Taiwanese duo Chieh Hsiung (熊婕) and Yu-Wei Hsiao (蕭又維) led a group of young artists to deliver a three-part live art performance titled “Islanders 3.0: Everybody Put Yo Hands Up!” at the Flushing Town Hall of New York City on Jan. 27. The performance emphasized Taiwan’s culture through music, dance, images, and karaoke.
Chieh Hsiung and Yu-Wei Hsiao brought “Islanders: Compound Playground” and “Islanders 2.0: Coming Home” performances to New York in 2022 and 2023, respectively, and received warm responses from the audience. By combining Western culture with Taiwanese pop culture from the 1960s to 1980s, they hope to increase the visibility of their home country.
They highlighted that karaoke is an essential element of Taiwan’s gatherings and also a popular entertainment for Taiwanese people on their important occasions, be they happy or sad. Through the theme “Everybody Put Yo Hands Up!”, they created a karaoke-like atmosphere on the stage and revisited the golden hits of Taiwan’s disco era.