How is photography to escape from the outmoded and to find new possibilities in the experimental? The conceptual photo­grapher Li Hao refuses to be confined by the art’s traditional documentarian‡realist framework. Instead, he aims to probe its experimental potential.

New Year’s banquets are a normal part of the year-end scene around Taiwan, but they are usually thrown by corporations and government offices for their employees. Since 2015, a social enterprise named Do You a Flavor has brought a new twist to the custom: arranging a New Year’s feast for people living on the streets.

Have you ever asked your mother about the circumstances of your birth, or asked other family members about theirs? We are taught all our lives that the day we were born was a great trial for our mothers. Certainly it takes a heroic effort for a mother to give birth. But aside from the physical suffering, can we not conceive of birthing in more imaginative ways?

In his quest during his painting career, the brush of Wang Lan ­Hsiung has never rested. Emerging from tradition, he hesitated between abstract art and hyperrealism, then turned back once again to ink-wash painting, except that now the views he saw were different.

If a classroom contained a sofa or its exterior became a cave, what kind of scene would that be? These are examples of the classroom landscapes created for children by teacher ­Huang Kuo­ping of New Tai­pei City’s ­Chong De Elementary School. When textbooks have boxes to fill in with words and pictures, they become lively and fun. Aestheticell, formed by three young people, is striving to change the face of Taiwan’s textbooks. Changes are afoot in aesthetic education, making a sense of beauty pa

As a byproduct of culture, the essence of literature has always been to engage with society. The factors that motivate authors to put pen to paper may vary, but the works themselves still respond, directly or indirectly, to their era. Regardless of how the demands placed on them by literature, publishing and the larger environment have redoubled in modern times, it is gratifying to note that the high degree of creativity displayed by Taiwan’s contemporary writers has not diminished in intensity.

Taiwan was once famous around the world as the “cichlid kingdom,” and in 1986 bred the “blood parrot cichlid,” which for a time was all the rage in the ornamental fish market. However, the global economic downturn in 2008 caused a serious setback to the industry.

Practical education in fine arts can develop a solid foundation for drawing and painting, but only life itself provides the basis for creativity. The painter Su Tao (real Chinese name I Chung­-­chain, French name Renée I) has been living in Belgium for over half a century, and the rigorous challenges of life in a foreign land have accumulated in her soul, creating an unwavering determination that is evident in her large-scale creative works.

Following the traffic circle around Tai­pei’s historic North Gate, one catches sight of the old Taiwan Railways Administration building to the roundabout’s northwest. With brick and half-timbered walls and protruding towers to the right and left of the entrance, the two-story building with a dormered third floor is an example of Tudor-revival Japanese colonial architecture. It’s a beautiful building that features prominently in the memories of many long-time Tai­pei residents. Meanwhile the Tai­

Designers are often faced with the question of how to balance personal creativity with commerce. Tai­chung makes that balancing act a bit easier. Its relatively low rents and labor costs, and Tai­pei-comparable competitive pressures, make it more accommodating to experimental spaces, enticing young designers to build their businesses there. These young creatives are renting apartments in the city, opening unique creative and cultural businesses, and connecting with and encouraging one another.