of performance and visual art that reflects on Taiwan’s history and culture while celebrating diversity and identity. Meanwhile, Pierre Delavie will be presenting an all-new visual creation specially commissioned for this year’s event.

Together, these works transform audiences into more than observers: they become participants, catalysts, and integral parts of a living social landscape. The flow of crowds, spontaneous interactions, and collective movement through space will intertwine with the artworks to shape a new rhythm for the city. 

From Shrine to Playground: Five Thematic Zones of Art and Performance

Beyond the international lineup, chief curator Robbie Huang and performing arts director Yi-wen Cheng have conceived multiple projects inspired by local history to transform Yuanshan into a living dialogue between stories and places. 

The visual and performing arts will unfold across five curatorial themes: Slices of Time (時間切片), Echoes of History (歷史迴聲), Dream Wormholes (夢的蟲洞), Variations of Seeing (觀看變奏), and Fields in Bloom (綻放場域). 

Highlights include Zi-jie Yin’s Fairy Ring (named after naturally occurring rings of mushrooms that European folklore explained as elven dancing circles); Lien-yin Wu’s Mirage: Save As, which reimagines old amusement-park rockscapes with glowing lights and metallic reflections to conjure a dreamlike space between the virtual and the real; and Wen-chang Tsai × Yen-chun Lai’s A Falling Song, which transforms the former children’s amusement park into a temporal landscape, turning repurposed mattresses into soft musical keys that evoke memories of carefree evening excursions.

Art Descends into the Yuanshan Tunnel (圓山坑道): A 12-Hour Immersive Experience

This year’s Nuit Blanche strengthens its focus on live action and audience participation, featuring performances and installations inside the reopened Yuanshan Tunnel (圓山坑道). 

In The Sleep Building, artist Yen-yen Ho explores the resonance between sleep brainwaves and tidal rhythms, revealing the hidden architecture of dreams. 

Tsung-hsun Tsai’s The Transparent Pit consists of mirrored walls and entrances that reflect the tunnel’s space, guiding both performers and audiences through layers of history. 

Meanwhile, Chih Chiu’s Lasso Plant brings everyday objects into a wartime air-raid tunnel, transforming a once-defensive space into a serene realm between shelter and illusion, an immersive journey blurring the boundaries between memory, art, and lived experience.

Since 2007, Taipei City Government has been building a “city music brand” through the Taipei Jazz Festival. Over the years, the festival has cultivated a rich jazz culture, allowing the spirit of jazz—democracy, openness, fusion—to resonate throughout Taipei, deeply embedding jazz into every corner of the city.

Alley Impromptu Stage: Infusing the Improvisational Spirit of Jazz into the Streets

During the 2025 Taipei Jazz Festival, the specially curated “Alley Impromptu Stage” series will be staged at nine lively jazz bars and music spaces across the city, allowing the public to step into the world of live jazz and personally experience its most essential spirit: improvisation. 

Throughout the performances, audiences will fully feel the boundless energy of jazz radiating from the stage, while they watch musicians engage in dialogue and playful competition through their instruments, creating a completely new kind of experience. The series also features an interactive “stamp collection” system, allowing attendees to earn stamps and redeem souvenirs, adding a fun, engaging layer that deepens participation and connection to the festival.

Jazz Now Live Sessions: Resonating Jazz Across Taipei

This year, the festival brings jazz into historically and culturally significant spaces in Taipei, including heritage buildings, traditional markets, museums, cultural venues, and even the zoo, expanding both the spatial practice and urban connection of jazz. 

Seven “Jazz Now Live Sessions” will be held, pairing the historical and architectural context of each venue with an appropriate jazz style to create a dialogue between history and musical narrative while reshaping the listener’s perception of space and time. These sessions not only embody jazz’s cross-generational vitality and diversity, and the possibilities of reinterpretation across different locales, but also reflect a broader trend in contemporary performing arts: the dynamic interplay between space and sound. 

Here, listeners are no longer passive recipients. Through their live participation, they become part of a renewed interpretation of the city’s sonic culture. In this way, the experience opens new pathways for reflecting on how urban memory, bodily perception, and musical culture are interwoven.

Taipei Music Center Plaza: International Convergence of Outdoor Jazz

The main stage will be in the Taipei Music Center outdoor plaza from September 26 to 28. Over three days, top jazz ensembles from Taiwan and abroad will gather under the curatorial theme of “intergenerational dialogue × international exchange” to present a rich spectrum of classic, contemporary, and experimental styles—highlighting the boundless possibilities of jazz and its resonance with the spirit of the times. 

Highlights will include Rich Huang leading a Taiwanese jazz band, Chris Babida exploring jazz possibilities, Hungary’s Loop Doctors delivering explosive energy, the delicate French-style piano of the Remi Panossian Trio, and three closing performances with the Taipei Jazz Orchestra, Rangsit Jazz Orchestra led by Denny Euprasert, and the Blue Note Tokyo All-Star Jazz Orchestra led by Eric Miyashiro, presenting a grand symphonic jazz dialogue.

Cultivating Taipei Jazz: OPEN CALL Jazz Talent Accelerator

Through the OPEN CALL mechanism, 12 outstanding jazz ensembles will be selected to perform on both the Alley Impromptu Stage and the Jazz Now Live Sessions stage, expanding performance formats and increasing musician participation, while giving audiences more opportunities to experience the wide-ranging allure of jazz sounds. 

At the same time, 21 top jazz musicians will be chosen to form the Taipei All-Star Jazz Big Band (臺北全明星爵士大樂團), personally led by internationally renowned jazz educator Dr. Gene Aitken. After intensive training in the Jazz Talent Accelerator (爵士能量加速器) program, the ensemble will make its grand debut on the main stage, where it will demonstrate the depth of energy that the 2025 Taipei Jazz Festival brings as one of Asia’s major jazz platforms.

The 2025 Taipei Jazz Festival will launch on September 3 and present nearly a full month of performances and activities, including: nine intimate indoor Alley Impromptu Stage sessions tucked away in Taipei’s alleyway jazz bars, eight Jazz Now Live Sessions staged in distinctive venues, two storefront pop-up events at Taipei Music Center Plaza, and three consecutive days of large-scale outdoor concerts at the same venue.

With the slogan “Jazz Everywhere,” the festival underscores the idea that jazz is boundless—diverse, cross-disciplinary, and omnipresent. 

From September 3 to 28, jazz will be everywhere throughout Taipei, waiting to be discovered by the public. For full details, follow the 2025 Taipei Jazz Festival Facebook page.

Event Overview

2025 Taipei Jazz Festival

Alley Impromptu Stage:

Every Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday from September 3 to September 19, across nine jazz live houses.

Jazz Now Live Sessions:

September 6 (Sat): National Taiwan Museum Nanmen Branch - 1915 Nizukuri-ba

September 7 (Sun): Treasure Hill Artist Village

September 13 (Sat): Umkt, Guandu Wharf

September 14 (Sun): Taipei Zoo, Guandu Wharf

September 20 (Sat): Songshan Cultural and Creative Park

September 21 (Sun): Taipei Performing Arts Center

Large-Scale Outdoor Concerts

September 26 to 28, Taipei Music Center Outdoor Plaza

NB: Programme is subject to change. Refer to official announcements on 2025 Taipei Jazz Festival platforms for the latest updates.

Co-presented by Taipei City Government and Taipei Performing Arts Center, the 2025 Taipei Fringe Festival will take place from August 23 to September 7. This year continues in the spirit of the festival’s “no limits” approach and will feature an unprecedented 178 performance groups, 47 venues, and 866 performances. Over 16 days, creators from various fields will infuse the city with artistic energy, bringing art into every corner of urban life during this radiant summer.

“Don’t Think About the Pink Sheep!”: Entering the Creative Realm of Taipei Fringe 

The theme of this year’s festival is “Don’t Think About the Pink Sheep”, using a whimsical but striking pink sheep to disrupt the habitual perceptions of everyday life. The conceit draws on psychologist Daniel Wegner’s studies of the “white bear phenomenon”, which observed that the more we try to suppress a thought, the more frequently it occurs. 

Suppression is a kind of framework, but the Fringe Festival is the complete opposite: a boundaryless experiment where unrestrained freedom brings creativity into daily life, and everyone—whether or not they see themselves as an audience—is invited to become part of it and to rethink possible forms of resonance between art and existence.

From Cold Noodle Shops to Cloud Stages: Taipei Fringe Everywhere

This year, the festival’s stages extend beyond traditional theaters into every corner of the city. Performance sites span five districts—Shilin, Beitou, Datong, Zhongshan, and Xinyi—and cover 26 types of venue, including cafés, bookstores, restaurants, select shops, cold noodle and curry shops, and even sustainable department stores. This “bring-your-own-venue” trend reflects creators’ strong identification with the Fringe Festival ethos: no longer waiting to be assigned a stage, they actively scope out their own spaces, rooting art in familiar, emotionally resonant places.

Breaking Geographic Limits: Taipei Fringe Everywhere

Performance group Burn Theatre goes a step further by breaking physical limits and partnering with the Chito App to bring performances online. Audiences can access immersive, wall-less performances on their phones anywhere, anytime, allowing theater to flow freely between the digital world and the real world.

Apart from expanding venues and the “bring-your-own-venue” initiative, this year the festival also features greater international participation. Eight groups from Hong Kong, Malaysia, Singapore, and Russia will join to inject new cultural perspectives. The overseas creators not only bring a diversity of styles and performance languages but actively transcend geographical and institutional boundaries, embracing Taipei Fringe Festival 2025 as a free experimental space. Several Hong Kong–based groups are flying over to Taiwan to perform, demonstrating the festival’s growing magnetism for Asia’s creative communities.

“Pink Sheep Appears”: Fringe Festival Kickoff, a City Lighting Up

“Direct Hit! Pink Sheep Appears”, the hitoff event, will take place from 3 pm to 6 pm on August 16 at Songshan Cultural and Creative Park’s Creative Street (文創大街). Nearly 40 performance groups will collaborate in a formless, boundary-free flash mob, promising the most unmissable art spectacle of late summer!

Audiences can interact with creators while they discover the festival’s exciting lineup. The day will showcase a wide range of performance arts forms, encapsulating the festival’s spirit of freedom, vitality, and subversion, and liberating the entire city through creative performance.

Pre-Show Stick-Up 2025 TFF: Replays of Last Year’s Award-Winning Performances

This year, three outstanding performances return by popular demand: The Three Big Dippers (winners of the 2024 Best Work in Fringe Award) with The Sound of Silence, COVID-109 (winners of the Fringe Innovation Award) with LIVE!(Hopefully) THE LAST ANNUAL NEW-COMING-3P ACTRESS PAGEANT COMPETITION, and Tadzio Theatre (winners of the Fringe Choice Award) with A play as a way. These three remarkable works will be staged again from August 15 to 17, so viewers interested in these shows should not miss them!

Taipei Fringe Festival 2025 continues to be a place where creators are free to experiment. Each year brings more diverse forms, more voices, and more innovative approaches. Some perform in black box theaters, others in comic shops, chapels, museums, or even online—anywhere can become a stage! 

Tickets for all Taipei Fringe Festival 2025 performances go on sale July 1 at OPENTIX. Join the hidden corners of the city from August 23 to September 7 and experience “Don’t Think About the Pink Sheep”!

Set against the backdrop of disasters, war, personal crises, and the complexities of social rela-tionships, Safe Room is a space layered like strata, but fractured like tectonic plates—creating shifting boundaries between the self and others. 

Along these invisible lines, the exhibition constructs a temporary refuge from looming threats, a site of shelter continually reshaped by movement, displacement, and overlay. It is through this imagined “elsewhere” that Safe Room probes the blurred borders between protection and isolation, expanding our imagining of disaster itself.

Safety, always seems to imply a lurking danger. Taking the concept of disaster as a point of departure, Safe Room explores what catastrophe looks like from a Taiwan-centric perspective. From the lingering traces of authoritarian rule to the looming threats of war and frequent nat-ural calamities, a variety of forces disrupt our familiar routines and reshape how we relate to one another.

In the past three decades, Taiwan has endured earthquakes, typhoons, and political turmoil. This exhibition uses a series of artworks and narratives to respond to those threats. With con-tributions from seven artists based in Japan, Switzerland, and Taiwan, the exhibition offers a variety of perspectives on disaster, inviting the audience into a space that is both shelter and frontline. Along ever-shifting boundaries, it reflects on governance and individual agency in the face of crisis, and the unforeseen connections born from the diverse textures of disaster.

Ultimately, Safe Room reveals our precarious proximity to catastrophe. It urges us to position ourselves at the very edge of uncertainty, to adapt, respond, and perhaps even redefine the way we live and govern in an era shaped by constant threat.

Layered Landscapes and Accumulated Memory: Writing the Land through Natural Disaster

At MOCA Taipei’s outdoor plaza, visitors encounter Layer Upon Layer (一層層疊起) by Swiss artist Leonardo Bürgi Tenorio, a site-specific installation built around a Chinaberry tree that collapsed during Typhoon Kong-rey (2024). 

At the work’s core are earthen bricks crafted from local mud, sand, and clay, compressed and stacked during the artist’s field research across Taiwan. This co-creation between natural dis-aster and human intervention forms a walkable space, allowing viewers to physically trace the sedimented memories of the land.

In The Woodland Without Leaves, Yu-song Wang + Earthquake Sketching Group, comprising 21 creators from Hualien, respond to recurring natural disasters through on-site sketches and embodied observation. By repurposing driftwood from the coast into easels carried upstream for plein air painting, then leaving the easels behind—, the artists create a symbolic forest with no leaves, a poetic gesture that memorializes an ever-shifting environment.

Metaphors of Governance and Invisible Lines: Urban Structures and Political Borders

In Patching, Layers, and Overlays (補綴、夾層與覆蓋), Ya-wen Tang invites visitors to walk across a floor made of concrete, terrazzo, and asphalt. Accompanied by the sound of water flowing in pipes encircling the space, the installation peels back the urban surface to expose hidden infrastructures—barely noticeable, yet constantly evolving, imprints that shape our cities.

Hikaru Fujii’s The Classroom Divided by the Red Line (被紅線劃分的班級) draws on post-Fukushima discrimination in Japan. In the film, a teacher divides students into two groups, those “inside” and “outside” the radiation zone to create an irrational, discriminatory envi-ronment. As observers, the director, camera crew, and audience are all complicit, implicating the viewer in the mechanics of systemic bias.

Humor as Resistance: Psychological Warfare and the Threat of Invasion

Cheng-chun Chang presents two works: Private Second-Class R&D and Nice to See You. 

Drawing from Chang’s own experience as a conscript, Private Second-Class R&D proposes a “propaganda bomb” campaign that invites the public to donate foods to which the enemy would not have access during wartime, such as classic Taiwanese snacks or symbolic items from allied nations, to be turned into airborne tools of psychological warfare. This piece has a lighthearted tone and offers a layered reflection on the threats of invasion, democratic con-sensus, and national identity. 

In Nice to See You, a decommissioned firehose is bent so its two ends face each other to cre-ate a symbolic, anthropomorphic conversation between parts that would otherwise never meet. Giving voice to this long-silent, high-pressure object hidden within architecture, Chang high-lights the unseen forces that protect us every day. Nice to See You was created in collabora-tion with Chia-lun Chang and Chin-min Ho of the popular podcast Taiwan’s No.1 Commut-ing Brand.

Chen-wei Chang’s Volkswagen Transporter T5.gltf centers on a 3D-modeled reconstruction of a bombed civilian vehicle, originally created by a graduate of Kyiv National University during the Ukraine–Russia war. Chang used digital imagery and printed canvas collage to re-assemble the ruined car, transforming visual trauma into a powerful testament. The piece con-nects distant events to our own lived realities, underlining how the detritus of war ripples out far beyond its epicenter.

The 26th Taipei Children’s Arts Festival (TCAF), co-hosted by Taipei City Government and Taipei Performing Arts Center, will be held from June 28 through August 2. We invite every-one to embrace the spirit of ‘KIDS MODE ON!’ and immerse themselves in a world of won-der and artistic adventure.

This year’s festival presents nine ticketed productions featuring shadow play, puppetry, music, and theater, along with a wide variety of free programs across all 12 districts of Taipei—including three must-see outdoor performances. Interactive exhibitions and workshops perfect for the whole family will bring art experiences closer than ever before.

For the first time, TCAF is expanding into public kindergartens, where artists will visit young learners with specially curated storytelling sessions. Da'an Park will be the stage for three magical outdoor performances, where families are invited to share the excitement under the summer night sky. Inclusive physical workshops will offer participants a space to connect be-yond words, using movement and imagery to co-create unique stories.

Light and Shadow Adventures: Open the Door to Imagination

This year, the festival features three shadow-themed productions that illuminate creativity in the dark. 

Germany’s Tangram Kollektiv brings the delightfully clever Shades of Shadows, reimagining shadow puppetry through inventive humor and the curious world of a shadow gone rogue. 

Australia’s Patch Theatre presents ZOOOM, inspired by the beloved picture book Harold and the Purple Crayon. Nominated for the Sydney Theatre Award, this dazzling production al-lows young audiences to rediscover the beauty of darkness and imagination through light. 

From the finals of America’s Got Talent, Catapult Entertainment (USA) presents Magic Shadows, a visual spectacle where performers use their bodies to create hundreds of silhou-etted scenes, blending storytelling, illusion, and humor in breathtaking form.

Puppets Tell Stories: From Outer Space to Martial Arts Legends

Puppetry is a magical medium for exploring the feelings and experiences of our time, as well as the stories of the past. Spain’s Xirriquiteula Teatre offers Laika, a moving multimedia re-telling of the Cold War’s first space dog, combining shadow play, objects, and video to re-flect on courage, sacrifice, and memory. 

Taiwan’s Our Theatre (臺灣集藝戲坊) brings HERO, a reimagined classic by puppet master Tien-lu Li. This immersive, mobile production blends martial arts, live music, and sound ef-fects, transporting audiences into a gripping world of honor and heartache.

Classic Reimagined × Poetic Retellings: Turning Stories into Stage Magic

Familiar tales take bold new forms in three surprising stage adaptations. Flying Group Thea-tre’s 1 Home and 2 with a Caterpillar, adapted from a poetic picture book by Taiwanese poet Summer (夏夏), transforms the Bopiliao Historical Block into an immersive, multigenerational journey through puppetry, sound, and installation art. 

4 Goods Studio’s Fairy Tells…, inspired by French playwright Joël Pommerat, fearlessly re-works fairy tales with unexpected twists. Watch out for bad queens and magic mirrors gone rogue in this delightfully subversive theatrical remix.

A Laid-back Summer: The City Becomes Our Stage

This summer, the city becomes one big stage. TCAF invites everyone to enjoy performances with curiosity and laughter. The Evergreen Symphony Orchestra presents Peer Gynt’s Adven-ture, a special “Relaxed Concert” at the Sphere Theater, Taipei Performing Arts Center. Au-diences are free to experience Grieg’s timeless music in a welcoming, stress-free environment that accommodates a range of sensory needs. 

Meanwhile, the “Community on the Move” (前進社區) series brings free performances di-rectly into neighborhoods and features 12 unique programs, including improv comedy, rhythmic storytelling, circus musicals, and fable-inspired puppet shows, all just a few steps from home.

One-Day Art Adventure in Shilin–Jiantan: Move, Explore, Create

Planning a day out with the kids in Shilin or Jiantan this summer? Be sure to stop by the Tai-pei Performing Arts Center for some exciting hands-on experiences! Throughout July, the venue will host vibrant free exhibitions and activities, including the interactive show You Choreograph—Little Choreographers. 

This playful exhibit allows children and families to explore the endless creative potential of their own bodies, turning everyday movements into dance routines and transforming stories through light, objects, and collaborative play.

From finely crafted theatrical performances to joyful encounters in neighborhoods, from in-clusive workshops to immersive exhibitions, the 26th Taipei Children’s Arts Festival brings together a rich variety of programs for all curious hearts. This summer, let’s all embrace the magic of imagination and wonder. KIDS MODE ON! 

For full program details, ticketing, and event registration, visit the Taipei Performing Arts Center website or OPENTIX.

The SongYan Summer Festival at Songshan Cultural and Creative Park was launched in 2022. Over the past three years, nighttime cultural offerings at this historic site have been enthusias-tically received, drawing over a million visitors. 

Last year saw the official opening of the Taipei Dome, the launch of 14 restaurants at SOGO Garden City, and the reopening of the 24-hour Eslite Bookstore at Songshan Cultural and Creative Park. This year, the Taipei Cultural and Sporting Park (臺北文化體育園區) is wel-coming yet another major debut, the Garden of Lights on the first floor of SOGO Garden City’s cinema building. 

This summer, Songshan Cultural and Creative Park will once again join forces with partners across the broader SongYan district and collaborate with trendsetters from Taiwan and abroad to create a brand-new trendy nightlife experience in Taipei’s East and Xinyi Districts!

Trends are like the city’s lights at night: dazzling and ever-changing, like flowing water, con-stantly shifting in form. As a flagship international metropolitan music festival, TRENDY TAIPEI (which in 2025 is sporting the slogan “TRENDY TAIPEI: It’s now”) links music, fashion, technology, audiovisual arts, gaming, and artistic performance, transforming the en-tire city into a creative lab and showcasing future trends and influences across three major areas: Industry Trends, Concert Economy, and Urban Action. 

Situated in the cultural corridor and consumption hub of central Taipei, Songshan Cultural and Creative Park takes the lead in responding to TRENDY TAIPEI’s Urban Action with the 2025 edition of the SongYan Summer Festival, bringing together elements loved by trend-savvy audiences. 

Three types of nighttime experiences will be on offer: music, sports, and markets. The event will span 10 summer weekend evenings over two months, so everyone can step out of the air-conditioning and into the heat of summer to feel the trends and fire up Taipei!

From Trend to Flow: Slow Down with Healing Yoga to Ease into Summer Nights

When sports is combined with the idea of “#trendy,” it often evokes images of runners in mo-tion or skaters chasing speed. But in the hustle and bustle of a busy city, slowing down and focusing on mindful movement has become a trend in itself. 

The first weekend of SongYan Summer Festival will open with a “cork yoga” session in the park’s romantic Baroque Garden. Partnering with well-known yoga brand MATA, the session will feature eco-friendly cork props and themed classes that combine yoga, Pilates, and beer and other surprise drinks. 

After the first weekend, six additional sessions will be held, enabling participants to stretch freely like branches in a garden. On the second weekend, participants will be guided into deeper relaxation with MACACA’s Healing Yoga Flow (療癒瑜珈) sessions, accompanied by live handpan and singing bowl sound therapy. Let your body move with the rhythm, find-ing your own strength and balance between motion and stillness, and fully experiencing the flow of body and breath.

In August, the NoMad Yoga series will feature classes blending jazz dance, yoga, and music, encouraging everyone to move under the moonlight and discover the soothing transition from trend to flow.

Classical and Pop Music Take the Stage at a Historic Landmark: Seven Major Music Feasts 

This year, we are proud to welcome the award-winning Czech quartet Alf Carlsson/Jiri Ko-taca Quartet, winners of the 2024 Czech Music Award. The quartet will perform with Tai-wanese violinist Yu-chin Huang, flutist Yi-le Ting, violist Chih-ching Li, and cellist Tsun-i Huang in an improvisational modern jazz concert. 

Taipei Symphony Orchestra will also present a concert blending classical and pop music, while the Taipei Philharmonic Foundation for Culture and Education will host performances by international choirs. 

In addition, a popular DJ will create a summer J-POP night filled with food and drinks in-spired by Ukiyo-e aesthetics. Indigenous creators will be invited to share picture books and perform songs in their native languages, allowing audiences to appreciate the beauty of indig-enous stories and music. 

Meanwhile, the 1500 Sound Academy will host a summer music festival, offering interactive workshops and lectures that connect music lovers with the industry, all while showcasing fresh talent from the next generation of creators.

Chill and Refreshing Food Showcase: Take It Easy This Summer

You can still fire up Taipei in the summer! 

Though it’s hard to leave the air conditioning for the afternoon heat, Songshan Cultural and Creative Park invites you to chill out from day to night with So Fun So Cool, curated by Funtasty. The session features refreshing food and drinks and interactive experiences, offer-ing cooling, thirst-quenching options and a hint of summer buzz to beat the heat. 

Throughout the park, photo-friendly installations will be set up to spread good vibes. Come explore every corner of Songshan Cultural and Creative Park’s historic grounds, discover sur-prises throughout the SongYan Summer Festival, and enjoy one of the most distinctive sum-mer nights in Taipei!

Taipei boasts a wealth of cultural resources and a robust industrial framework. Taipei City Government has long supported the development of pop music culture and in 2024 took a significant step forward with the launch of the new showcase brand TRENDY TAIPEI. The brand’s mission was to create an international urban music festival unique to Taipei, integrat-ing resources from public and private sectors and inviting widespread participation from civil society. 

The festival brought together areas including pop music, film and entertainment, performing arts, digital marketing, and technology, and featured 13 events and over 280 performances and forums, welcoming experts and performing groups from more than 40 countries. With more than 100,000 attendees, TRENDY TAIPEI marked a powerful step toward connecting Taipei’s music and cultural industries with the international stage.

This year, we continue building on those core values by unleashing fresh waves of innovation across Taipei. Themed TRENDY TAIPEI: It’s Now, the 2025 edition celebrates creativity and explosive energy in the here and now. 

From August 25 to September 7, the 14-day event will ignite the entire city and integrate mu-sic, fashion, technology, audiovisual, gaming, and art. Taipei will be transformed into a dy-namic laboratory of creativity, showcasing the city’s role as a future trendsetter.

At its core, 2025 TRENDY TAIPEI is driven by city branding and industry momentum. Three key dimensions—industry trends, the concert economy, and urban action—are inte-grated into a cohesive force that extends Taipei’s cultural depth and trendsetting spirit to the rest of the world. Our goal is to make Taipei both the origin and powerhouse of regional trends.

Last year, the Department of Economic Development’s StartSphere Taipei gained wide ac-claim as a large-scale platform that blended international exchange, innovative case studies, business matchmaking, and trend culture. The Taipei Music Center–hosted Taipei Music Expo brought together international music festival curators, agents, distributors, record labels, music tech startups, and producers to explore such topics as market trends, digital transformation, and cross-industry collaboration between music, film, and gaming. This year, we will carry these same values forward with another round of international forums to connect Taipei with global perspectives and future possibilities.

Also held at the Taipei Music Center was Jam Jam Asia, a pan-Asian, cross-border music fes-tival and major highlight spun off from the Taipei Music Expo that won over fans with unfor-gettable performances. Building on that momentum, this year’s concert offerings will be fully upgraded, with events at the Taipei Music Center and some of the biggest performances in the Taipei Arena. 

We’re working with top-tier local production and creative teams and world-class performers to deliver a wide range of high-quality pop music experiences. Through TRENDY TAIPEI, we aim to broaden Taipei’s musical footprint and fuel its cultural and economic vibrancy, po-sitioning the city as the new epicenter of Asia’s concert economy. 

The focus of TRENDY TAIPEI’s third dimension, Urban Action, is to rally even more of Taipei’s Live House music venues to join the celebration and offer the people of Taipei an even richer variety of live performances. Venue owners are preparing stellar lineups and dy-namic shows to light up Taipei’s nightlife during the festival.

This year, the urban action initiative is also introducing the Taipei City Sound Project (臺北城市聲音行動), where the public are invited to help collect the Sounds of Taipei (臺北的聲音). People are encouraged to ue sonic snapshots from everyday life to share Taipei’s unique sto-ries and express their personal impressions of the city. Once again, music and sound come to-gether to channel Taipei’s pulse and energy.

TRENDY TAIPEI is more than just a festival—it’s Taipei’s flagship platform for cultural pol-icy and urban branding. With this open, diverse stage, the City Government aims to strength-en the synergy between trend culture and innovation industries, spark cross-disciplinary crea-tivity, and bring cultural ideas to life.

Looking ahead, we will continue to integrate private resources and international exchange op-portunities to expand Taipei’s cultural influence and establish the city as Asia’s trendsetting hub and creative incubator. This is Taipei’s moment to shine — TRENDY TAIPEI: It’s now!

The Department of Cultural Affairs explains that this giant electric guitar installation presents musical notes in an amplified and contextual way. As Taipei’s trendiest new check-in landmark, it represents not just visual focal point, but also a kind of call to action, whose message is that we can all be creative. To participate in the lucky draw, any time between July 23 and September 7, take a photo of yourself next to TRENDY TAIPEI’s giant guitar head in Taipei City Hall Square, upload the photo to the comment area on TRENDY TAIPEI's official Facebook page, “like” TRENDY TAIPEI's Facebook fan page and tag two friends. The page editor will draw ten lucky winners at random from all the commenters that have completed the check-in task. Each winner will receive a limited-edition TRENDY TAIPEI 2025 gift set. The list of winners will be announced on TRENDY TAIPEI’s official Facebook and Instagram pages no more than seven days after the event ends on September 7..

Department of Cultural Affairs Commissioner Tsai Shih-ping announced that this year's TRENDY TAIPEI will be held over a period of two weeks from August 25 to September 7. There will be a total of 14 cross-disciplinary event series, from large-scale concerts, international forums, live music performances, exhibitions, and street art, to parties and market experiences. This includes the JAM JAM ASIA Asian Music Festival, which brings together a line-up of more than 50 groups of artists from ten countries across the Asia-Pacific region, combining free outdoor parties, street culture and DJ venues open through the night to celebrate Taipei's unique summer rhythms. Building on last year's acclaimed event, Taipei Music Expo (TMEX) has invited more than 40 Taiwanese music labels and 20 groups of international music festival curators and program buyers to jointly create an in-depth content and business exchange platform with the aim of strengthening Taipei's position as a hub of the Asian music industry. Other exciting series of events include the Trendy Taipei BOOM series at the Taipei Arena, Super LIVE Taipei, Trendy Convection, SouthSpark Art Festival, Shilin Fairyland Disco, and Taipei Metro Nakashi: Moon Lute, Now and Loud! In cultural venues, residential areas, transportation nodes and other places around the city, music and other events will permeate daily life, allowing people to feel the pulse of creativity in their lives.

TRENDY TAIPEI is an international metropolitan music festival brand centering on the three main themes of concert economy, industry trends and urban action. With music at its core, it connects technology, fashion, visual art, the performing arts, and cultural and creative markets, making TRENDY TAIPEI more than just a feast for the ears, but a city carnival that everyone can participate in and help create together. For further details on events and ticket sales, please follow TRENDY TAIPEI and Taipei Music Center’s official website and social media.

“Zhuangzi and Huizi were walking along the bridge over the Hao River…” So begins one of the most famous philosophical exchanges in classical Chinese thought. The two thinkers de-bate whether humans can truly know the happiness of a fish. 

Zhuangzi says the minnows in the water are enjoying themselves. Huizi counters, “Since you are not a fish, whence do you know what fish enjoy?” Many remember Zhuangzi’s witty re-buttal: “Since you are not me, whence do you know that I do not know what fish enjoy.” But few recall how the debate ends, with Zhuangzi stating calmly, “I know it from the bridge over the river.”

Observation is such a deceptively simple word. But how exactly did Zhuangzi observe? Was it the rhythm of the fishes’ fins, fluttering more vigorously than usual? Or the number of care-free leaps just beneath the shimmering surface? And if we gave Zhuangzi a thermal imaging camera, would he conclude, “These fish are warmer than usual, clearly excited, therefore hap-py”?

Questions like “What is an animal thinking?” or “What does the world look like through their eyes?” have become central to research into animal senses. Building on this momentum, Um-welt: The Embodied World(s), curated by science and contemporary art curator Cheng-Wei Lin (Davey), opened this May at MOCA Taipei. 

The exhibition brings together nine artists who explore how humans might understand animals by attempting to see the world from the animals’ points of view rather than our own. Yet eve-ry attempt to “get closer” inevitably brings us face to face with the limits of a human-centered perspective, the influence of social norms, and the illusions of technological optimism. 

Let’s take a look at the first three works in the exhibition to catch a glimpse of these under-currents.

(Mis)understanding a Paramecium

In Life of Paramecium by Mark Wang, the artist overlays soap-opera-style narratives and mel-odramatic characterizations onto real microscopic footage of paramecia sourced from Dr. Chuan Ku’s lab at Academia Sinica. The work reflects our tendency to understand distant species through dramatized “docu-fictions” narrated through familiar tropes. Phrases like “ruthless predator,” “feasting on prey,” and “sharp reflexes” reveal more about our projections than the organisms themselves. So, are we truly getting to know the paramecium itself, or merely our own anthropocentric version of it?

(Limitedly) Approaching a Cat

In Extendable Ears, artist Sheng-Wen Lo uses a modified ultrasonic sensor to convert the fre-quencies cats hear into sounds audible to human ears and then wears the device non-stop for 30 days. This raises the question: Do the converted sounds truly represent what a cat hears, or are humans incapable, even with the most advanced translation tools, of fully grasping what it means to inhabit a cat’s sensory world? Notably, the artist chose not to present any of the converted ultrasonic sounds in the exhibition space—perhaps this decision itself holds part of the answer.

The Natural Pig and the Social Pig

“Sus scrofa domestica, commonly known as the domestic pig, is a subspecies of the wild boar domesticated by humans. It is a member of the suborder Suina in the order Artiodactyla of the class Mammalia.” 

That’s how Wikipedia defines a pig, but what truly makes a pig a pig? 

In The Three Little Pigs, artist Yu-chun Lo draws from extensive field research to document three socially constructed roles of pigs in human civilization: the meat pig, the ritual pig, and the pet pig. Biologically they belong to the same species, yet their fates could not be more different. Some are slaughtered at a set age, while others live out their days being pampered as pets. The contradictions at play in these parallel lives verge on the absurd—part joke, part philosophical reflection.

Other works in the exhibition explore themes such as tactile perception and the death sense in marine animals, differences in human brain interpretations under identical visual stimuli, un-conscious human biases toward pet species, the relationship between cancer research and lab mice, and humanity’s pursuit of stable environments for plant growth. 

The exhibition also features I’m Feeling Lucky by Timothy Thomasson, a Linz Ars Electronica award-winning piece, which probes how digital interfaces have become a uniquely human form of Umwelt. Unlike science, which pursues truth through rigorous observation, testing, and reasoning, art builds on the foundations of scientific knowledge to challenge our assump-tions and shake the boundaries of human understanding. 

Can we ever truly comprehend the lives of other species? Perhaps after experiencing this ex-hibition, we’ll begin to reframe that question—by first recognizing how vastly different their senses, and thus their worlds, may be.

As the cultural and creative hub of Taiwan, Taipei stands at the forefront of the nation’s per-forming arts development. The newly established Taipei Theatre Awards, launched in 2024, marks the first professional awards in Taiwan specifically dedicated to contemporary theater and musical theater. The awards are intended to recognize excellence and innovation in Tai-wanese performing arts and set a new benchmark for the industry both in Taipei and nation-wide.

The list of finalists for the highly anticipated first edition of the Taipei Theatre Awards was revealed on April 29. Entries came from productions with a minimum of three ticketed per-formances staged between July and December 2024 at public venues in Taipei, and the re-sponse was overwhelming: 55 theater companies submitted 73 productions, comprising 57 plays and 16 musicals, with a total of 647 award submissions—underscoring the diversity and vibrancy of Taiwan’s theater scene.

The inaugural edition features 11 award categories, including production, individual achieve-ment, and special contribution awards. The shortlisted entries for production and individual categories resulted in 58 nominations across 26 productions, with a total prize fund of NT$2.7 million, and covering overall production, technical aesthetics, experimental innovation, and outstanding contributions to the field. 

A highlight of this year’s awards is the introduction of an Observer Panel, composed of 50 professionals, critics, and audience representatives from a wide range of fields, such as tech-nology, finance, and education, with ages from 20 to 50. This microcosm of theatergoers of-fers a fresh lens on stagecraft and integrates the audience into the dialogue of contemporary theater. 

The awards ceremony will take place on July 7 at the Grand Theater of the Taipei Performing Arts Center and will be hosted by acclaimed stage and screen actor and Golden Bell Award winner Huang Di-yang. The event will be livestreamed on LINE TODAY, with a replay available on the official YouTube channel.

Among the standout nominees is The Sun, an epic sci-fi production by 4 Chairs Theatre, which received six nominations—Best Play, Best Director, and design awards for set, lighting, sound, and video—making it the most nominated production this year. Notable veteran Nien-jen Wu is nominated for Best Playwright for Human Condition I, while celebrated actor Shih-chieh Chin is in the running for Best Actor in a Play for his 14-year-long performance in Tuesdays with Morrie.

In the musical theater category, My Deer First Love, created by the emerging collective House Peace—whose members average under 35 years old—stood out with multiple nominations, including Best Musical and Best Actor and Best Actress in a Musical. With its fresh energy and poignant storytelling, the production has become the focal point of this year’s musical theater competition. Golden Melody Award winner Henry Hsu and singer Sara Yu were both nominated for their captivating performances in Jinsei Daigaku—A Solo of Mama Sakurako, while the serial-style musical Surprise Craft the Musical also earned a well-deserved spot on the shortlist.

The Best Play category features a compelling range of styles and themes. In addition to The Sun, finalists include Father Mother, a unique blend of White Terror history and traditional glove puppetry; Into The Labyrinth, an elegy of youth; approaching theatre: Ghostopia, a deep dive into colonial histories; and the formally inventive parent-child performance Dear Deer. Directors Che-pin Hsu, Yang-chuen Sue, Richard Sun, Choon-eiow Koh, and Chien-han Hung have all been nominated for Best Director. 

The Best Independent Spirit Award, which celebrates bold artistic voices and boundary-pushing perspectives, features nominations such as Sa-la sat-jîn sū-kiānn, Crystal, So that ye weep as well for gladness as for pain–Lîm Tsīng-gān SOLO, Mnemosyne, and Doll House. These works explore themes ranging from marginalized life narratives and embodied experi-ence to systemic critique and gendered belief systems. Together, they reflect a generation of creators deeply attuned to the pulse of contemporary society—posing incisive questions, de-fying convention, and guiding audiences to reflect and reimagine.

The inaugural Taipei Theatre Awards have spotlighted the vibrant creative energy and rich diversity of Taiwan’s theater scene, while also fostering deeper dialogue between audiences and the stage. By establishing this awards system, Taipei is not only reaffirming its role as a cradle of theatrical innovation but also taking a significant step toward becoming a major hub for performing arts in Asia. The awards ceremony on July 7 will be a grand celebration for theater creators and audiences alike. Come and witness this defining moment in Taiwanese theater.

TRENDY TAIPEI 2025: It’s Now showcases the latest developments in Taiwan's contemporary music, creative technology industries, and global trends. Comprising three key areas: The Concert Economy, Industry Trends, and Urban Action, the festivals exciting events span music, film, art, and technology, bringing the city's cultural trends and heritage to every corner of Taipei. This trend-setting event is expected to ignite a music and cultural boom across the city. As Department of Cultural Affairs Commissioner Tsai Shih-ping remarked, “Before beautiful songs were made, all sounds originated from life.” This sound collection campaign aims to capture Taipei's unique soundscape with the help of the city’s residents—from the hum of MRT trains entering stations, the bustling sounds of people at night markets, to whispered afternoon street conversations, each sound tells a story about Taipei.

This year's call for Taipei City Sound Action submissions features popular singer Winni. Winni will be the protagonist of this story, personally visiting different corners of Taipei. Like an urban sound explorer, she will collect and record the unique sounds that best represent Taipei. Whether it's the early morning birdsong in the park, scooter engine sounds under the Taipei Bridge, the calls of Shilin Night Market traders, or the sound of the bell as the Maokong Gondola pulls into the station—let's travel with our ears open and capture the city's most authentic melodies. You are not just a Taipei resident, but an ambassador of this city. Join Taipei City Sound Action as a sound storyteller and let the world hear your Taipei!

TRENDY TAIPEI is not just a music festival, but a key driver of cultural innovation in Taipei, creating a resonance between music, innovation, and the atmosphere of the city. Taipei City Sound Action will launch online on April 9. To participate, submit a 5-60 second recording of Taipei's urban sounds, along with photos and a 300-word story. Participants will receive a ticket to Taipei Music Center’s exciting permanent exhibition and a chance to win exclusive gifts from TRENDY TAIPEI! Now is the time to be in Taipei! Join Taipei City Sound Action now and become a Taipei sound creator. Record the rhythms of this city and help define the future of Taipei's music!

[Taipei City Sound Action Event Information]

Event Date: April 9, 2025

Event Format: Online Warm-up Event

Content of Submissions: 5-60 second recordings of Taipei City sounds and photos

Submission Deadline: June 30, 2025

Results Announced: Late July 2025

Registration: Fill out the Google form and upload your work: https://forms.gle/VNfZDnQHoXcNhUS3A

Participation Reward (received by all who meet the requirements): One ticket to the permanent exhibition at Taipei Music Center’s Cultural Cube

Bonus Prize Draw: 10 x Exclusive TRENDY TAIPEI gift sets

[Submission Content Guidelines]

Audio Format: 5-60 seconds (wav/m4a)

Description: 300 words or less, sharing your story or feelings about the audio recording

Image: Photo taken by the entrant (JPG/PNG, landscape format 16:9, resolution 1920x1080 or higher)

Authorization Notice: You must ensure undisputed copyright and agree to its use for exhibition, reuse, and non-profit promotions.

To strengthen TRENDY TAIPEI as part of the city’s brand, trademark registration for this year’s event logo has been filed with the Taiwan Intellectual Property Office. This includes the graphic design, the event’s Chinese and English names, and intellectual property protection. This ensures the exclusivity and consistency of the TRENDY TAIPEI brand identity when promoted at home and abroad, and also demonstrates Taipei's commitment to becoming an Asian trendsetting hub. According to the Department of Cultural Affairs, this year's festival features a total of 17 event series centered around music and encompassing related areas such as fashion, technology, audio-visual entertainment, games, and art, enabling festival-goers to experience the city’s creative pulse and trendy energy. Through cross-disciplinary collaborations and international perspectives, Taipei is not merely following trends but actively contributing to setting them, continuously striving towards the city’s goal of becoming an Asian trendsetting capital.

From late July to early September this year, a giant electric guitar installation will stand in the square in front of City Hall. This installation will become the most prominent city landmark during the festival period. The installation, with its strong visual focus, will become a check-in landmark that residents and tourists alike can interact with. It echoes TRENDY TAIPEI’s image of Taipei as a city that uses music as its language, where people are transformed from observers to participants. This realizes the brand concept: “Be a player with TRENDY TAIPEI. Together, let’s compose TRENDY TAIPEI’s melodies!” Two additional major events organized in partnership with the Taipei Music Center—Taipei Music Expo (TMEX) and the JAM JAM ASIA Asian Music Festival (JJA)—will take place at Taipei Music Center from August 28 to 31.

This year's Taipei Music Expo (TMEX) has once again expanded, becoming a four-day event for the first time. It will bring together over 40 Taiwanese music production companies, management brands, and record labels, and attract more than 20 music festival organizers. Building on the popularity of TMEX, the JAM JAM ASIA Asian Music Festival (JJA) takes place at the Taipei Music Center on August 30 and 31. The festival features more than 50 musicians from 10 Asia-Pacific countries, across diverse musical genres, such as rock, hip-hop, electronic, and R&B, showing the richness of Asian music. Tickets for the festival are now on sale. For more information, please visit the ibon ticketing system (https://ticket.ibon.com.tw/ActivityInfo/Details/38944).

TRENDY TAIPEI is more than just a music festival; it's a celebration of Taipei's pop culture and creative energy. The 2025 theme of “It's Now!”, emphasizes squarely facing the present, embracing innovation, and continuously stirring up and promoting the spirit of the city's brand. In the future, through themed installations, brand recognition, cross-border collaborations, and international exchanges, the aim is to deepen the recognition and influence of TRENDY TAIPEI as a global city brand, ensuring Taipei remains in the “Now” in its dynamism and creativity. For more latest event news, music performances, industry forums, and other related ticket sales information, please follow ""TRENDY TAIPEI"" and the Taipei Pop Music Center official website and social media platforms.

Two-Time Ambassadors Austin Lin and Vivian Sung Share the Screen 

Coming-of-Age Drama Marching Boys to Close the Festival 

Super Nova Talents Rosen Tsai and JN Yu Take the Lead

The 27th Taipei Film Festival unveiled its opening and closing films today (May 2). Opening the festival is 96 Minutes, the latest blockbuster by The Scoundrels director Tzu-hsuan Hung, starring Austin Lin and Vivian Sung, 2024 and 2025 festival ambassadors, respectively. They are joined by Jacob Wang (Best Actor, Taipei Film Festival), Lee-zen Lee (Best Supporting Actor), and Eleven Yao (Best Supporting Actress) in a gripping disaster action-thriller filled with high-stakes tension and explosive suspense. 

The closing film is Marching Boys, a spirited new work from Ray Jiang, director of the billion-dollar box office Gatao series. The film stars Taipei Film Festival’s Super Nova talents Rosen Tsai, JN Yu, and rising star Yu-ren Liu in an inspiring story of high school marching band members fighting to keep their dreams alive.

The opening film, 96 Minutes, is the latest work by Tzu-hsuan Hung, one of Taiwan’s few emerging directors to specialize in action cinema. The project took nine years from script to screen. To recreate the intensity of a real-time crisis, the production built Taiwan’s first full-scale high-speed rail car interior in a smart studio and incorporated Hollywood-grade virtual art technology. They spent over NT$100 million to deliver scenes of breathtaking realism, making it one of Taiwan’s most ambitious action films to date. 

The story follows newlywed bomb disposal expert (Austin Lin) and his police detective wife (Vivian Sung), who find themselves aboard a high-speed train going from Taipei to Kaohsiung. As a bomb threat unfolds, the couple must race against time to prevent disaster within 96 minutes: the fate of everyone on board is in their hands.

“This is the first time one of my films has opened the Taipei Film Festival,” said former ambassador Austin Lin upon learning that 96 Minutes had been selected as the opening film. “It’s a huge one on my actor’s bucket list!” 

“It’s already such an honor to be serving as this year’s ambassador,” said Vivian Sung, equally thrilled. “I never imagined 96 Minutes would also open the festival. It’s like the universe secretly wrote this script for me!” 

Vivian and Austin are inviting all movie lovers to attend the world premiere on June 20, kicking off this year’s Taipei Film Festival.

96 Minutes features an all-star cast that also includes Jacob Wang, Lee-zen Lee, Eleven Yao, Kent Tsai, and Frederick Lee. With heart-pounding action and emotionally charged performances, the film promises to launch the festival with an unforgettable adrenaline rush.

 Opening film 96 Minutes brings together two Taipei Film Festival ambassadors, Austin Lin and Vivian Sung, in a thrilling on-screen performance.

In 96 Minutes, festival ambassador Vivian Sung plays a newlywed police officer married to the character portrayed by former ambassador Austin Lin.

The closing film, Marching Boys, comes from director Ray Jiang, whose Gatao series broke box office records. The project was developed over six years by Black & White screenwriter Kelly Chen and Listen Before You Sing producer Wolf Chen. The film follows a group of high school students who come together to fight to save their school’s marching band and chase their dreams. Taipei Film Festival’s Super Nova actors Rosen Tsai and JN Yu and newcomer Yu-ren Liu bring these roles to life with passion and dedication. 

To prepare for the role, Rosen Tsai underwent intense physical training and transformed himself from a trumpet novice into a skilled marching band musician. “I didn’t dwell on being the lead. I just focused on playing the character well,” he said. Although this was his first time in a lead role, he stayed grounded.

Although JN Yu has played drums since childhood, he trained rigorously to fully embody his role, marching with a 20-kg drum for eight hours a day, three days a week. Even when his hands blistered and bled, he embraced the challenge with joy. “This whole experience, from the prep to the filming, and the emotional bonds we formed throughout, made me fall in love with acting. I feel incredibly lucky,” he said.

In addition to its rising stars, Marching Boys also features compelling performances from seasoned actors Lee-zen Lee, Umin Boya, and Di-yang Huang. The film’s stirring energy is further amplified by the musical direction of Golden Horse-winning composer Chris Hou, whose dynamic score injects youthful passion and cinematic grandeur and delivers a rousing finale that promises to leave audiences both exhilarated and moved.

 Marching Boys, Taipei Film Festival’s closing film, follows the inspiring journey of a high school marching band chasing their dreams with an unwavering spirit.

Former Taipei Film Festival Super Nova honorees, Rosen Tsai and JN Yu and emerging talent Yu-ren Liu star.

The 27th Taipei Film Festival will run from June 20 to July 5, 2025, across multiple venues including Taipei Zhongshan Hall, Vieshow Cinemas (Xinyi), and SPOT-Huashan. A rich programme of screenings and events will be revealed in the weeks to come. 

The nominees for the “Taipei Film Awards” will be announced May 15th, while the nominees for the International New Talent Competition will also be announced mid-May. 

For the latest updates, visit the official Taipei Film Festival website:

https://www.taipeiff.taipei/tw/

“Theater of the Times: Contemporary Images and Their Many Interpretations” showcases contemporary documentary photography by 17 artists from Taiwan and abroad, including Chien-chi Chang, Ching-hui Chou, Ming-yuan Chuan, Ching-tai Ho, San-tai Hsieh, Miyako Ishiuchi (Japan), Chen-hsiang Liu, Sheng-wen Lo, Daido Moriyama (Japan), Sohei Nishino (Japan), Suntag Noh (Korea), Catherine Opie (USA), Anna Ridler (UK), Chao-liang Shen, Hiroshi Sugimoto (Japan), Hoy-cheong Wong (Malaysia), and Bing Xu (China). 

The exhibition explores how rapid technological advances from analog to digital have transformed image-making, the role of the photographer, the content and meaning of images, and the processes through which they are created.

The title Theater of the Times metaphorically evokes the temporal and spatial layers constructed within images. The exhibition’s point of departure is Hiroshi Sugimoto’s Theaters and Abandoned Theater series, which uses long exposures to capture the entire duration of a cinema screening. The resulting glowing white screens contrast starkly with the darkened stages and empty seats, reflecting themes of time, existence, and transience, and the interplay between reality and illusion, inviting viewers to reflect on the essence of both image and perception.

Unearthing Hidden Histories and Memories

The exhibition opens by inviting viewers to gaze through the folds of time and reimagine the lives of those affected by historical trauma by examining the underlying forces of political power and cultural legacy. 

In 2025, the 80th anniversary of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima, Miyako Ishiuchi’s Hiroshima series presents tender images of the personal belongings bombing victims left behind. Illuminated by gentle light, these items bear traces of time and memory, their textures and colors bearing witness to the fleeting brilliance of life and the devastation of war. 

Ching-tai Ho’s A Hundred Years’ Covenant Between Man and God: the Paiwan Maljeveq Festival captures a sacred ritual of the Paiwan people in Tjuabal Village, Taitung, that takes place only once every five years. Using the wet plate collodion process—a method as unrepeatable as the ritual itself—Ho creates images that are both temporal imprints and profound testaments to cultural continuity and spiritual reverberation.

From Documentation to Narrative: A Photographic Evolution

As photographers delve into specific issues, their work often shifts from pure documentation to storytelling, both reshaping the viewing experience and also reflecting a growing social consciousness. 

Ching-hui Chou’s A Promised Land: The Planet of Angels focuses on the lives of children with disabilities and their families. Through in-depth interviews and staged scenes, Chou creates narrative triptychs that blur the lines between reality and imagination, opening a space for empathy and public dialogue. 

In Taiwanese Vaudeville Troupes, Chao-liang Shen documents the unique performance groups that appear at temple festivals, weddings, and funerals across Taiwan. By juxtaposing black-and-white images of backstage moments with the vibrant spectacle of neon stage trucks, Shen reveals the intersection of performance and folk tradition, offering insight into the dynamics of grassroots culture. 

Chen-hsiang Liu’s Temporary Scenery employs aerial photography to capture the ritualistic landscapes of religious festivals. Through images of people, offerings, and procession lines forming mysterious geometric patterns, Liu portrays these temporary but deeply meaningful spaces as powerful expressions of collective faith and imagination.

Introspection and Perception in Visual Landscapes

Photographs—fragments of reality framed through a lens—reveal not just what is seen, but how it is seen, reflecting the photographer’s introspection and perception. 

Daido Moriyama’s Record: Taiwan offers raw, intuitive snapshots of Taiwanese street life. His signature high-contrast, grainy, tilted black-and-white imagery becomes a visual record of social change and cultural fluidity. 

Sohei Nishino’s Day Drawing blends bodily experience with environmental mapping. He takes complex cityscapes from multiple perspectives and builds them into multi-layered visual tapestries. Using GPS to track his daily walking routes, he records glowing trajectories that reveal connections and rhythms between the individual and the urban environment.

Driven by curiosity about how people a century from now will view today’s images, Ming-yuan Chuan’s Time Capsule: VR Photography Project uses VR-integrated technology to document Taiwan’s iconic markets, landmarks, and public events. Viewers don VR headsets to immerse themselves in these once-familiar yet distant times and spaces, continuing their experience of the past while imagining the future. 

Anna Ridler explores the relationship between time, memory, and digital media in Circadian Nocturne. Using AI-generated imagery of nocturnal-blooming flowers, she visualizes the rhythms of life from a non-human temporal perspective, blending nature and digital aesthetics to expand sensory perception. 

Sheng-wen Lo’s Watch Out addresses the coexistence of humans and other species. Seemingly poetic landscapes contain hidden “treasures”: jewelry pieces designed after the remains of roadkill animals. 

These works highlight the tension between modern highways and natural habitats, urging reflection on the delicate balance between human development and ecological harmony.

*    The exhibition includes a series of talks and guided tours by experts. For more information, visit the Taipei Fine Arts Museum website or follow the museum on Facebook.

▍Theater of the Times: Contemporary Images and Their Many Interpretations

Dates: March 29–July 13

Location | Taipei Fine Arts Museum, Galleries 3A & 3B

Featured Filmmaker: Pema Tseden

As the world grows ever more chaotic and life increasingly restless, how do we find strength of spirit to navigate this turbulence? 

The 2025 Taipei Literature Film Festival has the theme “The Poetics of the Soul” and explores the silent yet profound dialogue between literature and film, inviting audiences to reflect on the weight and belonging of the soul in uncertain times. 

This year’s festival pays tribute to two influential creators who recently passed away, Tibetan filmmaker Pema Tseden and American author Paul Auster. 

Though vastly different in cultural background and aesthetic style, both artists were deeply concerned with the way individuals found their place amid the cracks of fate, faith, history, society, and solitude. Through poetic storytelling, they sought a sense of inner peace.

This year’s spotlight is on Pema Tseden, a Tibetan filmmaker, novelist, and poet with a minimalist and restrained visual style, blending the spirituality of Tibetan Buddhism with the tensions of modern society. Pema pioneered a new cinematic language for minority cultures, giving Tibetan voices a resolute and independent space within the mainstream. His work expanded the horizons of Chinese-language cinema, bringing greater attention to multicultural narratives and peripheral experiences. Pema broke away from long-held stereotypes and representations of Tibet in Chinese cinema. His perspective, both internal and self-defined, infused contemporary Chinese film with cultural depth and philosophical contemplation, making him one of the most influential and representative figures in modern Chinese-language cinema.

The Silent Holy Stones

Pema’s films, such as The Silent Holy Stones, The Search, Tharlo, Balloon, and his posthumous work Snow Leopard, use long takes and sparse dialogue to portray the transformations and contradictions faced by Tibetans in the realms of culture, ethics, and faith. Rather than grand narratives, these films compel audiences to respond to the truths of life through the characters’ gaze, through their silence.

 Snow Leopard

In Tharlo, the moment when the protagonist’s long hair is shaved off feels like a rupture of the soul. Balloon spins a tale of feminine choice and pain through the loss of a single condom (the “balloon” of the title). Snow Leopard stages a dialogue between nature and humanity, wildness and order, set against the vastness of the Tibetan Plateau and pointing to a kind of ethical imagination beyond language. 

The festival will feature all eight of Pema Tseden’s feature films, offering audiences a deep dive into his cinematic world and philosophical reflections on life, nature, and humanity. 

Also highlighted is Paul Auster, one of the most experimental novelists in contemporary American literature. Known for his philosophical tone and sense of play, Auster masterfully constructs meta-narratives and paradoxes of fate. His relationship with cinema is equally distinctive, reflecting his keen observations on urban loneliness and fractured identity. This year’s selections include: Blue in the Face, The Inner Life of Martin Frost, In the Country of Last Things, offering a glimpse into the fragmented poetry of New York as seen through Auster’s literary lens. 

 In the Country of Last Things

Blue in the Face takes place in a tobacco shop, tracing small but touching connections between people. The Inner Life of Martin Frost uses a fragmented narrative to evoke the lingering shadows of love and memory, as if unfolding in an uncertain dream. Set in a post-apocalyptic city, In the Country of Last Things explores moral choices and existential dilemmas in extreme circumstances. The Red Notebook, adapted from Auster’s short story, is inspired by real-life events and delicately captures the role of coincidence and repetition in shaping destiny, continuing his exploration of the boundaries between reality and fiction.

In addition to works by these two masters, the festival presents a diverse array of films rich in literary depth and visual beauty, including: Jane Austen Wrecked My Life, Thomas Mann: The Confidence Man and His Confessions, and Ophelia Did Not Drown. These films breathe new life into classic texts, transforming literature from words on a page into living reflections of modern emotions and shared experiences.

The outstanding Jane Austen Wrecked My Life, a light-hearted romantic comedy, cleverly weaves in the intellectual/emotional duality of Austen’s novels, mirroring the tug-of-war women today face between love, career, and self-expectation. Beneath its breezy tone lies thoughtful insight, making it a perfect example of how literature and cinema resonate with the times. 

The Taipei Literature Film Festival has never just been about “watching movies”. It is a dual journey of reading and viewing. Whether gazing at the stillness of Tibetan landscapes through Pema Tseden’s lens or wandering the labyrinthine streets of New York City as imagined by Auster, each film is an inner journey, a passage of the soul. This spring, step into the cinema and allow the words and images to reconnect you with your own.

▍2025 Taipei Literature Film Festival

Date | May 23–June 5

Venue | SPOT-Taipei Film House, SPOT-Huashan Cinema

In “SIBYL”, William Kentridge transports audiences to a mysterious ancient world. Through exquisite stagecraft and deeply moving performances, he reimagines the story of the Cumaean Sibyl from Greek mythology—her prophetic powers echoing humanity’s enduring uncertainty about the future.

In 2025, the Taipei Performing Arts Center proudly presents TPAC Select, a specially curated series showcasing top artists and productions from around the world. Each work delivers a powerful sensory experience that takes audiences into bold and immersive theatrical worlds. 

This year’s lineup features five experimental and thought-provoking pieces that delve into the nature of human existence, the forces of social change, and the limitless possibilities of our shared future.

Total Immersion in a Hyper-Theatrical Spectacle

German artist Heiner Goebbels’s “Everything that Happened and Would Happen” transports audiences onto a vast stage filled with fragments of history. The work draws inspiration from Czech writer Patrik Ouředník’s “Europeana,” the anti-operatic philosophy of American composer John Cage, and Euronews’s No Comment program. Goebbels brings together musicians, dancers, recorded texts, and video projections, each presenting major moments and smaller facets of the 20th century.

Amid the seemingly chaotic scenes, audiences are invited to piece together scattered historical traces and construct their own narratives, all while immersed in the sensory landscape that Goebbels masterfully creates.

Boris Charmatz’s First Creation at Tanztheater Wuppertal Pina Bausch

French choreographer Boris Charmatz’s “Liberté Cathédrale” is a dance work that explores the pursuit of freedom through the human body within the sacred space of a cathedral. It also marks his first creation as artistic director of Tanztheater Wuppertal Pina Bausch. 

To recreate the same sense of immediacy in Taipei, Charmatz invites audiences onto the stage of the Grand Theater, where a circular seating arrangement with an image of a cross allows for an intimate experience. Spectators are brought close enough to feel the whispers, prayers, and curses of the dancers, alongside the powerful energy of collective movement.

AI Algorithms and the Prophecy of Fate

In May 2024, Taipei Fine Arts Museum hosted a widely acclaimed solo exhibition by South African artist William Kentridge. His stage work “SIBYL” brings together his many talents in a cross-disciplinary masterpiece that fuses music, animation, and installation art. 

Inspired by the Greek myth of the Cumaean prophetess Sibyl, Kentridge explores humanity’s fear of, and longing for, the unknown. He skillfully employs his signature stop-motion drawings, dynamic projections, mechanical devices, and kinetic sculptures, accompanied by piano and male vocal ensembles.

A Sublime Collision of Classical and Jazz

Taiwan’s Dark Eyes Performance Lab presents “Journey into the Apocalypse,” a brand-new work that reimagines Franz Schubert’s legendary “Winterreise” from a fresh perspective. This bold reinterpretation blends the iconic art song with contemporary social issues, offering daring musical innovation that resonates with audiences from all backgrounds. Schubert’s “Winterreise” tells the story of a solitary traveler’s spiritual journey, recalling lost love and contemplating life’s meaning as he wanders without direction. 

Dark Eyes Performance Lab’s new version pays tribute to this classic while offering a powerful reflection on today’s society, probing the emotional depths of humanity as we face the threat of an impending apocalypse.

TPAC’s Super Theater Opens for 6-Hour Utopia

Polish director Łukasz Twarkowski, in collaboration with the Lithuanian National Drama Theater, brings “Respublika” to TPAC’s Super Theater for the first time. 

This groundbreaking production aims to create an experimental utopian realm. In this 6-hour immersive experience, audiences will journey through a vibrant celebration blending exhibition, performance, and installation art, and embracing absolute freedom and revelry. 

“Respublika” is a free-spirited nation complete with DJs, dance floors, kitchens, bars, saunas, trailers, and even spaceships. With the fusion of electronic music, video art, and live performance, the audience is transported into a parallel universe, where they experience an alluring fictional world of infinite possibilities.

💀 (“I’m dead”, i.e. That’s very funny)

👀 (sceptical) 

🚩 (red flag = warning sign)

As social media use explodes, emoji conversations are all the rage. Do you know how to communicate with emojis too?

Interpersonal communication is now faster than ever. We send greetings via messages and video calls and express opinions and emotions via social media posts and stories. 

Whether it’s words, emojis, stickers, or voice notes, technology has overcome physical distance, allowing us to send and receive messages instantly. But does that mean we’re actually getting closer?

The theme of the 2025 Taipei Literature Festival is “spiritual distance” (靈距離), and readers are invited to re-explore the essence of communication. From March to June, a wide array of literary lectures, exhibitions, and creative workshops will be held at major arts and cultural venues across Taipei. Literature enthusiasts are invited to join the conversation on communication and explore how literature can serve as a bridge, drawing us closer to one another.

Spiritual Distance Events

In addition to the Spiritual Distance series, the Taipei Literature Festival will feature creative workshops, exclusive lectures for students, a special exhibition at Bopiliao Historical Block in April, a visit from international Chinese author Ling Zhang in May, and the Taipei Literature Film Festival curated by SPOT-Taipei.

Every year from March to June, from early spring to early summer, literature manifests in various forms across Taipei. It is woven into everyday life—a sincere and beautiful presence within the ordinary.

“Spiritual Encounters” (靈魂觸碰) explores the essence of communication and human relationships through dialogues, seminars, play readings, and culinary experiences. This series features interdisciplinary conversations between literary creators and experts such as: neuroscientist Po-jang Hsieh and writer Iris Lee discussing gender stereotypes; counseling psychologist Haitaibear and writer Ma Hsin engaging in soulful dialogues; and journalist-writer Tung-hao Li joining YouTuber NaNa Master to explore “The Art of Interviewing” (訪問的藝術).

“Vocabulary Generation” (語彙生成) will investigate the future of literary creation in the context of AI, social media, and non-traditional sci-fi through technological tools. Tetsuya Terao and Ethan Tu, founder of Taiwan AI Labs, will discuss AI tools like ChatGPT; writer Ayri Chang and YouTuber Froggy Chiu will examine the impact of social platforms; and writer Chong-kai Huang and Tzu-ying Hung will dive into the world of unconventional science fiction.

Beyond Words, Between Lines

The literary exhibition “Beyond Words, Between Lines” will open in mid-April and will be curated by writer I-hui Hsiao (iifays). Through the lens of language, it explores how in today’s world subconscious cues and unspoken rules shaped by information overload affect the distance between people and how they understand each other. Visitors will step into a maze of expression formed by words and extralinguistic symbols and use tools jointly created by various authors to decode the true meaning behind each message.

Ask Books for Answers (解答知書)

From late March to mid-April, Taipei Public Library branches will host “Ask the Books for Answers” (解答知書), where participants will use books to resolve life’s dilemmas in spontaneous, serendipitous ways. Through literature, discover new perspectives and solutions in everyday life.

Ling Zhang

This year, we are honored to welcome acclaimed writer Ling Zhang, who was born in Wenzhou, Zhejiang, and now resides in Toronto, Canada. Renowned for portraying the quiet resilience of women and bearing witness to the enduring suffering of humanity, 

Zhang is considered one of the most iconic Chinese-language writers living overseas today. Her internationally celebrated works include Gold Mountain Blues and A Single Swallow. Her novella The Aftershock was adapted into the film Aftershock, which moved audiences with its powerful storytelling and went on to win Best Film at the Asia Pacific Film Festival.

The Taipei Literature Festival has curated three different talks featuring Zhang, delving into her writing and exploring the perspective of an author who has lived abroad for many years yet continues to garner praise across mainland China, Taiwan, and Hong Kong. Through conversations with renowned contemporary writers and university students, we hope to offer readers a fresh and thought-provoking perspective.

The Poetics of the Soul (靈魂的詩意)

This year’s Taipei Literature Film Festival pays tribute to two towering figures in contemporary storytelling: American author Paul Auster and Tibetan filmmaker Pema Tseden. 

One uses literature to explore urban existentialism and the desolation of modern life, while the other uses cinema to construct spiritual and humanistic dialogues set on the Tibetan Plateau, but the works of these authors/auteurs open windows into vastly different but profoundly connected worlds. 

The Taipei Literature Film Festival is more than a celebration of literature and film; it is a cultural feast and a journey of introspection. As you take part in the festival, we invite you to discover storytelling’s power to elevate the spirit and inspire deeper reflection on life.

In today’s world, where digital messages have become primary vessels of emotion and connection, if communication is truly a dialogue between souls—face-to-face or online—then let us embark on a spiritual dialogue.

Held annually from March to May at the historic Treasure Hill settlement, the Treasure Hill Light Festival invites contemporary artists to create works of chiaroscuro. Drawing tens of thousands of visitors each year, the festival offers a broad perspective on the unique and evolving character of the Treasure Hill Joint Settlement (寶藏巖共生聚落). 

In 2025, the festival is celebrating the 15th anniversary of the Treasure Hill Artist Village. To mark this occasion, former resident artists Yi-ting Wang and Chiehsen Chiu return to collaborate with internationally renowned interdisciplinary team hellobastworkshop, along with CHIU Chih-Wei (recipient of the 2025 Kaohsiung Award Grand Prize) and 20 other creative groups from Taiwan and abroad. Centered around the theme “Sô” (meaning to wander or meander) , the festival connects the southern corridor in a mesmerizing chiaroscuro journey through time and space.

Meandering “Sô” (趖) through South Taipei

The 2025 Treasure Hill Light Festival has expanded in scale, with exhibitions stretching across the Treasure Hill Artist Village, Huan Min Village on Toad Hill, and Home Village. In collaboration with the Taiwanese Hakka Culture Foundation (財團法人客家文化基金會) and in support of its “Limˇ Ameˋ” Land Art Festival, three featured works are being specially exhibited at the Artist Village. 

This year’s lineup includes: Every Body Meeting, hellobastworkshop, lololol feat., Shin Hanagata, Chih-Wei Chiu, Yi-ting Wang, Yi-Jin Chiang, Lien-Yin Wu, Hsueh-Han Chou, Margot Guillemot & Chiehsen Chiu, Poki Chang, Ting-jia Zhang, Chih-Hsien Chen, Zhao-Hua Chen, Shu-Yu Lin, Yu-Cheng Lin, Cheng-Yu Lin, Meng Hsin Shih, Tsu-Han Su, Yu-Ning Liang, and a student team from Wanfu Elementary School, making a total of 20 creative groups. 

Using a wide range of media and creative approaches, these artists translate the essence of “Sô” (趖)—symbolizing a slow, gentle pace—into a visual language. Visitors are invited to slow down, follow the path of light and shadow, and re-engage with the surroundings. Like a snake weaving through the southern cityscape, the journey uncovers hidden textures and stories in each charming corner.

Notably, hellobastworkshop—originally from France and now deeply rooted in Taiwan—draws on a cross-disciplinary background in mechanical, industrial, and graphic design to create stunning installation art, from conceptualization to on-site execution. 

Meanwhile, Chih-Wei Chiu presents a much-anticipated new work, riding the momentum of his recent top prize at the 2025 Kaohsiung Awards. Yi-Ting Wang and Chiehsen Chiu also return as former artists-in-residence, offering a contemporary lens on the evolution of the artist village over the past 15 years and infusing the festival with a profound sense of history and resonance.

Art, Music, and Market in a Festive Opening

The Treasure Hill Light Festival officially opened on March 22. The Yoi-hi Market is open from noon to 6 pm, with 29 stalls and three live music performances. Participating groups Every Body Meeting and hellobastworkshop delivered captivating performances. The organizers also arranged two guided art walks, inviting the public to explore Treasure Hill on a spring weekend: browse exhibitions, stroll through the market, and wander among art installations. Visitors roamed Treasure Hill by following the light, experiencing a delightful feast for the senses and the soul.

Where Light Spreads, Traces Remain

From Treasure Hill Artist Village to Huan Min Village and Home Village, beams of light both illuminate the space and reflect the rich cultural roots and artistic rhythms of southern Taipei. The 2025 Treasure Hill Light Festival, themed around the word “Sô” (趖, meaning “to wander or meander”), connects three major exhibition zones. Every step becomes a mini journey of discovery; every ray of light etches a unique imprint on the land. 

You are warmly invited to join this luminous adventure and experience the irresistible charm of the south in the springtime.

Yu-Cheng Lin, Box Structure 3.0 (箱構3.0): Pascal Box / Algorithmic Space II (/演算之所II): Shaped by the Hills (倚山成型), mixed media, 2025 (illustrative image of the work)	Shu-Yu Lin, Luminous Night (皓夜), mixed media, 2025 (illustrative image of the work)
Chih-Wei Chiu, Hey! Gaze upon this place!, mixed media, 2025 (illustrative image of the work)	Every Body Meeting, Vincula, performance, 2024

Images courtesy of Treasure Hill Artist Village

Treasure Hill Artist Village: No. 2, Alley 14, Lane 230, Section 3, Tingzhou Rd, Zhongzheng District, Taipei City

At 85, Ssu-tuan Lin (also known as Hsi-tuan Cho) continues to teach three classes a week and frequently delivers lectures at campuses. She is not fond of discussing theory, as she believes it is not “alive”. Instead, she talks about dance, about life, and about the path she has walked.

At 16, she began working as a model for the Department of Fine Arts at NTNU, while also taking ballet classes and auditing fine arts courses. However, her modeling career attracted harsh criticism. 

In 1961, at the age of 20, Lin held Taiwan’s first solo exhibition focusing on a single model. In 1965, she participated in a joint exhibition of photography works. Amid media controversy and debates over the boundaries of pornography and art, as well as the objectification of the female body, Ssu-tuan Lin led a revolutionary movement. After retiring from modeling, she devoted herself entirely to dance. In 1975, she held an unprecedented solo dance performance, collaborating with friends from various art disciplines. 

With her agile personality and a mind full of creative ideas, she did not settle for simply being a professional dancer but also found immense joy in teaching. Her dance teaching career began in 1963 when she founded the Eastern Art Dance Research Society (東方藝術舞蹈研究社) in Yonghe, marking the beginning of her journey in dance education. 

In 1976, she began teaching exploratory dance to children, fostering creativity through play. Her teaching not only benefited children but also helped women navigate new paths for their bodies. 

In 1978, she presented Life and Dance (生活與舞蹈). However, whether it was her approach to teaching or her philosophy of making art a part of everyday life, there were few who resonated with her ideas in Taiwan at the time. 

Lin longed to make a breakthrough, so in 1983 she traveled to the United States to study. By the time she returned to Taiwan, she had realized there were countless ways to teach. Her students at community colleges ranged in age from 20-something to 60-something, and the focus of her classes was neither technique nor dancing for others. Instead, she emphasized physical and mental health, holding that true harmony between body and mind was the core of her teaching. 

In 1986, she founded the Ssu-tuan Lin Dance and Music Arts Center (林絲緞舞蹈音樂藝文中心) to promote integrated arts education for children. Centered around dance, but supplemented with literature, music, and visual arts, the center aimed to use different artistic forms to stimulate various parts of body and mind, ultimately sparking deeper thought. 

In the late 1980s, she continued to work with children with autism through integrated arts, gradually helping emotionally and physically closed-off children to open up. She also founded the Integrated Arts Education Association of Taipei, which developed a systematic and logical approach to physical education to empower children with disabilities. 

“Everyone is unique, and that’s something I’ve come to understand more deeply with each lesson,” says Ssu-tuan Lin. With a tilt of her head and a twist of her shoulder, a new strength emerges, and she continues to move forward.

Robin Erik Ruizendaal is from The Hague in the Netherlands and specialized in Sinology, with a focus on Asian puppetry. He has been promoting and creating puppetry in Taiwan for over 30 years and through his work as researcher, curator, and director has gained a deep understanding of the soul of the artform and its immense potential for development in Taiwan. 

In his youth, Ruizendaal dedicated himself to studying Chinese and never gave up. He immersed himself in multiple languages and challenged himself during his university years by studying Sinology and exploring Chinese language, culture, arts, philosophy, and geography. 

In 1986, Ruizendaal went to China as an exchange student. He says of that time, “I wanted to find an art form that connected closely with the everyday lives of ordinary people.” 

That’s when he discovered puppetry. A year later, he went to Xiamen for research and was invited to the Quanzhou International Puppetry Festival, where he decided to fully immerse himself in the field. 

In 1991, Ruizendaal visited Taiwan for the first time and became captivated by television glove puppetry. While puppetry in other Asian countries was often tied to religious ritual, in Taiwan alone it had evolved into a form of mass entertainment. But while Taiwanese people would proudly proclaim puppetry as part of their cultural heritage, in reality Ruizendaal says bluntly, “everyone cares about it, but they just don’t want to watch it.” 

Confronted with this reality, he began promoting puppetry. In 1997, Ruizendaal was invited by Ching-fu Lin, director of Taipei Concord Hospital (協和醫院), to manage a puppetry museum and collaborate with the Taiyuan Puppet Theatre Company and Taiyang Theatre Company to create modern puppetry works, thus sparking a series of reforms. 

His first play was Marco Polo, which blended elements of East and West, featuring both Italian and Taiwanese languages and merging Nanguan (southern musical style) and Beiguan (northern musical style) with operatic singing. This bold move led to over 200 performances worldwide, including an invitation to perform at the Royal Albert Hall in London. 

By combining popular puppetry with contemporary issues, Ruizendaal has kept puppetry alive, ensuring it continues to tell stories that evolve with the times. Taiwan is Gone (台灣不見了) was a project involving 21 indigenous communities in Eastern Taiwan, where people created their own puppets and performed for their families in their native languages. I Have a Name (我有名字) tells the story of children who suffered during World War II.

Looking toward the future, Ruizendaal, who has served as a judge for the National Creative Drama Competition (全國創意戲劇比賽), shares his excitement: “This is truly incredible. This is the world’s largest puppetry competition… This is a Taiwanese treasure!” 

For years, Ruizendaal has been polishing the window of puppetry, inviting the world to peer into a place that preserves the soul of culture.

The city also boasts cultural venues, outdoor performance spaces, and numerous small-scale music venues, live houses, and music restaurants scattered across different districts, that regularly host live performances. 

In late 2024, Taipei Dome also joined the city’s lineup of premier concert venues. Taiwan’s first multi-purpose indoor stadium with a seating capacity of 40,000, Taipei Dome meets World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC) standards for baseball stadiums while also fulfilling the requirements to host world-class performances. 

With global Mandopop superstars Jay Chou and A-Mei kicking off their tours at the Taipei Dome, the venue has quickly become a new Taipei landmark. This expansion of performance spaces further strengthens the city’s pop music ecosystem, fostering the growth and development of local musical talent.

Taipei Dome Concert Economy Fuels Industry Growth

The Taipei Dome can accommodate approximately 40,000 spectators. (Photo courtesy of the Department of Information and Tourism, Taipei City Government) 

The opening of the Taipei Dome marks a new era for Taipei’s live music market. By attracting renowned artists and bands from around the world, the venue provides Taiwan audiences with a richer cultural and entertainment experience while also drawing international visitors. This influx of concertgoers is expected to boost tourism, hospitality, dining, and retail industries. 

According to a survey conducted by the Taipei City Office of Commerce during Jay Chou’s Carnival World Tour concerts, which drew around 150,000 attendees, average spending per attendee (including accommodation, transportation, dining, shopping, entertainment, and tickets) was around NT$11,475, with non-ticket spending averaging NT$6,915 per person. The total estimated economic impact of the concerts exceeded NT$1.7 billion. 

Similarly, A-Mei’s five concerts at the Taipei Dome attracted around 200,000 attendees and generated an estimated NT$2.29 billion in economic benefits, an outstanding contribution to the local economy.

The future of the Taipei Cultural and Sports Park (臺北文化體育園區) looks promising. In addition to Taipei Dome itself, the area will see office buildings, shopping centers, hotels, and cinemas gradually opening to create a corridor for tourism, culture, and commerce in the East District of Taipei and connect these shopping areas to the Songshan Cultural and Creative Park, Taipei New Horizon, and the department stores of Xinyi District. Notably, the Eslite Bookstore, situated in the Songshan Cultural and Creative Park and the only 24-hour bookstore in Taiwan, further invigorates Taipei’s nighttime economy.

Elevating Taipei’s Music and Cultural Scene, Enhancing Quality of Life 

Taipei Arena has a capacity of about 15,000 spectators. (Photo credit: I-jung Hsu) 

Taipei offers a wide variety of performance venues and spaces, ranging in size and function. Key venues with capacity exceeding 3,000 seats include Taipei Arena, Taipei Music Center, Taipei International Convention Center, and Taipei Nangang Exhibition Center. 

In 2023 alone, more than 150 privately organized concerts were held in these venues, not to mention the countless performances at small and medium-sized live venues, thus contributing to the city’s vibrant music scene. The addition of Taipei Dome expands creative possibilities even further for concert production teams.

The Department of Cultural Affairs stresses that Taipei Dome, in addition to being a world-class baseball stadium, is also an emerging hub for music concerts, creativity, and industry exchange. With its state-of-the-art facilities and spacious design, the venue enables Taiwanese and international artists and concert production teams to fully unleash their creativity. From sound engineering and stage design to set decoration, lighting effects, and performance execution, Taipei Dome is raising the production standards of Taiwan’s live music scene and delivering entertainment experiences that go beyond expectations.

Taipei Dome is also fostering cross-industry collaboration, uniting music and sports fans alike. A prime example is pop music band Mayday’s electrifying performance at the retirement game of CTBC Brothers baseball star Szu-chi Chou, which seamlessly blended sports and live music. This type of crossover event is reminiscent of major international sporting spectacles, where global pop icons perform at events like the FIFA World Cup and leave a lasting impression on audiences. 

Looking ahead, Taipei Dome will continue to provide top-tier facilities for both the sports and live music industries, creating new entertainment experiences and setting the stage for the next wave of large-scale concerts in Taipei.

Taipei Music Center performance hall has a capacity of about 5,000 spectators. (Photo courtesy of Taipei Music Center) 

The Department of Cultural Affairs would like to emphasize that, as one of Asia’s most influential cities, Taipei possesses a rich musical heritage and dynamic creative atmosphere. The city remains committed to strengthening its support for the music industry, fostering the diverse growth of pop music, and encouraging greater public participation in music and cultural events. Through these efforts, Taipei will continue to shine on the global music stage.

Memorandum of cooperation signing ceremony between Taipei City Government and Taiwan Creative Content Agency (TAICCA) (From left: Shih-ping Tsai, Commissioner of the Department of Cultural Affairs, Taipei City Government; Wan-an Chiang, Mayor of Taipei; Homme Tsai, Chairman of the Taiwan Creative Content Agency; Chun-wei Lu, President of the Taiwan Creative Content Agency).

The Rise of Impact Investment: Injecting New Sustainable Momentum into the Cultural and Creative Industries

Since the rapid development of the cultural and creative industries in the 1990s, they have been a vibrant embodiment of culture and creativity. In 2009, these industries were officially recognized as one of the nation’s six emerging sectors, highlighting their growth potential. 

However, fundraising has long been a significant challenge for cultural and creative teams. In recent years, with the growing prominence of ideas such as SDGs (Sustainable Development Goals) and ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance), the cultural and creative industries have found new opportunities for fundraising. Unlike traditional investment models that focus primarily on financial return and pay limited attention to cultural and social value, the emerging trend of impact investment is reshaping the landscape. 

Impact investment not only seeks revenue growth but also highly values the social impact and positive change generated by investment. This shift is helping to bring the long-term value of the cultural and creative industries into focus, while also creating more possibilities and momentum for their sustainable development.

Cultural and Creative Industries Sustainability Incubation Program (文創永續培育計畫): Connecting Cultural Innovation with Impact Investment

Taipei is at the center of Taiwan’s cultural and creative industries, boasting the highest industry output in the nation and hosting the widest range of vibrant cultural events. To ensure that the cultural and creative sector can adapt to international trends and harness its potential for growth, Taipei City Government Department of Cultural Affairs has launched the Cultural and Creative Industries Sustainability Incubation Program. 

This initiative actively facilitates connections between the cultural and creative industries and impact investment, aiming to secure funding for micro-cultural enterprises while showcasing the value of cultural innovation. On October 2, 2024, the Perpetual Motion: International Forum on Cultural and Creative Investment Trends (文創永動機∞文創投資趨勢國際論壇) was held, featuring Fran Sanderson, Executive Director of Figurative, a UK-based organization with extensive experience in cultural impact investment. Sanderson was invited to Taiwan to join Shih-ping Tsai, Commissioner of the Department of Cultural Affairs, along with cultural industry professionals and impact investors, to take part in case-sharing and in-depth discussions. Cultural and creative teams were able to use cultural impact investment to leverage both for-profit and non-profit tools to achieve long-term business operations and promote their ideas.

The first speakers at the Perpetual Motion: International Forum on Cultural and Creative Investment Trends. (From left: Shih-ping Tsai, Commissioner, Department of Cultural Affairs, Taipei City Government; Wei-kung Liu, Associate Professor, Soochow University; Fran Sanderson, Executive Director, Figurative, UK.)

Taipei City Government also signed a memorandum of cooperation with the Taiwan Creative Content Agency (TAICCA) to jointly advance initiatives such as the model of government-funded first-stage support, followed by investment from TAICCA. 

Ten cultural and creative teams were also selected to participate in the Cultural and Creative Industries Sustainability Incubation Program workshops and mentoring sessions, where they received guidance on impact investment. These activities helped the teams refine their business models, think innovatively, incorporate commercial strategies, and enhance their ability to communicate with stakeholders. Through one-on-one mentorship with industry investment experts, teams participated in in-depth discussions designed to help them understand the key factors that investors prioritize. They also learned to leverage their unique strengths to effectively demonstrate the value of impact investment. 

Looking ahead, policies such as investment tax incentives from the Ministry of Culture and lead investments from the Taiwan Creative Content Agency (TAICCA) are expected to provide additional resources and networking opportunities for Taipei’s cultural and creative teams.

The Perpetual Motion: International Forum on Cultural and Creative Investment Trends will return on January 10, 2025. This year’s edition will center on impact investment and will feature Kun-ying Lin, Artistic Director of LuxuryLogico, a cultural team that has benefited from impact investment. Lin will share his experiences, examine current trends, and discuss how cultural and creative teams can embrace future challenges with a forward-looking perspective, unlocking the limitless potential within the cultural and creative sectors. The forum will also include in-depth discussions with seasoned impact investors, offering diverse perspectives.

Whether you’re passionate about cultural impact investment or fascinated by the flourishing development of the cultural and creative industries, we warmly invite you to join us in exploring the future of creativity and capital, and unlocking the infinite potential of impact!

Too Loud a Solitude: A Century of Pathfinding for Eastern Gouache Painting in Taiwan

Too Loud a Solitude: A Century of Pathfinding for Eastern Gouache Painting in Taiwan is being exhibited at the Taipei Fine Arts Museum from October 12, 2024, to February 2, 2025. This exhibition showcases 146 works by 51 Eastern gouache painters, from masterpieces of the Japanese colonial period to contemporary creations. 

The exhibition is organized into thematic sections reflecting the historical progression of government-sponsored art exhibitions and educational systems: First Encounters: Learning, Facing Conflicts: Exploring Roots, Defending the Art Domain: Naming, Systematizing Education: Rethinking, and Continuing Development: Diverse Forms. These sections illustrate the localization and evolution of Eastern gouache painting in Taiwan, celebrating its adaptability and creative inclusivity.

The title “Too Loud a Solitude” captures the development trajectory of Eastern gouache painting in Taiwan—a narrative of both trial and triumph. The terminology for this art form has undergone significant shifts: during the Japanese colonial era, it was referred to as “Eastern Painting” or “Nihonga” (i.e. Japanese painting.) Post-1946, it became categorized as “Chinese Painting” in exhibition frameworks, sparking debates over traditionalist interpretations. Artist Chih-chu Lin introduced the neutral term “Eastern Gouache” to bridge the gap between artistic expression and political context, reflecting the passage of time and shifting cultural influences. Despite these challenges, artists have remained steadfast, dedicated to preserving and advancing their craft.

 Eastern Gouache Work 1

Eastern gouache paintings are distinguished by their refined elegance and vibrant richness. Typically painted on paper or silk, the pigments are made from minerals and other natural materials—such as dry pigments, earthen pigments, gold and silver powder, shell white, and alum—mixed with animal glue. Metallic leaf is occasionally incorporated for decorative effect. 

The painting process follows a systematic sequence: from conceptualization and sketching, to outlining the design and transferring it to the surface, before finishing with color application. The glue’s drying time gives the creative process a unique temporal quality.

The Taiwan Fine Arts Exhibition and the Government-General of Taiwan Fine Arts Exhibition, which began in 1927 and continued for a total of 16 sessions, encouraged artists to depict local themes. At this time, Eastern paintings incorporated both the ink-based Southern style and the color-focused Japanese painting style. Many Taiwanese also traveled abroad to study these avant-garde, fashionable, and distinctly Japanese painting techniques.

The post-war shift in governance brought about a new cultural context, where Eastern gouache paintings, which were traditionally wood framed, and vertical scrolls of traditional ink paintings were both placed in the “Chinese Painting” category, even though the two styles differed visually in terms of subject matter, color, and brushwork, which in the 1950s sparked debate on the authenticity of Chinese Painting. 

This led to the Chinese Painting category being divided into two sections at the 1963 Provincial Exhibition. During this period, the political situation and a renewed focus on ink painting meant that many Eastern gouache works emerged that followed traditional Chinese landscape brushwork, revisiting the potential of ink and line expression. In addition, the rise of modernist abstraction encouraged artists to experiment with new compositional layouts, reflecting an inclination toward Western artistic styles.

The 1972 severing of diplomatic relations between China and Japan, followed by the sudden cancellation of the Chinese Painting Section II at the 1973 exhibition, made it increasingly difficult for the tradition of Eastern gouache painting to be sustained. To secure space for it to be presented at official exhibitions and to raise awareness, in 1977 Chih-chu Lin proposed the term “Eastern gouache”, with a view to redefining the art form within the scope of its material possibilities. Many works during this period featured thick layers, similar to oil painting, made possible by the unique properties of the gouache medium. The discourse around the material led to wider acceptance, and in 1983 the Provincial Exhibition established the Eastern Gouache category.

Eastern Gouache Work 2

In 1985, Chih-chu Lin began teaching Eastern gouache at the Department of Fine Arts at Tunghai University, marking the beginning of formal training in Eastern gouache in Taiwan’s higher education system. Three years later, Chien-yu Chan continued to develop the training system, expanding it across various academic curricula and promoting related creative practices and ideas at summer camps. Meanwhile, a renewed desire for knowledge sparked a new wave of study in Japan, where students explored the development of post-war Japanese painting and its diverse techniques, before bringing this knowledge back to Taiwan. The establishment of the training system enabled Eastern gouache painting to evolve beyond the mere transmission of material characteristics and technique, transforming into a significant professional branch of artistic practice.

Eastern Gouache Work 3

Today, Eastern gouache creators no longer adhere to fixed stylistic techniques; instead, they draw inspiration from the material properties of both ink painting and Western painting. As time passes and contexts change, Eastern gouache continues to navigate the interplay between tradition and innovation. serving as a medium through which artists explore emotions and respond to the environment. We hope this exhibition will help the future of Eastern gouache to remain open, expansive, and adaptable.

This exhibition’s outreach program features the “Eastern Gouache Self-Learning Room,” where scheduled painting experiences will be held on December 1st and 29th. Visitors will have the opportunity to experiment with the textures of gouache and pigment blending and apply color to their own works of art. The exhibition will also include roaming activities, where experts and scholars from various fields will use diverse perspectives to guide audiences in appreciation of Eastern gouache creations.

The Songyanland Festival, the annual centerpiece of the Songshan Cultural and Creative Park, returns this year from November 8 to 17! 

This year’s theme, Follow the Water, envisions the park as a confluence connecting the history of water, people, the surrounding environment, and urban development. 

Over ten days, the festival will showcase five site-specific creations, art performances, and a core exhibition, blending environmental art, kinetic machinery, sound art, sculpture installations, and performing arts. These elements echo the park’s three guiding pillars—heritage, ecology, and humanity—unveiling its rich cultural layers, honoring its historical roots, and inspiring public awareness of land and water resource conservation. The festival paves the way for sustainable development through art and community engagement.

A Three-Year Curatorial Narrative—Connecting Songyan and the City

Since its inception in 2012, the Songyanland Festival has featured over 100 original works. Since 2019, the festival has expanded beyond indoor spaces, and in 2023 it adopted a three-year curatorial cycle, with each year used to highlight a different aspect of the park’s evolution. The current cycle will delve into the origin of the tobacco factory (2023), water channel networks (2024), and railway branches (2025). The festival will continue to use artistic interpretations to tell the story of Songshan Tobacco Factory’s transformation into the Songshan Cultural and Creative Park.

Discovering Urban Textures through Songshan Tobacco Factory’s Transformation

Songshan Tobacco Factory played a pivotal role in the development of Taipei’s eastern district and preserved traces of the city’s culture. 

Comparing the 1895 Taipei Topographic Map against the geography today, it can be seen that the area surrounding the factory was once farmland dotted with railways, ponds, rivers, and settlements. In 1937, the site was chosen by the Taiwan Governor-General Monopoly Bureau for its proximity to water, rail, and road infrastructure, making it ideal for the construction of the tobacco factory. 

The 1939 Liugong Irrigation Map highlights the connection between the Liugongzun Canal and Songyan. Drawing water from Xindian, the canal flows northward before splitting into branches running east and west. The western branch supplied water to Taihoku Imperial University (now National Taiwan University), while the eastern branch providing essential water to the Taiwan Provincial Monopoly Bureau’s Songshan Tobacco Factory (now the Songshan Cultural and Creative Park) and the Taipei Railway Workshop (now the Preparatory Office of National Railway Museum). 

In 2011, Songshan Tobacco Factory was repurposed as Songshan Cultural and Creative Park and was officially designated as Taipei’s “base for original creative works”. With the opening of the Taipei Dome, the area is steadily evolving toward its envisioned role as a cultural and sports hub.

The core exhibition explores four themes: Water and Land: The First Encounter, Water and Industrial Villages: Lives and Communities in Flux, Ecological Continuity: Water as Songyan’s Lifeblood, and Ecological Leap: A Sustainable Songyan Water System. Art installations, photography, and ecological exhibits are used to bring to light the crucial role of water in the development of the Songshan and Xinyi areas. Visitors are guided as they experience the story of water connecting past, present, and future.

 Co-Creating the Sound and Form of Songyan

Songshan Cultural and Creative Park hums with sounds that intertwine with its historic spaces. Sound artist Tsan-cheng Wu captures Songyan’s auditory memories in The Connections, a work that links the park’s spaces with the broader city. It reflects Songyan’s transformation alongside that of Taipei and connects industrial, daily, and urban soundscapes, while reinterpreting ecological and industrial shifts in relation to water.

Artist Kuen-lin Tsai, celebrated for his innovative use of building materials such as water pipes to craft immersive soundscapes, delves into themes of the environment, life, and land. His installation Undercurrent Whispers takes inspiration from the roads, former streams, and irrigation canals surrounding Songyan. By integrating underwater sounds recorded in the park’s ecological pond and suspending them within the artwork, the piece symbolizes the pivotal role Songyan plays and invites visitors to explore the connection between contemporary roads and historical waterways, while capturing the spatial and dynamic flow of irrigation channels.

Artistic Translations of Songyan’s Living History

Artist Shih-fu Yu excels at uncovering and interpreting stories connected to waterways and urban landscapes. His research has revealed overlooked details and hidden corners of the Songshan Cultural and Creative Park that inspired his kinetic installation titled The Story Here. This artwork uses shifting colors and forms to represent the industrial evolution and functional transformations of Songshan Tobacco Factory across different eras. Viewers are invited to experience these narratives while appreciating the dynamic interplay of wind, light, and shadow, showcasing the natural beauty of movement.

For the first time, the Songyanland Festival is collaborating with the performing arts group 9s’ Production to present a site-specific performance inspired by the 2022 restoration of the Boiler Room. Titled Boiler Guidance: Shadows of Tobacco, this performance combines close-up magic with the striking visual elements of circus arts. Viewers are immersed in Songyan’s historical narratives as the story of this heritage site is vividly brought to life to life through a mesmerizing fusion of acrobatics and magic.

Taipei’s First Environmental Art “Water Dress” Debuts at Songyan

The 2024 Songyanland Festival—Follow the Water series includes a collaboration with Taipei Xinyi Community College to launch the Xinyi District Water & Heritage Walking Tour. The Taipei Public Library mobile library will make its first-ever pop-up appearance at the park, while Eslite Spectrum Songyan will host a thematic book fair and an Eslite Forum featuring celebrity salons. 

These activities are being held not only to celebrate the 140th anniversary of Taipei’s founding, but also to offer the public a chance to engage with Songyan’s historical landmarks and natural ecological spaces through artistic performances and exhibitions. Participants will have the opportunity to explore the transformation of Songshan Tobacco Factory and uncover its hidden history in Taipei’s eastern district, with a focus on sustainability and a deeper understanding of the importance of cultural heritage preservation.

Digital Art Festival Taipei  Breaking Boundaries From November 2

The 19th Digital Art Festival Taipei opens on November 2 at Taiwan Contemporary Culture Lab (C-LAB). The festival will showcase 21 interdisciplinary and hybrid creations, featuring work from four local and  twelve international artists. 

This year’s theme, Chimera Island, draws inspiration from the mythical chimera, a fire-breathing creature with the body of a lion, the head of a goat, and the tail of a serpent. This metaphor symbolizes the fusion of societal mechanisms and technologies, functioning like interconnected organs to form an idealized chimera. Visitors are invited to explore the intricate relationship between humans and technology through a diverse range of artistic expression.

The main exhibition takes place in the Communications Office, US-Aid Building, (now Art Space V) at C-LAB, a historic two-story venue where the curatorial concept unfolds along two key axes: “Organology,” which is the thematic backbone of the project, and “Speculation” and “Fiction”, which are used as tools to explore the intersection between technology and humanity, uncovering the intrinsic ethical and cultural dilemmas. 

To guide the audience into the narrative of Chimera Island, the curators have carefully designed the two floors of the US-Aid Building to have distinctly different atmospheres.

 The Enigmatic Black Box: Conversations Between Individual and Collective Consciousness

The first-floor exhibition has a black box ambiance, with themes of spirituality, mythology, and the interplay between individual and collective consciousness. 

In Hung Lu Chan’s Close Encounters with Inner Aliens, for example, the artist visualizes a transitional space, or alien forms, derived from the interaction between human collective consciousness and AI databases. The work invites viewers to confront their biases and appreciate the unfamiliar. 

In Mud & Flood – The Return of Nehalennia, the Dutch-based art collective Nonhuman Nonsense resurrects the ancient sea goddess Nehalennia, reimagining her with a 21st-century identity that blends science and mythology. This powerful work challenges us to reconsider our relationship with non-human life and natural forces in the context of climate change. 

British artist Charlotte Jarvis’s Organ of Radical Care: Una Matriz Colabora is a practical cross-disciplinary project that aims to cultivate a uterus from cells voluntarily provided by women and transgender and non-binary individuals. This work reflects the intersection of art and science, highlighting growing concerns around cross-disciplinary practices and the development of gender-related issues in the context of technological art.

 Interactive Experiences: Rethinking Technology’s Influence on Society

As you step into the second-floor exhibition area, the focus shifts even more toward interactive experiences that showcase how artists explore the relationship between the self and the digital world. This encourages the audience to consider unconventional perspectives and reflect on the effects of technological progress on human society. 

Inspired by the post-pandemic rise of video conferencing, An Eggy Video Meeting by artist Chuan Lun Wu reimagines the video-call experience from a non-human perspective. It explores how our observations of nature can feel like social awkwardness—much like the discomfort of unintentionally invading someone’s private space during a virtual meeting. 

Emerging art collective XTRUX presents Black Museum, a new work that blends 3D sculptures with a real-time interactive game powered by a game engine. The installation combines imagery and spatial design to investigate the dynamic between virtual and real-world perceptions.

 Cross-Disciplinary Innovation: Art, Technology, and Performance in Future Plaza

This year, the Digital Art Festival Taipei is introducing a new outdoor exhibition area. The interactive piece How (Not) to Get Hit by a Self-Driving Car is a collaboration between artists Tomo Kihara and Daniel Coppen. Set in Future Plaza, the piece features a challenge course designed to test artificial intelligence, inviting the audience to reach the finish line without being detected by AI. This interactive experience encourages the public to consider the potential risks of autonomous driving systems. The plaza is also collaborating with the NFT community “VolDAO” to showcase a range of generative artworks, offering the audience a dynamic and cross-disciplinary artistic experience.

Alongside the regular exhibition mentioned above, an outdoor stage has been set up in the spirit of “heterogeneous assembly” to align with the theme of Chimera Island. Two outdoor performances are scheduled at C-LAB Future Plaza: On November 2, from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m., three Taiwanese performers will showcase contemporary stunts and cross-disciplinary circus acts. Then, on November 15, from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m., Japanese duo Keijiro Takahashi and Yotaro Shuto will join several Taiwanese artists for a collaborative performance. With their cross-disciplinary and fantastical elements, these performances are intended to captivate a wide range of audiences, enriching both this year’s Digital Art Festival Taipei and future iterations.

▍Digital Art Festival Taipei – Chimera Island

Dates: November 2–November 17, closed Mondays

Opening hours: 12:00 p.m.–19:00 p.m.

Venue: Taiwan Contemporary Culture Lab

* On Saturday, November 2, the festival will remain open until midnight for Nuit Blanche.

[Visual Arts] Kitty Hartl - Animal Pride. Kitty Hartl, who served as the curator for La Nuit Blanche Paris in 2022 and 2023, has been invited to be guest curator for Nuit Blanche Taipei 2024. The “Animal Pride” performance plan will resonate with the theme of the “Nocturnal Animal Party.” Photographer: Joséphine Brueder / Paris City Government (巴黎市政府).

Nuit Blanche Taipei is set to enter its ninth year in 2024, drawing hundreds of thousands of people who ignite the nighttime charm of Taipei each year! 

The event will showcase the vibrant nightlife of districts such as Zhongzheng, Daan, Zhongshan, Neihu, Nangang, Shilin, Beitou, and Xinyi, each offering unique artistic programming that combines each district’s characteristics for an overnight celebration of free and participatory art actions.

The annual event has steadily built a collective energy, establishing Nuit Blanche Taipei as a significant large-scale art event in the city. This vibrant artistic energy will come together again on November 2, 2024, in Da'an District, where the public are invited to co-create a new artistic chapter to reconnect with nature under the theme of the “Nocturnal Animal Party,” using the city as a starting point to connect with natural ecology.

Da'an District features numerous cultural institutions, artistic venues, ecological green spaces, trendy shopping areas, and cultural heritage sites, which together offer a diverse range of activities. This area embodies Taipei’s rich urban culture and creativity, supported by an excellent and capacious public transportation system. 

Building on this foundation, the “Nocturnal Animal Party” aims to discover new coordinates that link urban texture, artistic culture, and natural ecology through “inclusive ecological cultural action,” calling for an environmental awareness rooted in the land.

[Performing Arts] SwingTaiwan. Social swing dance has become a common means of communication for urban residents, fostering genuine connections through dance and making Nuit Blanche an event that brings people closer together.

This year’s overall planning focuses on three main contexts: First, utilizing Da'an Park, the “lungs of the city,” as an artistic base to foster dialogue between the city and nature through ecological investigations and contemporary art. Second, linking artistic performance bases to promote international exchanges that emphasize Taipei’s role as a key cultural connection point. And third, integrating campus activities with creative elements from trendy shopping districts to showcase the city’s diverse energy. 

These layered planning contexts will unfold into a rich interdisciplinary artistic feast, encompassing ecological investigations, contemporary art, performing arts, outdoor cinema, creative markets, and artistic lectures. 

The ecological investigation events planned by Every Being will include a range of ecological walks, lectures, and discussions, guiding participants to awaken animal spirits within the city. 

For contemporary art, Nuit Blanche Taipei will deepen its collaboration with the Bureau Français de Taipei (French Office in Taipei). Kitty Hartl, curator of La Nuit Blanche Paris, has been invited to act as guest curator and present the Asian premiere of “Animal Pride,” which will combine costuming, ice skating, and musical performances in an artistic parade. 

Curator Hsiang-wen Chen will focus on sustainability, ecosystems, animal parties, and public participation, bringing in artists from Taiwan and abroad, including Fuyuhiko Takata, UxU Studio, 2ENTER, Chia-ling Kuo, I-ju Chen, Yu-chu Chan. The vibrant celebration will also feature a rich lineup of music and talks, featuring Panai, Jubah Hitam, ChuNoodle, XTRUX, Sonic Deadhorse x Craftweak, ET Chen, Unid, Thumen Tsetseg, Kai-cheng Tai, and Hsiang-shen Hsiao. 

For performing arts, curator Ying-tzu Chen is putting an emphasis on surrealism, interactivity, sports culture, and a connection to nature. She has invited a variety of performance groups, including MeimageDance, Eye Catching Circus, Acroera, SwingTaiwan, Han Beat, and street performer Isaac Hou, to inspire everyone to get moving together.

[Performing Arts] Eye Catching Circus - E-Generation Paradise. Circus performers use their bodies, skills, and unique apparatus to communicate with the audience, creating unique moments of spontaneous interaction.Many key responding organizations in Da'an District have also prepared a range of performances as an important highlight to commemorate the 30th anniversary of Da'an Park. Eco-related initiatives include an Eco Fair organized by the Friends of Da'an Forest Park Foundation, the Taiwan Film and Audiovisual Institute collaborating with the Hong Foundation and Fubon Cultural and Education Foundation to curate a rich lineup for the outdoor cinema, and the Jianguo Holiday Flower Market anniversary, along with the Jianguo Holiday Jade Market and Artist’s Corner hosting unique activities, alongside special face painting at the Taipei Zoo. 

Iconic cultural venues include the Taiwan Contemporary Culture Lab (C-LAB), the Taipei Digital Art Festival, Jut Art Museum, Mongolian and Tibetan Gallery, NTNU Art Museum, and Taipei Tech Arts and Cultural Center, offering twelve hours of extraordinary activities. 

Trendy international shopping districts, including Yongkang Shopping District and Taipei East District, will also participate with special Nuit Blanche responses, sketching a variety of distinct paths for participants. 

We look forward to every nocturnal animal creating their own ecological journey at Nuit Blanche Taipei!

Building on the “Taipei 140” initiative promoted by the Taipei City Government Department of Cultural Affairs, this year’s fashion week presents personal interpretations of Taipei through everyday attire. City residents of all generations are invited to reflect on the past and create new memories as part of the city’s ongoing story.

Taipei Fashion Week 2024 is jointly organized by the Taipei City Government Department of Cultural Affairs, the Ministry of Culture, and the Ministry of Economic Affairs, and will take place from September 27 to October 30. Key cultural hubs, including Dadaocheng, the East District, and Xinyi District, will join in this grand celebration of fashion.

In addition to over 10 brand fashion shows at Songshan Cultural and Creative Park, this year’s fashion week will kick off with a grand debut in Dadaocheng on October 2, showcasing a fresh new approach. The highly anticipated cross-sector fashion show will follow on October 20 at Xingya Rd. 

Meanwhile, pop-up stores by major brands at Xiangti Avenue Plaza, the Taipei Fashion Week Select Shop featuring Taiwanese designer brands on the 3rd floor of Breeze Xin Yi, and special events hosted by shops in three major shopping districts will add to the excitement. Weekend activities at Xiangti Avenue Plaza, including street fashion photography, a 100-person runway show, and live performances by singers, will further amplify the festivities of this annual fashion extravaganza.

Dadaocheng Fashion Festival

Taipei Fashion Week 2024 will kick off in Dadaocheng on October 2 with a fresh approach centered on stories and experiences. Unlike previous press conferences, this event will be held at the historic Yongle Plaza in Dadaocheng, combining local culture with the celebratory tradition of a banquet. This fusion of fashion and city storytelling will launch a series of events for Taipei Fashion Week, showcasing the city’s unique charm where old meets new.

Fashion Week Cross-Sector Show at Xingya Rd: Taipei’s Fashionable Night Scene

The highly anticipated cross-sector fashion show will take place on October 20 at Xingya Road, part of Taipei’s vibrant nightlife district. This year’s show is being co-produced by renowned stage designer Erhma (二馬) Chien-chang Feng, known for his work with famous singers, and a top Taiwanese production team. 

The show will feature new collections from Taiwanese designers such as ALLENKO3, BOB Jian, CHIA, Claudia Wang, JUST IN XX, and the designer trio behind PCES: Jess, Yu-chi Li, and Bruno Chung. Divided into six periods, the show will explore different aspects of Taipei’s old and new urban landscapes. The runway will extend through the streets of Xingya Road in the Xinyi street block, blending with storefront displays to create a time-travel experience. Famous artists and singers will also perform, offering a one-of-a-kind fashion show. Attendees are encouraged to dress in their best Dress Code: Taipei attire and join the celebration to showcase Taipei’s vibrant night scene.

Fashion Week Select Shop and Three Major Shopping Districts Bringing Fashion to Taipei

This year, the TPEFW Select Shop (Taipei Fashion Week Select Shop), in collaboration with Breeze Xin Yi, will transform the 3rd-floor retail space into a limited-time fashion hub from October 1 to December 30. The space will showcase a wide variety of unique Taiwanese designer brands, featuring chic clothing, trendy accessories, and exclusive collaborations between designers and IP creators. 

During the event from October 2 to October 30, Taipei Fashion Week will link three of the city's most popular shopping districts—Dadaocheng, the East District, and Xinyi District. A curated selection of trendy boutiques will offer a diverse range of options, including stylish clothing, fine dining, versatile accessories, and light snacks and desserts. Creative shops featuring vintage-inspired clothing will also be part of the mix. These hidden gems, tucked away in the city’s alleys, will bring fresh sparks of fashion to Taipei!

Fashion Night in Xinyi: Pre-Fashion Week Festivities

To amplify Taipei’s fashion energy, a series of exciting events will be held at Xiangti Avenue Plaza in Xinyi District on October 12 and 13, inviting the public to become an integral part of Taipei Fashion Week 2024.

The event will feature a Taipei Fashion Week runway and a VOGUE Backstage pop-up experience, recreating the backstage atmosphere of a fashion show and offering fashion enthusiasts a dreamlike stage. A special 100-person runway event open to the public will give fashion lovers the chance to walk on their dream runway, while rising stars from various industries will perform live, ensuring a weekend filled with stunning performances.

Outdoor Screenings: Discovering Taipei’s Beauty

The event begins with eagerly awaited outdoor screenings, linking three iconic landmarks: Beitou Film Studio, Taipei Cinema Park, and The Red House. This cinematic experience seamlessly blends classic films with the city’s landscapes. As night falls and a gentle breeze stirs, audiences look up at the large screen under the night sky, where captivating scenes unfold.

A standout feature of the event is the transformation of the Beitou Film Studio, once a key site of the Central Motion Picture Co. Movie & Television Studios (one of the three pillars of Taiwan’s film industry, alongside Taiwan Film Culture Co. and Chinese Culture and Movie Center). The studio has undergone years of restoration and will briefly reopen for two days this November to feature outdoor film screenings that will take audiences back in time, as well as a lively pop-up market. Every corner of this venue tells a story of Taipei’s rich film history, offering viewers a deeper connection to the city’s cinematic heritage.

Indoor Viewing Experience: Falling in Love with Taipei Through Time

The indoor viewing experience also has its own unique appeal. The historic Bopiliao Historical Block will be showing classic films like Cloud of Romance and My Cape of Many Dreams, creating a compelling synergy between the old-style architecture and these timeless movies. Audiences will feel as if they’ve stepped back into the vibrant days of old Taipei.

In the iconic Taipei 101, the nostalgia of Bopiliao Historical Block will be balanced by the futuristic AMBI SPACE ONE. This five-sided immersive projection system transforms conventional film screenings into a fully immersive experience that offers an unprecedented sensory journey. From Edward Yang’s classic Terrorizers to Ang Lee’s Eat Drink Man Woman, this innovative viewing experience allows audiences to delve into the rich culture and romance of Taipei.

By merging old and new, this event gives audiences a chance to explore Taipei’s multifaceted charm and rediscover their love for every corner of this city.

Special Exhibition Theme: Fall in Love with Taipei

The concept underpinning this special exhibition is “Cinematic Taipei,” and the exhibition delves into the deep connection between film and the city using three themes—Taipei Film Studios, Taipei Cinemas, and Seeing Taipei.

In the Taipei Film Studios section, one can revisit the three major state-run studios that played pivotal roles in Taipei’s film history: CMPC Studio, TFC, and CCMC. Not only iconic filming locations etched in the memories of countless Taiwanese people, these studios were also vital witnesses to the flourishing development of Taipei’s film industry.

The Taipei Cinemas section shines a spotlight on Ximending, a significant landmark in Taipei’s film culture. Since the Japanese colonial period, the western district has been a bustling hub for commerce and entertainment in Taipei. Particularly in the 1960s and 70s, Wuchang Street was home to the highest concentration of cinemas in Taipei, including LUX CINEMA, in89 Deluxe Digital Cinema, Sunrise Cinema, Shin Kong Cinemas, King Cinemas, and Queen Cinemas, marking the golden age of Taipei’s film culture.

Conclusion: A Precious Encounter with Taipei

The “Fall in Love with Taipei” themed screenings will take place from September 7 to September 20 at Bopiliao Historical Block and AMBI SPACE ONE. For screening times and film listings, see the AMBI SPACE ONE website. The exhibition will be open daily from 10 am to 6 pm (closed Mondays) from September 4 to 17, 2024, in Exhibition Rooms 129 and 131 in Bopiliao Historical Block. Film lovers and fans of Taipei are welcome.

“Fall in Love with Taipei” is not just a celebration of Taipei’s 140th anniversary; it is also a profound dialogue with the city. Through these carefully selected films, audiences will rediscover Taipei’s beauty and charm and experience its growth and transformation over the past 140 years.

Let us embark on an unforgettable love affair with this vibrant city. In the moving pictures of cinema, we will rediscover Taipei, reliving its past, embracing its present, and envisioning its future.

This unique cinematic event is set to write a new chapter in Taipei’s cultural history, leaving lasting memories with all who take part.

Comics are a storytelling medium, a vessel for creators’ energies, and a delightful way for readers to discover the beauty of a city. Following comic characters through their stories, walking where they walked, and seeing the world through their eyes can create a unique and engaging connection.

In recent years, Taiwanese comics have entered their third golden age. Among the diverse themes and styles, Taipei stands out as a beautiful setting. If we start at the North Gate, we can find the places corresponding to scenes from comics throughout the city.

In celebration of Taipei City’s 140th founding anniversary, the Taipei Department of Cultural Affairs has curated the Taipei Youth Comics exhibition, which will take place from August 24 to September 8 at the Longshan Cultural & Creative Base. In this city filled with dreamers, how do Taiwanese comic artists perceive the land beneath their feet? How do they create characters in this context? What versions of Taipei emerge through their work?

This exhibition uses Taipei’s landscapes as a point of reference to reflect the lives and environments of the city’s youth across different eras, as depicted by various comic artists. The featured works span from pre-World War II settings to the near future, offering both detailed historical narratives and imaginative sci-fi worlds. Celebrating Taipei’s 140th anniversary, the exhibition highlights comic works set in Taipei with young protagonists. Through comic art displays, author interviews, and city-wide comic experiences, the exhibition aims to weave together stories about life, ideals, dreams, and the future of Taipei. It also seeks to introduce more people to Taipei and showcase the richness and diversity of Taiwanese comics.

Rising Manga Artist Eli Lin Brings Mysterious Manga Girl to Taipei

The exhibition’s main visual features renowned Taiwanese manga artist Eli Lin. Celebrated for her work both in Taiwan and internationally, Lin skillfully blends Taipei’s iconic elements such as the municipal flower, heath, and the city bird, the Taiwan blue magpie, together with both old and new city emblems, into traditional and modern fashion styles to create a character named “Chueh,” a Taipei girl who loves Taiwanese comics.

Through Chueh, readers explore Taipei’s various historical periods in the manga, visiting her comic friends and delving deeper into the city’s past and present.

Taiwanese original manga span a wide range of themes, many of which relate to Taipei. This exhibition features five selected comics arranged chronologically: Tomoe’s Memories of Koumeya, The Banana Sprout, Wind Chaser Under the Blue Sky, The Apocalypse of Darkness Warfare, and YAN. These works are bound up with Taipei’s urban and cultural development over the past 140 years, and their storylines also serve as a microcosm of Taipei through various periods. By showcasing and analyzing these five comics, the exhibition revisits a century of Taipei’s urban development and aims to inspire public imagination and anticipation for the city’s future.

Taipei’s Passionate, Dream-Chasing Youth from Taisho to WWII

In Tomoe’s Memories of Koumeya, we catch a glimpse of Taipei’s dining culture and urban style in the 1920s. The Taisho Era saw social activities and entertainment flourish in Taipei, with a wide range of local and international cuisines enhancing the city’s dining scene, from Western food and Taiwanese cuisine to Japanese dishes and tea.

In The Banana Sprout, two protagonists with completely different backgrounds unexpectedly meet and become friends. They decide to break away from conventional norms and create their own magazine, a manga that highlights the resilience of Taipei high school students who continue to cling to their dreams and pursue artistic aspirations during the turbulent Japanese colonial era. As the protagonists journey through Chongqing South Road’s bookstore district, the smell of paper and ink in bookstores evokes shared after-school memories for many Taipei students, with comics, novels, reference books, and popular magazines all contributing to the experience.

Last year’s International Manga Award gold winner, Wind Chaser Under the Blue Sky, takes readers through Taipei’s recovery from the devastation of the Second World War. As Taiwan’s most important city and a central hub for public transportation, Taipei’s railway system suffered extensive damage, with many stations and facilities being destroyed. After the war, the government invested heavily to rebuild the shattered transportation network, which contributed to Taipei’s economic revival. The manga also depicts how two boys, driven by their passionate love for trains and athletics, find hope and a chance to realize their dreams despite the destruction.

The Taipei Studies Conference, held biennially by the Taipei City Archives, delves into various topics related to Taipei, with the aim of uncovering the city’s rich cultural essence and historical value. 

In celebration of Taipei’s 140th anniversary, in September the Taipei City Archives will host the 11th Taipei Studies Conference and Promotion Event. Everyone interested in Taipei’s historical culture and future development is invited to experience the city’s unique charm.

This year marks Taipei City’s 140th anniversary. Over time, Taipei has evolved into a modern, diverse, and inclusive city, reflected in the myriad voices, styles, and images of its people in pictures, writing, and multimedia.

In honor of this milestone, the conference will be themed “Timeless Treasures, Composing the Future,” and will revisit the highlights of Taipei’s past while envisioning its future. The main visual concept, City Kaleidoscope, will showcase Taipei’s vibrant allure, presenting its diversity and capturing its unique voice, flavors, and images as seen by different people.

The event will feature three promotional activities, two keynote speeches, seven Taipei city observation presentations, and one comprehensive forum, offering an in-depth and accessible exploration of Taipei’s multiculturalism and urban spirit.

Promotional Events 

Three promotional events will be held on September 13, 20, and 25. The first, Urban Walks—From Logging to Modern Economic Development, will take participants on a guided walking tour to explore the thriving shipping, logging, agriculture, and trade activities of Monga 140 years ago, offering a deep dive into Taipei’s historical and economic evolution. 

The second event, Ecological Tour—A Century of Taipei Hidden in Nature, will delve into Taipei’s transformations through the geological strata at Zhishanyan. Participants will uncover Taipei’s history by examining different strata, fossil traces, and various plant species, revealing the city’s development story. 

The third event, Lecture x Workshop—A Century of Taipei Social Housing, will translate the abstract patterns of Taipei’s social housing into beautiful architectural lines. Through lectures and printmaking workshops, participants will explore the history of Taipei’s social housing and its impact on urban development, with opportunities for hands-on involvement and creative enjoyment.

Two-Day Conference Line-Up

On September 28 and 29, the 11th Taipei Studies Conference will be held for at the International Conference Hall, School of Continuing Education, Chinese Culture University (Jianguo Campus). 

The conference will feature discussions with experts from various fields, focusing on contemporary Taipei through seven city observation presentations covering architecture, aesthetics, history, culture, film, popular music, and civic movements. The event will offer insight into Taipei’s diverse and inclusive urban spirit while presenting content that is both relevant to daily life and culturally significant. The conference aims to cultivate a vision of Taipei as a culturally reflective city with a forward-looking approach to its sustainable future. 

The event will also include a special performance by the Taipei Quyituan, adding a joyful atmosphere with humorous acts that provide a lighthearted introduction to Taipei’s culture and history. Additionally, there will be two keynote speeches and one comprehensive forum.

Two keynote speeches will be given: “Love Letters Carved in Stone – To Taipei” and “From Walled City to World City,” delving into Taipei’s urban development history, key transitions, and future prospects. The comprehensive forum, titled “Bright Future,” will discuss various city development plans and policies, with the goal of collectively shaping a more prosperous and livable Taipei.

Attendance at the 11th Taipei Studies Conference and Promotion Event, hosted by the Taipei City Archives, is free. Registration is expected to open mid-to-late August. For details and registration information, see the Taipei City Archives website. We invite all Taipei residents interested in the city’s historical culture and future development to actively participate and explore Taipei’s diversity and inclusiveness while witnessing the city’s promising future.

▍11th Taipei Studies Conference and Promotion Event

Date: September 13 to 29

Location: Varies by event

The organizer reserves the right to make changes and cancellations.

Taipei boasts the greatest number of tangible cultural assets in all of Taiwan, with a rich array of historical memories resting in the city’s old houses. Built from the bricks of everyday life and stories, these structures have painted the city’s vibrant gradient over the past century, leaving deep imprints of lives across generations. 

This year’s Taipei Heritage Day  coincides with the 140th anniversary of the founding of Taipei City. The public is invited to embark on a journey through time, exploring the city’s 140-year history through guided tours, photography salons, craft experiences, themed lectures, and more, capturing the evolving historical landscape and creating their own stories of the city.

The highly acclaimed Old House Time Tunnel guided tours, one of the few heritage-day activities in Taiwan that allow the public to enter old house restoration sites, will also run this year. In collaboration with cultural asset restoration teams, 15 time tunnels with different themes will showcase Taipei’s work in cultural asset restoration and reuse. The tours will also include dining and unique hands-on experiences, where participants can experience the splendid revival of old house spaces firsthand.

In celebration of the 140th anniversary of the founding of Taipei City, this year’s Heritage Day will focus on Taipei City, using the idea of the city to tell historical stories. The Century Tour of Taipei Prefecture City themed route will challenge participants to visit the four ancient city gates, retracing life within and without the old city walls. Guided by experts, participants will appreciate the architectural evolution of Taipei’s city gates, from the Qing Dynasty Minnan style to the Northern Palace style. The features of the gates reflect how each generation imagined the city and serve as a lens through which we can view the city’s history today.

To capture the beauty of old houses and immortalize their stories, the Old House Photography Salon Workshop will feature photography experts teaching techniques and guiding participants around heritage sites, where they will use the magic of light and shadow to capture authentic human landscapes, exploring the many possibilities of photography and heritage preservation. 

Participants can submit images taken during the event to the Old House Image Contest, which will select 48 winners for cash prizes totaling NT$200,000. The winning works will be exhibited in Taipei’s heritage spaces. Fans of photography, old houses, and history are encouraged to explore Taipei’s streets through their lenses, capturing the city’s temporal flow.

How can we depict a city’s outline through its evolving history? The Taipei City Themed Lecture × Craft Experience, a special event celebrating Taipei’s 140th anniversary, will act as a guide through the changing and dynamic visions of the city. Participants will explore different perspectives across various eras, taking a comprehensive view of Taipei’s century-long development and evoking the everyday lives of its residents from years past. 

The themed lectures will cover intriguing topics such as Taipei Prefecture City, urban development, Qing Dynasty traditional architecture, railways, and industries. Local historians and professional architects involved in restoration projects will share insights, offering a glimpse into the historical layers of Taipei. The companion craft experience will allow participants of all ages to become heritage restoration artisans, practicing traditional crafts passed down through the centuries. At Hsuehhai Academy, they will learn temple painting techniques and special processes such as plastering and gilding, and take home their handcrafted traditional art pieces at the end of the event.

This year’s Heritage Day also introduces an event handbook that details the 15 guided routes and series of activities and also documents the restoration processes being carried out on Taipei’s cultural assets this year. It includes insights into the restoration of Beimen (Taipei North Gate), Chen Tian-lai Residence, and Guangfu Building at Taipei First Girls’ High School, with special interviews with restoration architects discussing modern techniques used to preserve heritage sites and historic buildings. 

In addition, the handbook is published in collaboration with various heritage sites across Taipei, offering exclusive discounts to those who visit the sites with a hard copy of the handbook on Taipei Heritage Day. 

We look forward to the 2024 Heritage Day series, and invite the public to explore the 140-year time tunnel of Taipei’s development and discover the historical textures embedded in the city. As autumn approaches, why not stroll through Taipei’s neighborhoods with friends to experience the cultural energy accumulated over 140 years and create a personal impressions of the city through the interplay of space and time?

▍ 2024 Taipei Heritage Day

Date: August to December 2024

See official websites and social media pages for event updates.

Since 2022, Songshan Cultural and Creative Park has been hosting nighttime trial operations in the heritage area, earning widespread acclaim. This year, with the official opening of the Taipei Dome, the launch of 14 restaurants in GARDEN CITY, and the reopening of the 24-hour Eslite Bookstore at Songshan Cultural and Creative Park, the park is collaborating with partners in the greater SongYan area to establish itself as a significant landmark for new cultural life experiences in Taipei’s East and Xinyi districts. The park is set to become a hub for weekend nightlife, blending cultural and sports activities in Taipei.

The park is more than just a revitalized heritage site and a venue for cultural and creative exhibitions, also serving as an essential habitat for a wide range of flora and fauna. SongYan is being developed into a site for environmental education and cultural life experiences with a core focus on environmental restoration, wildlife conservation, ecological sustainability, and opening up the greater SongYan area. This year’s SongYan Summer Festival has the theme “Zoom In: SongYan Zoo,” marking the first collaboration with Taipei Zoo. From July 1 to September 1, the park will feature summer-exclusive animal installations, bringing visitors closer to wildlife.

With 63 nights of activities, guests are invited to explore heritage sites, nature, and music, experience the city’s vibrant cultural pulse, and discover a new way to enjoy SongYan at night.

SongYan Zoo: Creating a New Style of Summer Nightlife Through Art and Parades

As the sun sets over the brightly lit, bustling Xinyi District, the friendly and adorable tour guide Song Duck  takes the lead into Taipei’s urban oasis. Walking from Guangfu South Road into the park along Song Yan Ave, visitors will encounter nine summer-exclusive art installations, including Song Dog playing hide-and-seek at the entrance, Song Duck peeking curiously from rooftops, and familiar Song Yan birds nodding in welcome as the wind blows. The park will also be teaming up with artist Peter LuLu for five light-and-shadow party animal parades. Visitors will have the chance to interact closely with animal mascots from Taipei Zoo, AMOW, and more. SongYan’s stories will be brought to life through environmental theater performances using light, sound, and animal mascots.

Launch of Song Mag | Unlock Four Unique Travel Guides

Songshan Cultural and Creative Park is also launching its first travel magazine, Song Mag, offering the ultimate guide to exploring this large area that blends history and modernity. The inaugural issue, themed “Hide & Seek,” will lead the public along four distinctive routes and perspectives, unveiling the new face of the greater SongYan area. 

From July 1 to September 1, a summer-exclusive Hide & Seek stamp collection event will connect shops throughout the area in a game of hide-and-seek, with rolling giveaways like Eslite Hotel Executive Suite stays and dining vouchers for two. 

Meanwhile, the park is collaborating with TaiwanWalks to offer nine guided walking tours of the greater SongYan area, allowing visitors to discover the charm of SongYan’s boutique shops and Lane 553 alleyway cafes, blending culture, cuisine, and ecology for a fully immersive experience.

Music Performances, Style Markets, and Reality Puzzles: 11 Different Activities Await

The 2024 SongYan Summer Festival will feature a nine-week series of lifestyle-themed parties. The first week’s 2024 MomBaby Parent-Child Style Market will kick off the summer nights at the heritage site with a parent–child market, craft workshops, storytelling sessions, music performances, and an outdoor cinema. Eslite Spectrum Songyan will present the Summer Festival: Hot Soul Celebration, which will create a unique multi-sensory market experience. HahaTai’s Idle Walkers: SongYan Shuffle will set up quirky “idle” installations, limited-edition merchandise, and the liveliest stage performances! 

Also, Goblet of Soul will host the special Wizard PLUS – Add Duck reality puzzle game at the Southern Tobacco Factory, inviting the public to solve puzzles while exploring Songshan Cultural and Creative Park. The two-month-long event is filled with surprises and curiosity, offering a different heritage night experience each week.

This summer, the park provides a blend of ecological, travel, and musical experiences through a collection of new activities. The greater SongYan area will develop a fresh nighttime vibe, creating a unique cultural living space in Taipei!

▍ 2024 SongYan Summer Festival—Zoom In: SongYan Zoo

Dates: July 1 to September 1

Indoor Areas: 8 am to 10 pm

Outdoor Areas: Open 24/7

Location: Outdoor spaces at Songshan Cultural and Creative Park

The large-scale solo exhibition of South African contemporary artist William Kentridge in Taiwan will be held at the Taipei Fine Arts Museum (TFAM) from May 4 to September 1. The exhibition is a collaborative effort between TFAM and the Royal Academy of Arts in London. Jointly curated by Adrian Locke and Chao-Ying Wu, the exhibition brings together curators from both institutions to recreate the TFAM’s opening exhibition in 2022, offering a comprehensive view of Kentridge’s prolific creative journey spanning over 40 years.

“William Kentridge”, Storyboard Notes Exhibition Photo

The curatorial context delves into Kentridge’s sketch creations, with an exhibition area divided into ten sub-themes: Early Sketches, Sketch Projections: Soho Shorts, Sketch Projections: Sketches, Colonial Landscapes, Studio, Ubu Tells Truth, Flowers, Storyboard Notes, Trees, and Female Prophets. 

Over 90 representative works from the 1980s to the present will be on display including early charcoal sketches and stills from the sketch projection series, experimental video installations, stage performances, props, and recent large-scale creations such as trees and flowers using ink and charcoal, enabling visitors to witness his creative journey and aesthetic dimensions.

The works on display in this exhibition are renowned for their intense narrative poetry and rich media vocabulary, spanning historical archives, maps, film, novels, drama, dance, poetry collections, and music. They transcend weighty issues through poetic translations, exploring poignant real-world issues in South Africa such as race, society, and politics. The works also deftly examine historical power dynamics and exploitation through metaphorical and symbolic poetic spaces, delving into questions of justice and freedom.

William Kentridge, “The Skin’s Sweet Smell”, 2021, Indian ink, watercolor, handmade linen paper, coarse cotton cloth mounting, 373 × 187 cm. Private Collection, London. Image provided by the artist.

Notably, the exhibition was designed by a team headed by stage and exhibition designer Sabine Theunissen, who has collaborated closely with Kentridge for many years. The team carefully selected a diverse range of natural materials to highlight the artist’s rustic creative essence. This collaboration has created a dramatic atmosphere where artworks interact with elements of the environment, enhancing the visual experience of the exhibition space with agility and strength.

Starting from June 4, the first-floor corridor will also host Open Studio public educational activities. These activities extend the themes of Kentridge’s works, including bottle flowers, tree scenes, and title collages. The public is invited to “draw on the spot,” and summer workshops with on-site teaching assistants will be scheduled, allowing audiences to enjoy the direct perception of both lines and things. 

Information on public activities and related merchandise will be announced during the exhibition period. For details and updates on the activities, visit the TFAM website or follow the TFAM Facebook fan page.

“William Kentridge” group photo: Jun-Jieh Wang, TFAM Director, and curator Adrian Locke (from left to right).

Artist Profile

William Kentridge was born in 1955 in Johannesburg, South Africa, to prominent human rights lawyer parents. After graduating with a degree in Political Science and African Studies from the University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg in 1976, Kentridge pursued further studies at the Johannesburg Contemporary Art Foundation for two years.

In 1981, Kentridge went to École internationale de théâtre Jacques Lecoq in Paris to study mime and theater. Upon returning to Johannesburg, he continued his work in theater while also focusing on art creation, including a series of etchings and rubber stamp prints, large charcoal drawings, and short films. South Africa’s history of apartheid drew international condemnation down on the country, but following the end of apartheid policies in the late 1980s, Kentridge’s work gained recognition outside South Africa. Since the 1990s, his artworks and stage productions have been widely exhibited in museums, galleries, theaters, and opera houses worldwide.

Although drawing has been Kentridge’s primary medium, he continues to produce prints, sculptures, tapestries, and films, and also engages in theater productions and lectures. His theater work has expanded to include collaborations with opera directors, composers, and performers on opera productions.

In 2016, he established the Centre for the Less Good Idea in the Maboneng precinct of Johannesburg, a space for creative experimentation hosting two seasons of activities each year. Over 500 artists have participated and created over 100 works. Kentridge currently resides in Johannesburg, where he continues to create art.

▍William Kentridge

Date | May 4 to September 1

Location | Taipei Fine Arts Museum, Gallery 1A 1B

The 25th Taipei Children’s Arts Festival (TCAF), organized by the Taipei City Government, will take place from June 29 to August 1. With the theme “Kids Mode ON!,” the festival aims to provide an opportunity for adults and children to enjoy exploring art and relive the joys of youthhood.

This year’s TCAF has expanded to feature 13 programs, including 11 main performances and two children’s creative bases, covering circus, music, drama, and musicals. The Art Wonderland will be extended to 4 weeks, with performances every Saturday and Sunday at various venues within the Taipei Performing Arts Center (TPAC). The Community Outreach will bring free performances to ten districts in Taipei, allowing audiences to enjoy a wide range of shows, even on weekdays. The Interactive Exhibition – Secret Base of Forgotten Time will be held in the Antarctic Theater and the second-floor public space of the TPAC, enabling audiences to enjoy a small summer paradise. Additionally, on July 20 and 21, Formosa Circus Art and Body Phase Theatre will present free outdoor performances at the Daan Park Outdoor Music Stage.

Midsummer Concert – Relaxed Performance

The Evergreen Symphony Orchestra will perform Mozart’s Symphony No. 40 in G minor at the TPAC Sphere Theater on July 6 and 7. At this relaxed performance, audience members are free to enter and exit the auditorium as they please, providing an inclusive and pressure-free environment where everyone can enjoy the beauty of music.

Dear John – Never Say Never (Family Version)

A playful sound laboratory where the audience can closely observe deconstructed musical instruments and explore the musical concepts of American composer John Cage. This walk-through performance will be held at the TPAC Blue Box from July 5 to 7.

Not Home Yet

Presented by House Peace, this play will be performed at the Wellspring Theater on July 6 and 7. The story follows Xiao Bao on a special adventure on his birthday, exploring themes of loss, regret, and single parenthood.

See You

A solo performance by Fang-Fang Lin of Ling Long Animal, presented in a colorful tent at the TPAC rehearsal room from July 11 to 14. The audience is invited to bring toys and participate in the performance.

My Deer First Love

An original musical for young audiences, to be staged at the TPAC Blue Box from July 12 to 14. The story revolves around high school student Ah Zhu, who becomes involved in a series of mysterious events and unexpectedly falls in love with a girl.

Wolfgang’s Magical Musical Circus

Presented by Circa Contemporary Circus, Australia’s premier circus team, this performance will be showcased at the sphere-shaped theater of the Taipei Performing Arts Center from July 12 to 14. This distinctive musical circus show is centered on the whimsical musical prodigy Wolfgang Mozart and showcases three performers blending physical feats with live accordion music in a delightful series of lively and playful musical compositions.

LA BULLE

This performance by Canada’s Corpus Theatre will be staged at the Blue Box at Taipei Performing Arts Center from July 18 to 21. The unique mime show features Artistic Director David Danzon in person dressed as a clown. He paints, dances, sings, and runs around, interacting with the audience and helping everyone experience the magical charm firsthand.

Robocar Poli: Finding the Golden Trophy!

This licensed musical from Korea, blending dazzling lights, projections, and stage effects, will be performed at the Grand Theater at Taipei Performing Arts Center from July 19 to 21. The story revolves around Boom Town facing a crisis as the Golden Trophy for the sports event is stolen.

OMG Alien!

A musical filled with surprises, emotions, and family bonds will be performed at the Wellspring Theater from July 20 to 21. This production by the Taipei Performing Arts Center features graduates of the TPAC Musical Theater Training Project. The story follows first-grade student Xiao-Yu, who enjoys happy moments at home until an alien appears and steals his mother’s love.

LAB - Fairy Tells...

The story centers on a bedridden boy who seeks happiness and joy by rewriting the endings of fairy tales.

Art Wonderland Extended for Four Weeks (June 29–July 21): Art in Play

The Taipei Performing Arts Center isn’t just a performance venue. Every summer, it undergoes a magical transformation into an Art Wonderland. The plaza is used as a hub for a diverse range of free activities like music, drama, dance, circus acts, puppet shows, and musicals, all spanning four weekends from June 29 to July 21. 

The Art Wonderland also bridges various projects and festivals managed by the Taipei Performing Arts Center, including the Circus Tent Project, TPAC Musical Theater Training Project, and Taipei Fringe Festival. This collaboration brings together artists and creators from different realms, sparking creativity and crafting delightful artistic journeys for both children and parents.

Korean Master of Romance Jin-Ho Hur and Legendary Hungarian Director Béla Tarr Open New International Perspectives

Main visual for the Taipei Film Festival, featuring a dancing metal butterfly which symbolizes the resilience and uniqueness of each film 

Taipei Film Festival, the not-to-be-missed summer event for film enthusiasts, will be held from June 21 to July 6 at Taipei Zhongshan Hall, Vieshow Cinema, and SPOT Huashan Cinema. In its 26th year, the festival will open with Doubles Match, the latest exciting film starring Vivian Hsu and Jen-Shuo Cheng, which is sure to surprise and delight fans.

Festival ambassador Austin Lin has revealed that his first film festival was the Taipei Film Festival. Fifteen years ago, his first film, Somewhere I Have Never Travelled, was nominated for the Taipei Film Awards. Lin was invited to post-screening talks, saw himself on the big screen and received encouragement and support from the audience, which settled him in his path as an actor. As this year’s festival ambassador, Lin revealed that he will be using his festival pass to watch a wide range of films from all over the world to broaden his horizons.

Doubles Match was directed by Po-Hao Hung. Hung’s previous film, Dad’s Suit, won Best Feature at the Taipei Film Awards, with lead actors Tsang-Hsi Ou and Phoebe Huang winning Best Actor and Best Supporting Actress, respectively. This year, Hung brings a completely different style with a film about two young table tennis players, played by Yu-Kai Peng and Hsing-Wei Li, who form a strong bond and strive to become top international players. The film boasts a strong cast, including box office star Vivian Hsu from Little Big Women, Jen-shuo Cheng, who won Best Supporting Actor at the Taipei Film Festival for Gatao 2—The New Leader Rising, and talented actors Ming-Shuai Shih  and Mandy Wei, offering fans a blend of visual appeal, passion, and inspiration.

The Taipei Film Festival is known for three main features: the City in Focus, the International New Directors Competition, and the Taipei Film Awards. This year’s City in Focus is Budapest, Hungary, which showcases a selection of 20 films including classics, films on contemporary issues, and engaging stories, a cultural feast for film enthusiasts.

As Hungary’s political, cultural, and economic center, Budapest boasts a rich history and cultural heritage and its films reflect a unique artistic style and profound depth. This year’s selections include recent hits like Semmelweis, which became the highest-grossing Hungarian film of the past five years; Explanation for Everything, which won the Orizzonti Award for Best Film at the Venice Film Festival; Pelikan Blue, a story of forged train tickets set against the backdrop of the Iron Curtain; and Christmas Carol, a film about a female teacher whose career is jeopardized by a parent’s complaint over a film she unintentionally recommends in class.

Legendary Hungarian director Béla Tarr is this year’s featured filmmaker. After completing The Turin Horse, which won the Silver Bear Grand Jury Prize and the FIPRESCI Award at the Berlin International Film Festival in 2011, Béla Tarr announced his retirement from directing, stating that he felt he had said everything he wanted to say in film.

This year’s Taipei Film Festival will screen The Turin Horse along with Tarr’s earlier works, including Family Nest, which won top prize at the International Film Festival Mannheim-Heidelberg, and a digitally restored version of his second feature, The Outsider. These films which provide a contrast between the beginning and end of the legendary director’s career have been unavailable on the big screen in Taiwan for 20 years.

Another featured filmmaker this year is the Korean master of romance Jin-Ho Hur. Hur is known for his skillful portrayal of complex, interconnected emotional exchanges that capture the ebb and flow of his characters’ lives through the subtleties of daily life and the changing seasons. This year’s festival will screen his debut and a representative work of the Korean New Wave, Christmas in August, with three other films from different periods of Hur’s career: One Fine Spring Day, starring Young-Ae Lee  which won Best Film at the Blue Dragon Film Awards; April Snow, which helped Ye-Jin Son win Best Actress at the Asia-Pacific Film Festival; and the historical LGBTQ epic Forbidden Dream starring Suk-Kyu Han and Min-Sik Choi. Hur will attend post-screening discussions and deliver a masterclass during the festival. 

This year, the Taipei Film Festival’s Outstanding Contribution Award will be presented to hand-painted movie poster artist Chen-Fa Yen. Yen has more than half a century’s experience and has created thousands of movie posters. He is currently the chief artist at Cyuanmei Cinema in Tainan. With the support and advice of Cyuanmei Cinema, Chen-Fa Yen has started offering hand-painted poster classes, generously passing on his skills to interested individuals in the hope of preserving this art form. Having dedicated his entire life to film, on hearing he had received the Taipei Film Festival’s Outstanding Contribution Award, Yen expressed his gratitude, saying, “I will keep painting until I can no longer see.”

Since 2014, the Taipei Fine Arts Museum has been developing the X-site Project, which uses the museum’s outdoor plaza as a base for an open call for spatial proposals. The project explores the integration of temporary structural installations with the spirit of public space under considerations such as architectural form, contemporary art, environmental research, and audience participation. It encourages interdisciplinary and wide-ranging dialogues and relationships, with the aim of using unknown X elements to inspire new spatial imaginings. This year’s top prize was awarded to the interdisciplinary team Office One Senses (OOS) for their architectural proposal “Analogue Forest”.

“Analogue Forest” consists of 25 slightly swaying columns and a nearly weightless canopy which creates a vast shade. Its sheer size means that visitors are immediately drawn to the heterogeneous space, which provides an enjoyable exploratory experience for many summer visitors. The overlapping with the lush foliage gives the structure a forest-like sense of shelter, analogically introducing the physical sensations of walking through a forest. This transforms the plaza from a time-anchored backdrop into a space where past experiences and the present moment dissolve to generate new experiences—creating a “forest in the plaza”.

The jury commented on how the winning proposal creates an uncertain boundary and swaying state within a limited space. Through its open contextual scale, it expands the inherent boundaries of the site and uses forest imagery to immerse visitors in a sensory experience. The jury commented, “The work breaks the subjectivity of the museum’s front plaza by constructing a lightweight roof supported by multiple points, creating an architectural vocabulary different from past structures. The design team imagined a friendly environment generated from the concept of space and landscape, fostering a natural interaction mode of casual encounters and crossings.”

This year’s X-site Project draws inspiration from “Near Yuanshan”, a 1928 painting by Taiwanese artist Hsueh-Hu Kuo (1908–2012), which is part of the museum collection. Artists from different fields have been invited to co-organize a series of public activities, including workshops, sound performances, and lectures. 

Visual artist Yu-Tzu Huang explored the current site of “Near Yuanshan”. In her “Workshop—Sketch from Forest”, she uses mirrored acrylic instead of traditional canvas and luminous ink instead of traditional ink in order to symbolically and analogously represent the natural scenery depicted in “Near Yuanshan”. Sound artist Yu-Jung Chen’s “Forest Sound Performance” collects sounds from the Jiantan Shan Trail and then uses filtering to reconstruct natural sounds and frequencies and thereby create new narratives.

Artist Ju-An Hsieh presents “Artist Talk—Talk from Forest”, a lecture based on her recent residency and artworks made in various natural habitats. She has written about these experiences in long-form prose, presented as a handmade book. The lecture will be conducted as a book reading accompanied by projected documentary photographs and manuscripts from her journeys. 

The Natural Trail Association’s “Walking Tour—Learn from the Forest will guide participants along the Jiantan Shan Trail, Yuanshan Mingjhih Bridge(now Zhongshan Bridge), and Taiwan Shrine (now Grand Hotel Taipei), allowing people to reconnect with historically significant rural paths and re-imagine the mountains and fields. This public program uses “Near Yuanshan” as a central theme, encouraging collective learning and walking as a starting point. Through observations and perceptions from various artistic perspectives, this program echoes the spatial experiences and sensory memories that “Analogue Forest” evokes, prompting reflections on one’s relationship with the forest. 

Office One Senses (OOS)

The members of the OOS Studio are currently based in various locations across Europe, Japan, and Taiwan. Throughout the X-site creative process, they have bridged time zones and cultures, integrating architecture, design, and art. Starting from imagination or surrounding perceptions, they contemplate, understand, and delve deeper into the possibilities of space and experience.

▍ 2024 X-site: Analogue Forest

Date: May 11–July 21
Venue: Taipei Fine Arts Museum Outdoor Plaza

[Visitor Guidelines]

“Analogue Forest” is a dynamic architectural space that encourages appropriate interaction from visitors. Please follow the guidelines below. In case of emergency, follow response and evacuation instructions of onsite staff. 

1.    When interacting with the installation, please do the following:

(a)    Ensure children under 7 are accompanied by a parent or adult guardian.

(b)    Avoid forcefully pushing or pulling on or climbing on the column units.

(c)    Refrain from using umbrellas, sharp objects, or any items that might become entangled with the canopy.

(d)    Do not pull the canopy or throw objects onto it or hang objects from it.

(e)    Be mindful of gaps between the installation base and the surface of the plaza. Do not insert fingers, toes, or personal items in any space that might be closed by the moving column units.

2.    In cases of extreme weather, such as heavy rain, thunderstorms, or typhoons, the installation will be temporarily closed. Please reschedule your visit.

3.    The installation will close for 30 minutes before and after public events. (Closures will be announced onsite.). Please adjust your visit schedule accordingly.

Since 1977, May 18th has been designated by the International Council of Museums (ICOM) as International Museum Day, encouraging countries to focus on museums and cultural enterprises in order to promote the healthy growth of the museum industry. 

The theme of this year’s Taipei International Museum Day is “Museums for Education and Research”, emphasizing the crucial role of cultural institutions in providing holistic educational experiences. Contemporary museums not only preserve historical memory but also involve the public in shaping contemporary meanings and perspectives to encourage a diverse array of cultural experiences.

In response to the theme of this year’s International Museum Day, the Taipei 518 International Museum Day is embracing the theme “Museums Lead the Way”, creating a cultural atmosphere for all people of ages by linking various cultural venues in Taipei City, including hosting a museum market, designing 10 hands-on museum experiences, and launching limited-edition collaborative products alongside hands-on activities. 

We see museums as guides for exploring urban narratives, and cities as being ripe for adventure and discovery. Using a broad range of venues and activities, we aim to lead the public on a journey of exploration starting from the 518 International Museum Day series and gradually unspooling their own exploration of Taipei’s cultural venues according to their own interests.

Themed Activity: Fun Museum Market

How do you think about museums? To broaden public understanding of the role of museums, this year’s Museum Day series features the Fun Museum Market, Fun @ The Museum event. Taipei’s cultural venues will be showcased at the market, together with live performances by independent musicians and a range of activities such as art, music, and body movement workshops. Through these activities, the public are invited to use their body and their senses to explore museums and re-envision their role.

Venue-linked Activities: Cultural Experience Workshops

Museums belong to all of us, and they have activities for everyone, regardless of age. This year’s Museum Day is focused on “participation for all ages, learning for all ages”, blending the highlights and distinctive features of Taipei museums. 

We’ve chosen eight venues and crafted 10 venue-specific activities and are inviting people of all ages to come and enjoy a cultural experience. Whether you’re young or old, single or part of a family, there are activities suitable for you. 

The cultural experience workshops cover themes like theater arts, historical culture, and art experiences rooted in daily life to make cultural venues, which are often perceived as “repositories of knowledge”, more accessible. Participants can engage in a wide range of activities, such as crafts, writing, floral art, and open theater experiences, to expand their understanding of museums while discovering their unique features.

Museum-themed Crayons

How do you picture museums? Perhaps the red bricks and Japanese-style gray tiles of Beitou Hot Spring Museum? Or the lush greenery of Zhishan Cultural and Ecological Garden? 

This year’s Museum Day is not only bringing people to cultural venues but also allowing them to take home impressions. In collaboration with the Simbalion Art Studio, a limited-edition crayon set inspired by the unique architectural colors of Taipei City museums has been created. Each of the 12 colors represents something about the charm and cultural heritage of Taipei museums. We hope you can use these colorful crayons to reimagine museums and draw your dream museum. (Supplies of this free promotional set are limited, so sign up while stocks last.)

We want to share the beauty and culture of Taipei City museums with more people so that together we can experiencing art’s charms and warmth. For further information and event registration, visit the Taipei 518 International Museum Day fan page.

Now that the Covid pandemic has finally subsided, the Artist-in-Residence Taipei (台北藝術進駐) call for submissions has finally been relaunched to seek outstanding residency projects for 2024. 

The projects are intended to use abundant artistic energy to bring cross-cultural dialogues and exchanges to the surrounding communities of Treasure Hill and Taipei City. In 2024, over 20 groups of domestic and international artists/teams are expected to participate. 

During their three-month residency, these creators will develop art research projects relating to local cultural history and geography. By these artists’ perceiving and being aware of daily experiences and collaborating with the people of Taiwan, they will form a close connection between art and locality, sparking experimental creations. 

The residency journey will also nurture the artists, integrating personal and collective experiences, local and international perspectives, and a variety of issues and creative concepts, establishing a solid foundation for their next works, and allowing each artistic endeavor to spark wide-ranging thinking. The depth and value of art is conveyed through the vibrant creations of international residency artists.

This year, the first exhibition at Treasure Hill will be the 2024 First Quarter Residency Artists Joint Presentation (2024 年第一季駐村藝術家聯合發表). As an international art village, Taipei Treasure Hill Artist Village has developed a comprehensive reception process and established strong relationships with various international residency institutions. It is well-prepared to welcome artists from different fields, each bringing their unique style of creation. Passersby often catch glimpses of artists working or conducting field research, and wonder what they are up to. The exhibition will give viewers a glimpse into the research and creative processes of residency artists during this period. Through the eyes of the artists, they can reexamine their familiar living environment from different perspectives.

The 2024 First Quarter Residency Artists Joint Presentation (2024 年第一季駐村藝術家聯合發表) brings together four resident artists from all over the globe: Jidanun Lueangpiansamut from Thailand, French art group Ouazzani Carrier, and Transfield Studio from Japan. With their diverse cultural backgrounds, these artists utilize various mediums such as painting, sculpture, literature, video, and research projects to illustrate cultural similarities and differences between Taipei and their home countries. They also reflect on their relationship with Treasure Hill, interpreting the unique vitality and vigor of Treasure Hill from the perspectives of artists from different countries. Through this, the Taiwanese audience can deeply sense that art can be seamlessly integrated into daily life.

This year’s exciting exhibition, “Crypto Residency Program Results Presentation,” continues the theme of the open call, “Blockchain Field,” and features 10 creators from Taiwan and abroad. 

Participants include Taiwanese artists Yi-Pin Huang, Mu-Yun Huang, Chia-Min Liu, and Meng-Chieh Yu, Malaysian art group Koh Kai Ting + AW Boon Xi, Ukrainian artist Veronika Cherednychenko, British artist Abi Huxtable, Ecuadorian artist Henry Lamina, Bulgarian artist Klimentina Milenova, and Indian artist Apoorva Singh. 

Through the lens of online residency and artistic field investigations, the exhibition examines separately how the five decentralized autonomous organizations (DAOs) operate, advocate for their principles, and experiment with projects on the blockchains of Taiwan, Japan, and Thailand. The results are presented through a combination of online and physical formats.

The residency joint exhibition focuses on exploring and presenting the experiences of residency artists in Taipei and their cross-cultural endeavors. The Crypto Residency Program explores how art can integrate with blockchain and DAOs, leading to the development of new practical approaches. A wide range of discussion topics will be incorporated into the exhibition, highlighting the architectural landscape features of Treasure Hill. Exciting events, including discussions with residency artists, will take place during the exhibition period. Art enthusiasts interested in exhibitions are welcome to visit Treasure Hill and appreciate the creative achievements of the residency artists.

With the Lunar New Year approaching, during the moments of mild cold and warmth, a visit to Beitou makes for an excellent travel plan. Beyond its natural landscapes, Beitou is often associated with scenes of misty hot springs. Numerous local streets, along with old, Japanese-style houses, and a wealth of cultural stories, have been shaped by the presence of this invaluable geothermal resource.

The Beitou Plum Garden (北投梅庭), built in the late 1930s, is now the Taste Beitou (品北投) cultural and educational space, promoting a comfortable and artistic lifestyle. The outer gate pillars still bear the inscription “Plum Garden” as suggested by Mr. Yu-Jen Yu (于右任).

Situated in the Beitou River valley, the Beitou Plum Garden seamlessly blends Japanese-style wooden structures with modern reinforced concrete. The house once had a hot spring bath; outside, there is a lush courtyard and the Ki-Li-Gan stone wall (唭哩岸石圍牆), the excavations of which are now complete. In a nod to the wartime era, an air-raid shelter adds regional and historical significance. Nestled within the century-old Beitou Park, amidst various tourist spots, it serves as an ideal resting point. Enjoy the greenery in the courtyard for a sense of tranquility and explore the traces of past life indoors. The original corridor allows you to experience the healing atmosphere of the changing seasons.

Beitou Plum Garden as an Exhibition Venue

Taipei Fine Arts Museum’s TFAM on the Move project aims to use an artistic perspective to document stories, big and small, in the streets of Taipei. Through appreciation of collected works, the gathering of local memories, community co-creation, and the exploration of local identity and cultural characteristics, the project revisits the subjectivity of living areas. This year, in collaboration with the Beitou Plum Garden, china painting artists, other contemporary artists, and local residents have been invited to create together. Community memory collection, painting, resident story writing, and AI drawing will be used to visualize the memories of Beitou. The exhibition also features full-size digital micro-sprays of Gobara Koto’s “Twelve Points of Interest in Taipei,” an exhibit from the museum, which allows everyone to explore the charms of Beitou.

Reviving Beitou’s Life Memories

Walking into the Beitou Plum Garden, the eye is drawn to a group of Nagashi (那卡西) welcoming musicians, depicted on painted ceramic tile door panels and screens. Beitou has a history of kiln development stretching back to the Qing Dynasty. The end of high-quality clay excavation led to the development of a temple china-painting industry. Today, on the walls of Beitou’s temples, you can still see many dedications and captivating mythological stories from the former hot spring hotels. 

The surroundings of the Beitou Plum Garden are reproduced in the hot spring bath of the Plum Garden by exploring Beitou Park, hand-drawing still-life landscapes, ceramic glaze color printing, and transfer printing. We invite viewers to explore this hot spring residence full of mysterious stories. 

Contemporary artist I-Chun Chen will gather local elders to share their own Beitou life stories and write personal accounts. The contents of the letters will be translated into moving ukiyo-e scrolls in “A Small History of Private Letters” by recording oral narratives and using AI image generation based on selected keywords. Presenting local life stories through a nuanced blend of intelligence and emotion creates an intimate but respectful portrayal of the community.

“Twelve Points of Interest in Taipei”

The special exhibition “Twelve Points of Interest in Taipei” by artist Gobara Koto is displayed in full-size digital micro-sprays. This exquisite booklet records twelve famous scenic spots in Taipei, including Beitou Hot Springs, and depicts the modern Taipei of the Japanese era in the delicate style of ukiyo-e. As you appreciate the artwork, you can also get a glimpse of past and present cultural life and natural landscapes of various regions, and experience the atmospheric changes between the different eras.

Spring Welcoming & Workshops

The “TFAM on the Move” exhibition runs until March 17. In anticipation of the spring season, the Beitou Plum Garden will also host a series of joyous spring welcoming activities that we have called “Spring Walk” (春走春). On the eve of the Lunar New Year, workshops showing how to make elegant red envelopes by hand will be accompanied by artist-led lectures on china painting. The artists will deconstruct the image of Taiwanese china painting and plan a visit to explore the china paintings in Beitou’s temples. Listen to experts narrate the fascinating era of ceramics and the mythological stories they depict.

Forward to the New Century, Singing the Road to Peace

The theme for this year’s concerts and commemorations is “Forward to the New Century, Singing the Road to Peace” (前瞻新世紀 歌詠和平路). Music is used to seek beauty in various forms, including the beauty of sound, movement, and humanity. The concerts will bring together both historical figures and descendants of victims of the February 28 Incident, with the goal of turning every musical note into a flower in people’s hearts. The intention is to make the people on the island of Formosa become one, helping each other with love and sincerity, dispelling hate, creating a lasting peace, and realizing the inscription on the monument: “Heaven blesses the Treasure Island, everlasting for ten thousand generations (天佑寶島，萬古長青).”

Musical Feast

In the past, musical extravaganzas were held in the outdoor plaza of the Memorial Foundation of 228 in Taipei. However, in view of the ongoing restoration and renovation work at the memorial, this year’s musical celebration will take place on the evening of Tuesday 27  February at 7:30 pm in the Zhongzheng Auditorium (中正廳) of Taipei Zhongshan Hall (臺北市中山堂). In the first half, the conductor Chia-Hung Liao (廖嘉弘) will lead the Taipei Century Symphony Orchestra (台北世紀交響樂團), with performances by relatives of victims of the February 28 Incident. The intention is to use artistic interpretation to convey the historical legacy to the next generation, creating art together in a mutually responsive manner to honour these difficult memories and integrate them into the life experiences of a new generation. 

In the second half, the Taipei Century Symphony Orchestra together with the Wanfang Hospital Chorus (萬芳醫院合唱團) , under the direction of Professor Shu-Fang Lai (賴淑芳), will perform the symphony “February 28 Democracy Hymn” (二二八民主頌). Composed by Taiwanese composer Yao-Kuang Chung (鍾耀光), with lyrics by France-based artist Hsin-I Ho (何欣怡), this work will be performed as a solo by soprano singer Associate Professor Hui-Ju Chen (陳慧如). 

“February 28 Democracy Hymn” is a collaborative work that includes five movements: “Dawn March”, “First Sound”, “Flowing Toast”, “Family Emblem”, and “Passing Torch” (曉行、先聲、流觴、家徽、傳炬). In musical evocation of the 228 Incident, the music alternates between passionate heroism and tender lyricism, accompanied by the melodious choir singing the soaring glory of the family emblem. The piece helps the listener to understand how precious democracy can be in turbulent times. It has been crafted to elevate pain through music, spread the true essence of democracy, bid farewell to sorrow, leaving sadness in the past and moving forwards together towards a future full of brightness and hope. Let us surround every wounded heart with love.

Commemorative Remembrance

A commemoration and memorial event for the victims of the February 28 Incident is planned for Wednesday 28 February this year. The theme is “Forward to the New Century, Singing the Road to Peace”. Relatives of victims have been invited to attend. It is hoped that by coming together in a peaceful, respectful, and loving way, we can collectively face the pain of loss and raise public awareness and support, continuing the search for truth and seeking social understanding and reconciliation.

The memorial event will begin with the soothing, gentle music of the Taipei Camerata (臺北弦樂重奏團), followed by a modern dance performance by Chun-Ling Hsiao Dance Theater (蕭君玲舞蹈劇場) of “Love and Hope” (愛與希望), based on the poem “Love and Hope Song” (愛與希望之歌) by Min-Yung Li (李敏勇). Then, the host will ask attendees to observe a moment of silence while the peace bell rings, as we console each other and remember the sacrifices made by the February 28 Incident victims for the advancement of Taiwan’s democracy.

After 77 years, thanks to the perseverance of a wide variety of social actors, the taboo of the February 28 Incident, laden with shattered lives and the tears of countless victims’ families, has been broken. Today, dignitaries from all walks of life gather together to commemorate the February 28 Incident, hoping to draw more attention to it and deepen understanding of the impact of this historical event and the profound meaning and lessons it conveys.

In 2023, spaces donated by the National Women’s League of the R.O.C. were divided into “permanent exhibitions” and “special exhibitions”, and four military family housing units were transformed (two themes for each exhibition). A trial run began on September 30 and the opening ceremony and tea reception were held on October 7, officially inaugurating the exhibition.

Beitou Heart Village now presents a brand-new permanent exhibition, “The Sounds and Stories of Heart Village”. Co-created by the Ministry of Culture’s “Demonstration Project for Introducing Cultural and Creative Innovation to Local Spaces” (地方場域導入藝文創新服務示範計畫) and Beitou Heart Village, the exhibition recreates realistic living spaces from the 1970s military dependents’ village, including living rooms, bedrooms, and kitchens, based on oral history and research data. 

The exhibition highlights the distinctive elements of military hospitals and hot springs in Beitou Heart Village, integrating immersive in-person experiences and virtual reality puzzle games and using innovative technological approaches. 

By connecting the in-person and virtual exhibition spaces in Beitou Heart Village, the exhibition enables visitors to try to solve the mystery game “Unseen Love” (無人知曉的眷戀) or to explore the exhibits online. The interactive games provide an informative, entertaining experience, offering a new perspective from cultural displays in other military dependents’ villages.

The special exhibition “Windows to the Past of Heart Village” focuses on the memories of military dependents. During the preparation period, a “Military Dependents’ Village Story Box” workshop was held, with most of the participants being elderly military dependents. Through hands-on crafting, they embedded their memories of the military dependents’ village into the scenes designed within the story boxes and also placed corresponding precious objects and data, thus creating the 13 story boxes which are the main exhibits of this special exhibition.

The 13th Taipei Biennial, organized by the Taipei Fine Arts Museum, will be held from 18 November 2023 to 24 March 2024. Co-curated by Freya Chou (周安曼), Reem Shadid, and Brian Kuan Wood, the exhibition brings together more than 50 artists, musicians, and writers from Taiwan and around the world. Based on residency research and creation, the showcase includes 19 new works and commissioned pieces encompassing sound, moving images, photography, video, painting, sculpture, and installations. The event also features a series of musical performances, workshops, film screenings, and an online journal project called “Small World Journal”, which transforms the Taipei Fine Arts Museum into a space for listening, gathering, and spontaneous creation.

Themed “Small World”, this biennial will inspire hope while also revealing uncertainty. The global pandemic has impacted our control over our lives but has also raised concerns about isolation from the larger community. As the world shrinks, this can bring people closer together, yet it can also create a sense of emotional distance. The “Small World” hovers in a state of flux between gathering and separation, embodying the helplessness and inevitability of seeking closeness while being forced into isolation. The Taipei Biennial addresses our shared predicament and invites the audience to explore how to use the pandemic experience to envision new ways of life. It encourages reflection on whether, in times of increasing tension and complexity, our desires for simplicity and sensibility have become elusive.

Music plays a crucial role in this year’s biennial, serving not only as a cultural force and a source of performance tension, but also complementing other forms of visual artistic expression. One exhibition hall has been transformed into the Music Room for this biennial, hosting public projects centered around music from December 2023 to March 2024. Three groups of music creators have been invited to take part in this initiative: DJ Sniff from Los Angeles/Japan, Julian Abraham ‘Togar’ & Wok the Rock from Indonesia, and “Ting Shuo Hear Say” from Tainan. During the biennial, they will organize gatherings, recording experiments, improvisational performances, and musical compositions.

“In ‘Small World’, the three curators express the idea that, although isolation may lead us to lose some self and social intervention power, it also opens up a space in which we have the freedom not to fear assimilation. For example, we can refuse to be quantified, speak as loudly as we like, or fidget, but we can also observe quietly and enjoy moments of tranquility. Perhaps we have all passionately longed for the luxury of a simple life, but ‘Small World’ inspires us to stand firm, forgo the desire for recognition, and refuse to please others for the sake of gains that are ultimately elusive. 

Opening Week Events

This year’s Taipei Biennial will see public events on November 18th and 19th. Participating artists, musicians, and writers from the exhibition have been invited to participate in a series of dialogues, on-site music performances, and music label listening sessions. The “Listening session: Artist-run music labels” will showcase musicians hosted by music labels sharing their experiences in management and introducing works by represented artists. The “Artist on Artist” series brings together four guests to discuss their exhibited works and creative concepts. In addition, opening week will feature a special performance with Palestinian artist Samia Halaby, recognized as a pioneer in computer-generated art, who will take part in live improvised dynamic painting alongside Indonesian artist Julian Abraham ‘Togar’. Taiwanese artist Jiun-Yang Li (李俊陽) will also perform live in the exhibition space with the band Buddha, Tiger, Dog.

For the latest information on more participating artists and opening week activities, visit the official 2023 Taipei Biennial website or follow “Taipei Fine Arts Museum” on our Facebook and IG fan pages.

2023 13th Taipei Biennial “Small World”

Exhibition Period: Saturday 18 November – Sunday 24 March 

Venue: First & Second Floors & Basement Exhibition Rooms, Taipei Fine Arts Museum

In 2023, the annual pop music extravaganza Taipei Music Non-Stop, jointly organized by the Taipei City Government Department of Cultural Affairs and Taipei Music Center, will revolve around the themes “Believe in Yourself” and “Unfathomable.” The idea is to encourage people to have faith in themselves and the creative process, fostering an environment of continuous growth and innovation. 

The selection process for the Taiwan Music Composition and Songwriting Contest began in August, with 10 outstanding teams advancing to the finals after training and performance, ready to take the stage. An interconnected series of events, including the Taipei Music Conference, Backstage Tour: Rehearsal Tours (Backstage Tour 彩排導覽), and the Non-Stop Music Festival (不斷電音樂節), showcase the industry landscape and facilitate international knowledge-sharing and exchange. These events will take place on November 11 and 12.

Backstage Tour: Rehearsal Tours (Backstage Tour 彩排導覽)

A new addition this year is the on-site backstage tour, allowing participants to get up close and personal with the mysteries behind the scenes. Speakers will describe their experience to provide the audience with in-depth insights into the inner workings of the music industry.

Session One, “Concert Director’s Experience” (演唱會導演經驗談), will be presented on November 11 by concert director Yi-wei Chin (秦翊瑋), who will discuss the various stages of his work from conceptualization to performance. 

In Session Two, “Every Detail in Concerts Documentary” (演唱會紀錄的點點滴滴), hosted by director of Shift Studio Leo Sa, will analyze the key aspects of shooting concerts of different scale and the necessary preparations. 

Session Three, “The Golden Ratio of Live Sound” (現場聲音的黃金比例), will be presented on November 12 by Yueh-cheng Wang (王悅丞), audio engineer at Legacy, who will explain the importance of rehearsals for live music performances and the associated challenges. 

Session Four, “I Want to Perform Abroad! Experiences in Overseas Concert Production” (我想出國演出！海外演出製作經驗談), will be delivered by Asami Ma (馬緁羚), an overseas curator based in Japan, who will analyse the working models of the overseas music industry. 

Finally, Session Five, “Sharing Insights into Large-scale Music Event Curation” (大型音樂活動策展分享), will be conducted by Ta-chien Hsiao (蕭達謙), curator of the Vagabond Festival, who will delve into every aspect of music festival planning and production.

Tickets for the Backstage Tour: Rehearsal Tours (Backstage Tour 彩排導覽) can be purchased on the KKTIX platform, which offers one-day tickets valid for one, two or three sessions. The first 30 buyers of one-day tickets will receive a VIP backstage tour pass.

Taipei Music Conference

The Taipei Music Conference will consist of two sessions held at Live House D. Admission is free and the event will be livestreamed on YouTube. Anyone interested in exploring international music collaborations can attend the event in person or enjoy the exciting content online.

The November 11 session features speakers such as Shinichiro Honda (本多真一郎), general director of Zepp New Taipei, Arthur Chen (陳彥豪), general manager of Legacy, and Narada Terada (寺田成昇), overseas CEO of AKB48. 

On November 12, the speakers include David Siow and Mike Constantino, co-founders of the ASEAN Music Showcase Festival, and Kwon Kyoung-Mi (權敬美), a CEO who has collaborated with numerous Taiwanese and Korean singers. The speakers will share insights into the cultural and market differences in music performances across various countries, as well as their experiences planning and executing international music festivals.

Non-Stop Music Festival (不斷電音樂節)

Taking place on November 11 and 12 in the outdoor performance space at Taipei Music Center, the Non-Stop Music Festival features six top-winning teams from the Taiwan Music Composition and Songwriting Contest who distinguished themselves in the finals. 

The teams began their North, Central, and South Taiwan tours in early November, alongside last year’s Non-Stop champions, including Sonnie, Traveller (旅人), and Viber (氣氛人). For the last leg of their tour, they will come to the grand stage at Taipei Music Center. Teams ranked between seven and ten will perform at Live House D.

The festival has also invited iconic musicians, including the Taiwanese-language revival sensation Sorry Youth (拍謝少年), the Golden Melody Award-winning band Fire EX. (滅火器), the electronic retro-wave icon Icyball (冰球), the ethereal and new-generation Vast&Hazy, the cutting-edge Bestards (理想混蛋), the wildly popular Papun Band (怕胖團), and the dance-rock powerhouse P!SCO. Together, these seven top music groups will deliver outstanding performances.

2023 Taipei Music Non-Stop (臺北音樂不斷電)

[Backstage Tour: Rehearsal Tours Sessions] (Backstage Tour 彩排導覽講座)

Time: 12.20 pm–1.20 pm & 2.00 pm–3.00 pm, Saturday 11 November 

12.10 pm–1.10 pm & 1.50 pm–2.50 pm & 3.30 pm–4.30 pm, Sunday 12 November

[Taipei Music Conference]

Time: 3.40 pm–5.10 pm, Saturday 11 November

6.10 pm–7.40 pm, Sunday 12 November

▍[Non-Stop Music Festival] (不斷電音樂節)

Time: 1.20 pm–9.00 pm, Saturday 11 November

1.10 pm–9.20 pm, Sunday 12 November

Location: Outdoor Performance Space at Taipei Music Center

Featuring performances by: 2023 Non-Stop Top 7 Teams, Bestards, Papun Band, P!SCO, Sorry Youth, Fire EX., Icyball, Vast&Hazy.

Since its inception, the Meet Taipei: Design event, organized by the Taipei City Department of Cultural Affairs has been exploring Taipei and leaving behind significant imprints in the city. It has guided the people of Taipei as they examine various urban issues and use design thinking and perspectives to craft humanistic creative solutions. This year, the spotlight is on Taipei’s Zhongxiao East Road Shopping District, an area brimming with creativity, vitality, and historical significance. With this unique design celebration, titled “East District, Straight Ahead” (東區，直直走), it reflects on local life stories, connecting the past, present, and future.

Zhongxiao East Road (忠孝東路) in the Intersection of History and Trends

This year, under the theme “East District, Straight Ahead,” the spotlight is on the Zhongxiao East Road Shopping District. In the past, this area was characterized by irrigation canals and rice fields, with few tall buildings. It wasn’t until 1970 that it gradually began to develop into one of Taipei’s commercial centers. 

The area bore witness to several firsts, including the inauguration of the first Wellcome market and Taiwan’s inaugural 24-hour bookstore. It also served as a hub for avant-garde ideas and artistic expression. Prominent figures in the Taiwanese art scene, such as Sui-liong Gan (顏水龍) and Wu-yung Hsu (許武勇), held exhibitions here, infusing the East District with an artistic ambiance. Rich historical memories and a diverse array of cultural elements converge in this area.

Today, the Zhongxiao East Road Shopping District (忠孝東路商圈) that we know has continued to evolve and over time has transformed in various ways. 

“East District, Straight Ahead” is a design celebration that explores the history and culture of the Zhongxiao East Road Shopping District. It combines design, culture, and history, allowing us to rediscover and understand the district. It rekindles emotional memories with the place, sensing its heartbeat and creating a scene of urban prosperity and harmony.

Encounter New Memories of Zhongxiao East Road (忠孝東路)

Six designers and artists from various fields have been invited to work with the central theme of “Encountering New Memories in the East District” (遇見新東區記憶). The participants have used a variety of design techniques, such as pattern printing (印花紋飾), advertising posters, paper-cutting imagery, illustrations, collage artwork, and 3D scenes, each showcasing their unique talents to unleash the creative energy of the Zhongxiao East Road Shopping District.

“A Guide to Decorative Grilles in East District Buildings” (東區建築窗格圖鑑) transforms modern-looking buildings into printed totems, narrating the intricate design influences of the Zhongxiao East Road Shopping District. 

“Stories from the East District in Advertisements” (廣告裡的東區故事) takes classic landmarks, trendy shops, and consumer memories from Zhongxiao East Road and transforms them into over-the-top, flamboyant billboards that present captivating moments from the East District’s evolution. 

“Parallel Time and Space in the East Metro Mall” (地下街的平行時空) uses super-wide illustrations to delve into the underground mall at Zhongxiao East Road, depicting the unique atmosphere created by the East Metro Mall, surface roads, and metro system. 

“East District Montage” (東區蒙太奇) interweaves old and new memories of the Zhongxiao East Road Shopping District through collages of images taken from various perspectives, including fashion, people, and street scenes. 

“Crossing the Road with Hip-Hop” (過馬路也是很嘻哈的事) brings the energy of street dance hidden in the alleys of the Zhongxiao East Road Shopping District into paper-cutting design to foster an attitude for crossing the road using pedestrian islands. 

“What I’m Riding’s Not a YouBike, but a Dream!” (我騎的不是YouBike，是夢想！) uses humorous slogans and scenes to delivers a dose of humor and motivation for commuters navigating the bustling commercial district. It rekindles memories across time and space.

Create Your East District

Two workshops for public participation have also been also scheduled, with the goal of engaging the public in discussions about urban transformation, active participation in design, and understanding the influence of aesthetics on urban change. In addition, four design promotion events are aimed at deepening public understanding of history and revealing the stories and culture embedded within.

The “East District, Straight Ahead” event takes place along Zhongxiao East Road Section 4, from Exit 2 of Sun Yat-Sen Memorial Hall metro station to Liugong Park (瑠公公園), from October 4 to November 19, 2023. Everyone is welcome. Come and explore the diverse facets and cultural charm of the Zhongxiao East Road Shopping District through carefully designed art installations.

Meet Taipei: Design

Exhibition Duration: Wednesday, October 4– Sunday, November 19 

Location: Along Section 4 of Zhongxiao East Road, from Exit 2 of Sun Yat-Sen Memorial Hall metro station to Liugong Park. 

In recent years, awareness of diversity, equity and inclusion has become widespread in the fashion industry. Models no longer come in only one size and shape, and definitions of beauty have shifted to prioritize self-identification and body consciousness and overturn old stereotypes. Social awareness of different ethnicities and transgender identity has also become a source of inspiration for designers.

The 2023 Taipei Fashion Week embodies the spirit of diversity and inclusion and is showcasing new definitions of beauty, free from mainstream constraints. The fashion industry is no longer limited to one age, one size, or one ethnicity, but instead offers more possibilities. Every individual is unique and can express themselves more freely and confidently at Taipei Fashion Week, showcasing their own style and taste and exploring limitless creative potential, much like the city of Taipei, which reflects freedom and diverse vitality!

The 2023 Taipei Fashion Week event remains a collaborative effort between the Taipei City Government, the Ministry of Culture, the Ministry of Economic Affairs, and other organizations. This year, it will run from September 29 to October 29 and take place in three major shopping districts: Xinyi District, East District, and Southwest District. In addition to seeing over ten branded fashion shows and the International Fashion Forum at the Songshan Cultural and Creative Park (SCCP), the fashion week’s much-anticipated closing show will debut at Taipei’s new landmark, Taipei Dome on SCCP Song Yan Avenue. 

Xiangti Avenue in Xinyi will also feature pop-up stores by well-known brands, while the 5th floor of SOGO Taipei Fuxing Store in the East District will host a designer selection store featuring Taiwan designer brands. Throughout the week, many different kinds of shops in these three major shopping districts will collaborate, with exciting events such as weekend street fashion photography and street fashion shows. This series of engaging activities covers the focal areas of Taipei’s fashion, culture, and art, creating high anticipation and a lively atmosphere throughout the city in October.

Taipei Fashion Week Closing Show: Unlocking Future Aspirations 

The highly anticipated Taipei Fashion Week closing show is scheduled for October 22. Isaac Chen (陳鎮川), who has served as program director for the Golden Horse Awards for many years, will be taking on the role of creative director. As he collaborates with Taiwan’s leading professional team, they aim to create a fashion extravaganza on the scale of an international event. This year, the grand show will be held at Taipei Dome on Song Yan Avenue, formerly the SCCP entrance. Holding the closing show here symbolizes the activation of the site, heralding its diverse potential for future developments in design and sports at Taipei Dome and SCCP.

Designer Selection Store and Stylish Boutiques Unite for Fashion

This year’s designer selection store will be open on the 5th floor of the conveniently located SOGO Taipei Fuxing Store from October 11 to October 29, offering clothing, accessories, and bags of more than 30 Taiwanese designers. The store will provide the public with the opportunity to purchase the latest seasonal products all in one place. The event will connect the Xinyi, East, and Southwest Districts, showcasing several highly popular brand boutiques and enabling the public to discover these unique, style-forward fashion brands, trendy culinary offerings, and beauty and haircare products, as well as distinctive small shops tucked away in the city’s alleyways.

2023 International Fashion Forum: Diversity and Sharing 

The International Fashion Forum will feature various topics this year, with a focus on diversity and inclusion, AI development trends, and the speakers’ experiences of international fashion weeks. The diversity and inclusion movement goes beyond changes in body size and gender—it delves deeper into cultural and social awareness, changing the essence of design and in recent years becoming a core element for major brands. 

This is a continuously evolving process, so the speakers at the forum will engage in fascinating discussions about the impact of the convenience of AI on the fashion design industry. Taking cues from previous fashion weeks, the Korean fashion industry has flourished through collaborative efforts involving the government, businesses, and the private sector. Seoul Fashion Week has gradually transformed into an internationally recognized fashion event. 

Registration for the International Fashion Forum is free, and in addition to in-person attendance, it will be accessible online. We encourage everyone to register ASAP and watch online to gain insight into industry trends and international connections.

After a three-year hiatus, international poets return after the pandemic 

Organized by the Taipei City Government’s Department of Cultural Affairs, the 2023 Taipei Poetry Festival has the theme “Poetry Begets All”, drawing inspiration from Lao Tzu’s ancient wisdom, “One begets Two, Two begets Three, Three begets all things.” This theme succinctly captures the process of cosmogony: dissecting chaos, arranging its elements, and birthing a new world. The phrase “Three begets all things” embodies the concentrated transformative power inherent in poetry.

As borders reopen, the world once again becomes our canvas. Poets and artists from Taiwan and abroad are converging in Taipei for an event spanning from September 23 to October 7. The festival takes place across various venues, including the Taipei Zhongshan Hall, Kishu An Forest of Literature, SPOT-Taipei, Le Ballon Rouge, Taipei Info Hub, Haruyuki Book Lounge, TouatBooks, Reading Room, and coffee shops on Jinmen Street, guiding the public on a journey of leaps and bounds through Taipei.

“The First Language, Today’s Flowers”, Closing Concert

The closing concert explores the sonic characteristics of bilingual compositions and multicultural aesthetics through two sets of performances. The first half features French poet Aurélia Lassaque, who combines short folk songs from the Occitan tradition with readings, accompanied by Taiwanese jazz musicians Vincent Hsu and Debby Wang. The second half showcases the collaborative efforts of socially engaged literary practitioner and poet Chiao Chung and Japanese avant-garde musician Sakamoto Hiromichi, delivering a symphony of jazz and literature in Hakka and Mandarin.

“Poetry Begets All, All Begets Poetry”: A Free Dialogue Between Poetry and Objects

Under the banner “Poetry Begets All”, this event centers around the “five elements”: plants, animals, food, miscellany, and the enigmatic contents of cups. Poets will station themselves in Jinmen Street coffee shops, engaging in free-flowing dialogues with readers amidst the fragrance of coffee.

In addition to a myriad of interdisciplinary activities, the festival will screen the documentary film Deepest Uprising 《波濤最深處》 directed by Ming-Chuan Huang. Seven lectures will also be presented, exploring themes such as narrative and worldly engagement, everyday life and the senses, and writing and resistance. Esteemed poets and scholarly experts of all ages and nationalities will engage in mutual exchange and intellectual discourse.

About Nuit Blanche

Originating from France, the Nuit Blanche, or “white night”, has become a global phenomenon with many cities participating around the world. Taipei City has been hosting the event since 2016. Now, in its seventh year, it continues to showcase Taipei’s cultural spirit and energy as the capital city.

How to Experience “Rise Up!” during Nuit Blanche? Remember the #ArtActionCode 3, 6, 9

This year, the Nuit Blanche will guide participants through various cultural experiences with the #ArtActionCode 3, 6, 9: focusing on 3 major venues (+ 1 district as core), integrating 6 major themes, and exploring 9 highlighted art installations to enable participants to feel the transformative power of art as a social force.

3 Major Venues + 1 District Transforming Downtown Taipei into the Largest Art Plaza

National Dr. Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall, Taipei City Council, and Taipei City Hall will be transformed into pedestrian-only art plazas, along with the Songshan Cultural and Creative Park.

6 Major Themes—A Night of Artistic Collisions

1.    International Perspectives

The creative core addressing global issues and visitor participation on various artistic projects.

2.    Art Park

Surrounding the National Dr. Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall, exploring the concept of the “unbuyable” in art creation and presenting experimental exhibitions related to social issues.

3.    Street Freedom

Non-stop visual street art creation at the entrance to City Hall, as well as cultural arts performances such as drama, circus acts, music, and stand-up comedy.

4.    Occupying the Government

Using art to occupy Taipei’s two most significant power spaces, transforming the City Council chamber into a theater, the mayor’s office being taken over by cats, and the City Hall corridor turning into a contemporary art gallery.

5.    One-Night Film Festival

Creating an overnight open-air “Fast Lane Cinema” on Ren'ai Road.

6.    Issue Responses

Rallying various teams to respond to social issues under the theme of “Rise Up!”

9 Highlights: Showcasing the Spirit of the Times

1. Urban Photography Project

A portrait photography van traveling worldwide will photograph 1500 people of Taipei, advocating for freedom and democracy in Taiwan.

2. Ice People Art Action

Leading the public in creating ice sculptures to explore the issues of monuments and global warming.

3. 24-Hour Relay Live Painting

Conducting non-stop creation at the Taipei City Hall entrance, symbolizing the preciousness of our creative energy and expression.

4. The Unbuyable Art Park

Transforming the area around the National Dr. Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall into a secret art base, embodying the spirit of “Rise Up!”

5. Starlit City Hall

A 6-hour stand-up comedy performance on Shifu Road, showing Taipei’s most democratic side.

6. Unboxing the City Council

Turning the council chamber into a theater and integrating physical performances, circus acts, and drama, creating a space of joy and inclusivity.

7. Mayor Cat's Occupation

Cats taking over the mayor’s office, attempting to change Taipei from a feline perspective!

8. Taipei Grand Ballroom, Era DJs and Golden Hits

DJs from various eras invited to tell Taipei’s story through music.

9. Fast Lane Cinema

On Ren'ai Road, enjoy classic Taipei films under the towering skyscrapers as a gentle breeze blows.

Join us at 6 pm on October 7 for Nuit Blanche’s “Rise Up!”

We look forward to everyone experiencing a night of psychic enrichment unlike any other.

TPAC Adventure member event taking place on the TPAC rooftop in April. The upcoming Taipei Fringe Festival in August will also make use of TPAC’s rooftop, offering audiences a unique viewing experience. (Photography by Liu Pi-Tzu)

Summer marks a vibrant period for creative exchange and the development of performing arts in Taiwan, and the Taipei Fringe Festival is a crucial platform for showcasing emerging artists. Organized by the Taipei City Government and held by the Taipei Performing Arts Center (TPAC), the 2023 Taipei Fringe Festival is scheduled to take place from August 19 to September 3. A total of 135 performance groups will participate in this year’s festival and present 590 performances across 31 venues in Taipei. This eclectic array encompasses a variety of creative genres, including drama, dance, music, and the increasingly popular forms of musical theater and circus, all embodying this year’s theme: The Future is Here.

The theme aligns with TPAC’s core commitment to nurturing talent. This platform serves as a crucial space for discovering a new generation of artists, in the hope that these emerging talents will stir up creative ripples during the summer season. The experiences gained from each performance help to propel the performing arts forward on a new wave of innovation.

Exhibition carriages at the Xinbeitou Historic Station, which will be used as performance venues for the first time at the 2023 Taipei Fringe Festival.

New categories of circus and musical theater

Cultivating the next generation of performing talents

With a staggering 135 performance groups, the Taipei Fringe Festival encompasses a wide spectrum of creative categories. In addition to the familiar genres of drama, dance, music, and visual arts, this year's festival includes a new Circus category. Taiwanese circus is an amalgamation of Western and Eastern skills and styles, making it a popular genre among family audiences in recent years. The influx of young artists has unleashed the boundless potential of circus performance in Taiwan. 

Musical Theater has also been one of the most favored performance genres in Taiwan in recent times. TPAC has been steadfastly nurturing young musical theater talents through its Musical Theater Talent Training Program. This effort has translated into a noticeable trend at recent Taipei Fringe Festivals, with this year boasting an impressive lineup of 11 musical theater productions and 34 showings. These presentations offer a unique blend of audiovisual creativity that distinguishes them from traditional theatrical experiences.

2019 Taipei Fringe Festival performance taking place at Kishu An Forest of Literature, a historic grand hall. This year’s festival will return to this space. (Photography by Sung Hsiao-Hai)

Train Carriages, Japanese-style Heritage, Old Houses: Infusing Performances with Imagination in Diverse Spaces

Every year, the Taipei Fringe Festival explores various spaces within Taipei to determine their potential as performance venues. Through the boundless creativity of the festival’s performance groups, imaginative ideas are brought to life. This year, the festival’s 31 venues extend outwards from TPAC, with most venues conveniently accessible via Taipei Metro. Notable additions to this year’s festival include the train carriages of Xinbeitou Historic Station, the newly opened 11th-floor terrace at TPAC, the fragrant tatami mats at Kishu An Forest of Literature, and the evocative ruins of X YIRI ARTS.

The leisurely Stroll and Watch experience also finds its place within the Taipei Fringe Festival’s exhibit location. The historical buildings in Wanhua District, including venues like Wan Theater, Xinfu Market, and Bopiliao Historic Block, are the revitalization of Wanhua's historical buildings, carrying the local memories and spirits. Daodongcheng and surrounding areas, home to creative artisans, feature venues such as At the Venue, Thinkers’ Studio (思劇場), k.t.space (課廳演創空間), Yi-Chi Cultural Space (一起藝文空間), and Dancing Orchid Project. These old structures have been rejuvenated to showcase new energy through performance. They are easily accessible on foot, fostering a close connection between performance and local life.

X YIRI ARTS, a new venue for the 2023 Taipei Fringe Festival, has a powerful air of ruination and has inspired admiration among many performance groups. (Photography by Tsai Yao-Cheng)

In addition to the abundant performances awaiting audiences, the 2023 Taipei Fringe Festival is also presenting a series of activities in which the public is invited to embark on a summer journey of shared experience. On August 4, the exclusive TPAC No. 1 will open in TPAC’s Beidou Square. In addition to offering ticket sales and consultation services for festival events, TPAC No. 1 will host pop-up performances, live podcasts, and interactive activities every weekend during opening hours. On the afternoon of August 12, an opening event centered around the theme of “Roaming” will allow audiences and artists to serendipitously cross paths and discover all manner of creative expressions and surprises. 

More information about the 2023 Taipei Fringe Festival can be found on the festival website.

2023 Taipei Fringe Festival

Dates︱August 19 to September 3

Locations︱Various unconventional performance spaces and small theaters in Taipei City

Taipei Fringe Festival website: https://www.tpac-taipei.org/festival-fringe

Street performers showcase urban culture, enhance cityscapes, revitalize urban spaces, bring art into daily life. The Taipei City Government is organizing the 2023 Taipei Buskers Festival to encourage broader public participation in street art, elevate the overall quality of performance among street performers, increase public recognition of street art, and provide opportunities for street performers to share their experiences and improve their skills. The event will be held in collaboration with the Songshan Summer Festival at Songshan Cultural and Creative Park, highlighting outstanding street performances and fostering a diverse street performance culture.

2023 Taipei Buskers Festival Key Visual

The 2023 Taipei Buskers Festival will take place from August 25 to 27. This year’s curator Lin Hsing-Yu is also the current president of the Taiwan Street Arts and Cultural Development Association and has chosen the theme, “The Multiverse of Busking”. Breaking free from the constraints of time and space, the festival will present a world of street performances juxtaposing past, present, and future. As part of this theme, traditional spinning top master Master A-Hai (Lin Sen-Hai) and emerging street performers will come together to showcase the significant continuity of street art culture. The Multiverse of Busking will immerse the audience in a fantastical world of street art, allowing them to experience the charm of the festival and witness how street performers open doors to imaginary universes through creativity and skill.

Curator of the 2023 Taipei Buskers Festival Lin Hsing-Yu delivers an impressive performance at the opening press conference of the Songshan Summer Festival.

The event will be held at the Songshan Cultural and Creative Park, which will be divided into four main areas: Cultural Street, Baroque Garden, Small Roundabout, and Songshan Gate. These areas will host three performance stages and one street art workshop, and feature over 30 street performers and craft artists. 

The performance stages will encompass a wide range of traditional and modern acts, including highlights such as international diabolo champion Wu Haw Jong, Tuan Chih-Min from the Cirque du Soleil with yoyo performances, traditional top spinning master Lin Sen-Hai, and Kendama Shi-Screw. 

The street art workshop will feature 12 street art and craft experts who will provide on-site teaching as they guide participants to engage in and experience the creative process before showcasing their finished works. The August 25 opening ceremony will feature performances by three generations of diabolo performers—Huang Chia-Ping, Wu Hao-Chung, and Tang Jing-Yuan—symbolizing the transmission of knowledge and skills across generations. The August 27 closing ceremony will feature an unparalleled performance by yoyo artist Yoyo Yang.

As the pandemic gradually subsides and everything gets back to normal, street artists emerge like cicadas from their long hibernation, ready to transform and radiate the beauty of street art this summer. On this boundless stage of endless possibilities, the torch of tradition ignites with every performance, illuminating every corner of the universe.

The three-day buskers festival encourages public engagement through street performances. Visitors are invited to give feedback, vote for their favorite performers and acts, and enter a lucky draw called the Cosmic Carousel for a chance to win exquisite prizes. We look forward to seeing you there. For more information, please visit the Songshan Cultural and Creative Park website.

Traditional Top Spinning Master Lin Sen-Hai.

Added Bonus

Neighboring New Taipei City and Taoyuan City will also be hosting a series of street art and cultural events in August and September. These events will allow the public to experience a wealth of street art feast in different cities.

New Taipei City will present the 2023 Just FUN New Taipei Street Culture Festival on August 19, 20, 26, and 27 in Banqiao Fuzhong Square. The festival will include iconic events such as the MADSTREET street rap competition, the INK NOMAD international graffiti competition, and the New Taipei FUN Street dance competition. The event will also feature DJ performances, graffiti, street skateboarding, dance workshops, and an American-style street creative market, with a lineup of 120 street artists.

Taoyuan City will hold the 2023 Taoyuan Buskers Festival on September 24 in Xingren Parent–Child Park in Zhongli District. The festival will showcase a series of street performances, street art competitions, creative markets, and lectures, aiming to bring together various forms of street art from different counties and cities. Through these shared artistic expressions, creativity will spark unique inspirations on the streets.

Graffiti finals at the 2022 Just FUN New Taipei Street Cultural Festival

2023 Taipei Buskers Festival

The Multiverse of Busking

Dates丨August 25, 6:30 pm to 9 pm

August 26 & 27, 4 pm to 9 pm

Location丨Songshan Cultural and Creative Park (No. 133, Guangfu S. Rd., Xinyi Dist., Taipei City)

Songshan Cultural and Creative Park website: https://www.songshanculturalpark.org/

2023 Just FUN New Taipei Street Cultural Festival

Dates丨August 19, 20, 26, 27

Location丨Fuzhong Station Exit 2 and 3, Bannan Line

https://www.justfun-ntpc.com.tw/

2023 Taoyuan Buskers Festival

Dates丨September 24

Location丨Xingren Parent–Child Park, Zhongli Dist., Taoyuan City

https://taobuskers.azurewebsites.net/Home/Index2

2023 SongYan Summer Festival Key Visual

In summer 2022, Songshan Cultural and Creative Park trialled the new nighttime opening of its historical areas, drawing praise from millions. In February 2023, during the Taiwan Lantern Festival, the park’s Fount of Light Display Zone (源展區) was lit up by spectacular light art installations which illuminated SongYan and attracted over a million visitors in a single month. 

Taipei Dome is also set to go into operation by the end of 2023, and Eslite Spectrum plans to reopen its 24-hour bookstore at SongYan by the end of 2023. This summer, as the boundaries between Taipei Dome and Songshan Cultural and Creative Park are blurred, we will proudly illuminate SongYan and make it a major landmark in Taipei’s new cultural experience in the Eastern and Xinyi districts. It will also mark the first weekend of nightlife in the Taipei Dome.

Baroque Garden Concert

Songyan Baroque garden music party uses music and design to bring a new style to nightlife 

As well as buildings and people, music is also an important element in a cityscape. Without music, life’s touching moments would lose their vibrant colors.

The theme of this year’s SongYan Summer Festival is the “harmony of creation” (森羅萬象). Members of the public are invited to join us at the Songshan Cultural and Creative Park from June 30 to September 3 in the brightly lit and bustling Xinyi District as we write the stories of sleepless summer nights. 

Lifestyle parties will be held every Friday, Saturday, and Sunday and fill the 10-week event with music. You can listen to jazz music at historic sites, and different singers will take the stage each week to deliver that special song just for you. The park is also partnering with My Music for the first time, and a variety of artists will be performing. 

Visitors can also enjoy outdoor cardio boxing, a live interactive meeting for WANT SHOW SUN REEF’ Laundry Service (萬秀孫代客洗衣) podcast, as well as exciting performances such as the Taipei Buskers Festival, Taipei Jazz Orchestra, and Chang Yi Ge Hand Puppet Theater. 

The two-month programme is full of surprises, day and night, and features themed exhibitions, music and cuisine, stylish dining, themed markets, healing courses, and more. In the course of 30 nights over 10 weeks, the public will meet a myriad different ways to experience night life at these historic sites.

We hope to offer the purest cultural experience through music—enabling visitors to feel the impact of live music up close in the SongYan Baroque Garden, and develop a brand-new nighttime culture unique to Taipei. The Grand SongYan Base will become a standout new cultural, social, and nightlife venue.

 2023 SongYan Summer Festival Schedule

The key visuals of the SongYan Summer Festival are a mirror of enchanting summer nights. Visitors can receive a SongYan Summer Festival magic mirror scratch DM with any purchase from the creative stores. Over 3,000 prizes, totaling more than 20 million NTD in value, are up for grabs! Scratch and win! Use the magic mirror photo frame on the DM to capture your most magical moments at Songshan Cultural and Creative Park. Share your photos, and you could win a round-trip flight on EzFly to Boracay in the Philippines!

2023 SongYan Summer Festival: Harmony of Creation (森羅萬象) 

Dates︱June 30–September 3 

          4 pm–8.30 pm, Friday to Sunday

Store Hours︱11 am–7 pm, Monday to Thursday; 11 am–8 pm, Friday to Sunday

Location︱Outdoor space at Songshan Cultural and Creative Park