The 11th Taiwan Culture Festival ran in Hong Kong from Oct. 14 to Dec. 14, showcasing a new generation of social design in food, art, and play under the flagship theme of "Taiwan Redesign - From Me to We.”
Social design - a contraction of "designing for social innovation” - is about how people can imagine, remold, and implement a better society while passing along the values and cultural identities of Taiwan.
The first design topic was food, with special emphasis placed on how food has changed the human lifestyle and how to incorporate aesthetics in daily life. From dining in the rice paddies of Pokfulam Village to the Michelin-level molecular gastronomy of "Eatopia,” fusion cuisine using locally sourced ingredients demonstrated the creative value of cultural collisions.
A mobile exhibition titled "Urban Floating Islands @ Hong Kong” also connected the communities of Taiwan and Hong Kong through forums and exchanges. Three of the most influential creative professionals from Taiwan, including CEO Han Wu of the World Design Capital 2016 campaign for Taipei City, joined the program to share Taiwan's experience in social design.
Several performances were then staged in Hong Kong to highlight the crossover theme of the 2016 Taiwan Culture Festival. Taipei Philharmonic Chorus presented "The Chinese Zodiac” in collaboration with the Hong Kong Chinese Orchestra, and GuoGuang Opera Company brought "Lord Guan Yu on Stage,” which featured a stellar cast from Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Germany.
This year's promotional materials were designed by Godkidlla, who combined Taiwanese street graffiti with the iconic plastic signs of Hong Kong minibuses to create the 2016 logo. The colors red and blue, which play an important role in all Chinese cultures, were also used to reflect mutual understanding between Taiwan and Hong Kong.