- Date: Nov. 18 - 22, 2015
- Venue: Messe Berlin
- Address: Messedamm 22, 14055 Berlin
- Site:www.bazaar-berlin.de
Touted as an exotic cultural marketplace where different communities come together and interact, the 2016 Bazaar Berlin hosted a Taiwan pavilion themed "Ilha Formosa” - the name bestowed by Portuguese seafarers in the sixteenth century for a beautiful island the size of Baden-Württemberg.
Steffi Tsai, exhibition manager of the Taiwan Chamber of Commerce:
"This was our first time in Germany. Many of the visitors were interested in our centuries-old tradition of handicraft production which has only recently become popular again. We exhibited clutch bags madefrom rushes, phone covers, shoes, book covers and cushions. Wealso displayed elaborately-coloured precious glass pearl strings, necklaces with semi-precious stones, Chinese lucky knots and the 2,000 year-old art of creating religious figurines and masks from bamboo paper. Unfortunately, visitors found them too expensive. Next time we will have to make a greater effort to promote the image of Taiwanese handicrafts and of the country itself.”
Emmy Hsieh, assistant curator, National Taiwan Craft Research and Development Institute:
"This was the first time we exhibited at Bazaar Berlin. Visitors were fascinated by how different our stand and our products were. I believe we gave visitors a good insight into the art of Taiwanese handicrafts and at the same time our culture. Furthermore, we had an interesting meeting with a German trust. We look forward to being back next year.”