The Museum of Contemporary Art, Taipei (MOCA, Taipei) currently has two exhibits by foreign artists who explore different aspects of Taiwan. Nocturnal Taipei (夜越台北) presents photography and film by Dutch artist David Verbeek and includes RU There, a feature-length romance flick shot in Taipei and selected for competition at the Cannes Film Festival. Verbeek’s solo show also features 65 photographs of Taipei’s nightlife. Brenda Zlamany’s Project 888: Portraits of Taiwan (八八八計畫:看我←→畫我←→拍我) examines the multifaceted nature of portraiture in the digital age. The US-based artist traveled to Taiwan to find subjects and combines painting, performance art and photography to challenge traditional ideas of portraiture.
■ Nocturnal Taipei is currently on view at MOCA Studio, Museum of Contemporary Art, Taipei (MOCA, Taipei), 39 Changan W Rd, Taipei City (台北市長安西路39號), tel: (02) 2552-3720. Open Tuesdays to Sundays from 10am to 6pm. Admission: Free. Regular ticket prices: NT$50. Until Feb. 28
■ Project 888 is currently on view at MOCA Studio — Underground (地下實驗‧創意秀場), Zhongshan MRT Station (中山捷運站) Exit 6. Until Feb. 29
Photo Courtesy of MOCA, Taipei
Several museums in Taiwan are marking the Year of the Dragon with exhibits celebrating the mythical beast. The dragon is an emblem of Chinese culture symbolizing potent and auspicious powers, particularly control over the elements, success, prosperity and good luck. Faces of the Dragon (龍年龍相) brings together 15 works by Chung Yung-ho (鐘永和) and Chinese photographer Li Zhong (李忠). Chung captures images of dragons common in Taiwan’s folk culture, such as dragon boats. Li depicts landscapes in which dragon shapes and outlines can be discerned.
■ National Museum of History (國立歷史博物館), 49 Nanhai Rd, Taipei City (台北市南海路49號), tel: (02) 2361-0270. Open Tuesdays to Sundays from 10am to 6pm. General admission is NT$30
■ Until Feb. 26
The Yingge Ceramics Museum has assembled 120 ceramic dragons for a show titled The Dragons Reinvigorated Amongst Us (活龍活現).
■ Yingge Ceramics Museum (鶯歌陶瓷博物館), 200 Wenhua Rd, Yingge Dist, New Taipei City (新北市鶯歌區文化路200號), tel: (02) 8677-2727. Open daily from 9:30am to 5pm. Closes at 6pm on Saturdays and Sunday. Admission: Free
■ Until Feb. 15
Dragon Blessings From Heaven (昇龍聚福) brings together 290 prints in a wide variety of mediums — digital prints, linocut prints, woodcut prints, silkscreen prints and mixed-media prints — to depict the Year of the Dragon and “reflect the artistic advances and tastes of our time,” according to the museum’s press release.
■ National Taiwan Museum of Fine Arts in Taichung (國立台灣美術館), 2, Wucyuan W Rd Sec 1, Greater Taichung (台中市五權西路一段2號), tel: (04) 2372-3552. Open Tuesdays to Fridays from 9am to 5pm and Saturday and Sunday from 9am to 6pm. Admission: Free
■ Until March 11
Call for submissions
The organizers of the Urban Nomad Film Festival are accepting submissions from Taiwanese and foreign nationals for its forthcoming film festival, which begins at the end of April. The deadline for feature-length films is Feb. 15; the deadline for short films (under 45 minutes) is March 1. NT$40,000 in prizes, including a jury prize of NT$20,000, are up for grabs in the short film category, which covers several genres, such as video art, documentary and skateboarding films. Urban Nomad will also consider proposals for VJ performances, installations and other genre-bending works. Staying true to their independent roots, the organizers “love weird stuff and will try to make cool shit happen.” For complete details in Chinese and English, visit www.urbannomad.tw
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