Jerry Yen (顏瑋志), founder of CAMPOBAG, shared his experience of transforming market stalls into platforms for cultural exchange on May 21 in Malaysia.
CAMPOBAG, which stands for cinema, art, music, people, originality, and the tagline "Bring Art Go,” was established in 2008 to bring together Taiwan's young artists to create business and economic value through creative cooperation.
Since 2010, Yen has started taking Taiwanese artists to Asian and European countries to set up market stalls, meet local artists, visit local markets, and practice his philosophy of "make money while traveling; experience life as a market vendor; create dialogue with an adventurous spirit.”
"We don't just set up a market stall, but also [a new] life,” noted Yen. The idea of setting up market stalls overseas reflects Yen's intentions of living with art and creativity as well as broadening the horizon of participating artists.
To expand and strengthen the CAMPOBAG platform, Yen launched "Pop Up Asia,” the first fair for handmade goods that promotes interaction between artists and culturally creative organizations from all parts of Asia.
So far, Pop Up Asia has brought together creative shops for handmade goods from South Korea, Hong Kong, Thailand, and Singapore to explore the integration of startup trends and digital technology with craft skills, and to further develop a perspective that truly embodies the features of Asian cities.
This year, Yen also introduced Pop Up Asia to Malaysia, which has allowed foreign artists to learn about Malaysian culture as well as infuse new energy and possibilities with the traditional crafts of Malaysia.
Curated by the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Malaysia, Tea Philo is an annual cultural salon series that explore personal and social values through philosophic, cultural, and art topics.
This year, the Office has invited outstanding individuals from Taiwan to share their experiences in Malaysia from April through November. The next session will be hosted by up-and-coming painter Belle Chuang (莊蕙如) on June 17.