The New Taipei Mini Maker Faire (新北自造者嘉年華) is a two-day event that promises a fun-filled weekend of DIY presentations, workshops, talks and competitions. Going beyond the usual maker interests of digital creativity and new technology, curator Honki Cheng (鄭鴻旗) places this year’s program emphasis on community engagement. The fair brings together local manufacturers, makers, and students to showcase a unique range of grassroot projects thriving within the New Taipei City community. From workshops that hack textile dying traditions, experiments with new furniture materials, to miniature car building competitions, the fair invites audiences of all ages to discover DIY culture and experience creative ways of hacking into local know-how.
■ New Taipei Civic Plaza (新北市民廣場), 161 Jhongshan Rd Sec 1, Banciao Dist, New Taipei City (新北市板橋區中山路一段161號), tel: (02) 2960-3456.
■ Tomorrow and Sunday from 10am to 5pm
Photo Courtesy of New Taipei Mini maker faire
For the month of October, discover gallery exhibitions, film screenings and public art programs at the Taipei Art District Festival (大內藝術節) in the Dazhi area (大直) and Neihu District (內湖). The festival is organized around the theme of “art as life” and seeks to bring art into the daily neighborhood landscape. At Zhouzi No. 2 Park (洲子二號公園), artist Chuang Chih-wei’s (莊志維) Gentle Swirl in The Forest features a series of giant discs back-lit by algorithmically controlled illumination. Tsai Kuen-lin’s (蔡坤霖) Stage at Mingshui Park (明水公園) is a sculptural assemblage of plastic pipes and wooden planks that transforms ordinary industrial materials into new surrealist formations. At the bus stop on Jingye 3rd Road (敬業三路), artist Ko Tzu-an (柯姿安) assumes her role-play identity as Super Perfect Working Robot for interactive performances at scheduled times.
■ Dazhi area (大直) and Neihu District (內湖), Taipei City. For more information visit www.facebook.com/tadfestival
■ Until Nov. 5
Phto Courtesy of Liang Gallery
The multimedia group exhibition Aftermath (解／嚴), curated by Lin Chi-Ming (林志明), coincides with the 30th anniversary of the lifting of martial law. The exhibition includes 23 Taiwanese artists who represent different generations working in the arts field in the last three decades. How can art today respond to Taiwan’s history of martial law and its aftermath? While the lifting of martial law has promised greater freedom and individual rights, the exhibition examines this state of liberation by questioning the contemporary cultures that govern us today, such as political freedom, free-market economy, consumerism and pleasure-seeking.
■ Liang Gallery (尊彩藝術中心), 366 Ruiguang Rd, Taipei City (台北市瑞光路366號), tel: (02) 2797-1100. Open Tuesdays to Sundays from 11am to 6pm
■ Until Nov. 5
Photo Courtesy of Taoyuan Art X Technology Festival
The first edition of Taoyuan Art x Technology Festival (桃園科技藝術節) debuts with an ambitious lineup of local and international techno-art, including sound and light installations, mechanical and interactive art, virtual reality projects and live performances. Watch out for artist duo Kimchi & Chip’s 483 Lines, a large-scale light installation that promotes augmented sensory experiences; Jari Suominen’s reconstruction of a 1960s pioneering media instrument DIMI-A; Wang Chung-kun’s (王仲?) be Tube, a motor-operated sound instrument that blows air into tubes to create melodic tunes and Keith Lam’s (林欣傑) One Day Social Sculpture, an experiment to translate social network data into sculptural forms. Experimental electronic music group Sam-seng-hian-ge (三牲獻藝) will also be performing its award-winning project that incorporates elements of temple music, field recordings, electronic and improvisational music.
■ Taoyuan Art Center (桃園展演中心), 1188 Jhongjheng Rd, Taoyuan, (桃園市中正路1188號), tel: (03) 317-0511. Open Tuesdays to Sundays from 9am to 5pm
■ Until Nov. 5
Photo Courtesy of New Taipei Art Festival
Sensefield: An Exhibition of Experimental Ethnography showcases five internationally recognized artists working between the boundaries of anthropology and art. Curated by Gabriele de Seta, the show brings together sounds and images from disparate communities that offer new perspectives on human cultures and experimental sensibilities. Tsai Wan-shuen (蔡宛璇) and Yannick Dauby’s The Body of The Mountain is a film that reflects upon the Atayal traditions and preservation of tribal memories. Miyarrka Media Arts Collective’s film Meme, Yolngu Style presents the digital creativity of the Yolngu Aboriginal community living in Australia’s Northern Territory. DJ Hatfield and Rahic Talif’s audiovisual installation O Matpong Ko Fulad Tiraw references Moon Cave, a ritual site for the Amis on the east coast of Taiwan.
■ Bopiliao Historical Block (剝皮寮歷史街區), 153 and 155, Guangzhou St, Taipei City (台北市廣州街153 & 155號). Open Tuesdays to Sundays 10am to 6pm
■ Until Sunday
Photo Courtesy of Gabriele de Seta
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The results of the 2024 US presidential election rattled the country and sent shockwaves across the world — or were cause for celebration, depending on who you ask. Is it any surprise then that the Merriam-Webster word of the year is “polarization?” “Polarization means division, but it’s a very specific kind of division,” said Peter Sokolowski, Merriam-Webster’s editor at large, in an exclusive interview ahead of Monday’s announcement. “Polarization means that we are tending toward the extremes rather than toward the center.” The election was so divisive, many American voters went to the polls with a feeling that the opposing candidate was
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