Skip to main content

Inaugural Matsu Biennial aims to incubate young talents on the islands

  • Date:2022-02-12~2022-04-10
Inaugural Matsu Biennial aims to incubate young talents on the islands

The inaugural Matsu Biennial, proposed as a strategy for the island's regeneration, will be held in four villages across the five islands of Matsu until Apr. 10, around the theme of "Island Brew(島嶼釀)."

According to the festival, the Matsu Biennial is set out to be a ten-year project which aims to document the transformation of the islands. By holding five Biennials over the course of ten years, it aims to promote public discussion and create the potential for initiatives that could make Matsu an island of sustainability.

The Matsu Biennial ultimately wants to inspire not merely a cultural movement of the people but a revolution in the bureaucratic system that leads to promoting cultural sustainability as the primary and final goal of governance on the islands. Its curation is based on the foundations of the encounter between wind and soil; brewing sustainability through the accumulation of time; cultivating social concerns through long-term projects; defining the identity of the islands’ landscape architecture by incorporating space; and triggering an evolution in government and society by centralizing the idea of culture.

Featuring 39 artworks and 8 projects, all of the art installations were created locally among 41 creative teams. Aside from Taiwanese artists, the art-making consortium also includes international members such as Canadian visual artist Liam Morgan and French-born sound artist Yannick Dauby.

The themes of projects include "Underground Matters," "Returning to the Island," "Listening the Voices of the Island," "Ecology and Habitat of Islands," "The Tower of Winds," "Islands in Evolution," "Highlights of Contemporary Architecture in Matsu," and "Translating and Regenerating the Military Heritage in Matsu."