Taipei City Government

Co-hosted by Taipei Expo Foundation and Association of the Visual Arts in Taiwan (AVAT), the 2019 Taiwan Annual opened at the EXPO Dome of Taipei Expo Park on August 31. The exhibition will be held from August 31 to September 8.

As Taiwan’s first artist expo without any limitations such as professional background, vocation, or selection criteria, the emphasis on “equal rights in art” aims to provide an open exhibition platform outside the conventional art gallery-based art expo system for the continual training of emerging artistic talents in Taiwan.

While attending the opening ceremony, the Commissioner of Economic Development Lin Chung-chieh stated that the Taiwan Annual is being held for the 4th consecutive year at the EXPO Dome since 2016. On average, 40 emerging artists and more than 200 artists join the event every year, attracting over 22,000 visitors over the week-long exhibition. Additionally, thanks to the incessant efforts of the city government over the years, Taipei Expo Park has become the premier venue for hosting startup exhibitions, anime expos, e-sports carnivals, cultural and creative exhibitions, and international functions. As of late July this year, the venue had drawn over 2.11 million visitors, making it an important exhibition venue in Taipei City.

This year’s exhibition is divided into 3 major areas: Equal Rights in Art Area, Creative Project Area, and Theme Exhibition Area. The first 2 areas will see submissions from over 150 artists, while the 3rd area features 2 theme exhibitions from 2 Taiwanese curators Chang Chun-yi and Chen Nien-ting, who will be curating “This Is Very Simple. Who Wouldn’t Be Able to Do It?” and “KHU-KHU-SAU How to Do?” respectively.

The exhibitions bring together numerous outstanding artists both domestic and from abroad, as well as cutting-edge emerging creators, directors and performers. In addition, this year’s Taiwan Annual includes AVAT’s international exchange program, inviting art spaces from Georgia, Ukraine, Russia, India, and Turkey, as well as 9 art institutions and 2 art groups from the Taiwan Art Institution/Group Area to participate in the exhibition and to share their experiences, thereby combining artistic potentials from different countries and cities in creating a space for diverse, international artistic exchanges.

At the same time, the Taiwan Annual will continue AVAT’s long-term commitment to promoting art education by organizing a plethora of education promotion activities during the exhibition, including the Expert Guided Tour, Exhibition Forum, Art Archive Lecture, Art Labor and Law Lecture, as well as multiple Artistic Performances and Workshops. As far as international exchanges are concerned, several International Art Salons will be conducted along with the small International Art Forum. The objective is to use the Taiwan Annual as a means of creating a stage for art and culture enthusiasts who are also passionate about creating artwork that can also serve as a platform for interaction and sharing experiences.

Exhibition name: 2019 Taiwan Annual
Exhibition date: 2019/08/31 (Saturday) – 09/08 (Sunday)
Exhibition time: 11:00-19:30 (opens until 16:00 on 09/08)
Exhibition venue: EXPO Dome, Taipei Expo Park (No. 1, Yumen St., Zhongshan Dist., Taipei City)
Admission: Free