Taipei Dangdai is presenting a new online initiative called “Taipei Connections” to bring together art galleries, collectors and artists as the COVID-19 pandemic is limiting opportunities for them to connect.
Developed in collaboration with Ocula, a contemporary art Web site that offers online access to artworks and exhibitions, Taipei Connections is to showcase a curated selection of “richly contextualized artworks” from leading galleries for the public from Saturday to Tuesday next week, organizers said.
Highlights in the first edition of Taipei Connections include works by Japanese photographer Daido Moriyama, Chinese painter Zeng Fanzhi (曾梵志), Austrian artist Erwin Wurm, and American artists Doug Aitken, Alex Katz and Al Held.
Photo: CNA
Risings stars in Asia such as Singapore’s Alvin Ong and Dawn Ng, and China’s Zhao Zhao (趙趙) and Lu Song (呂松) are also to be featured, organizers said.
Contemporary Taiwanese artists who are included are Ho Kan (霍剛), Li Yuan-chia (李元佳), Yao Jui-chung (姚瑞中), Tang Jo-hung (黨若洪), Liu Chi-hung (劉致宏), Yeh Shih-chiang (葉世強) and Cheng An-li (鄭安利).
Taipei Dangdai will also present a series of online events, including a Q&A session with Taipei Dangdai codirectors Magnus Renfrew and Robin Peckham, a virtual studio visit with artist Wu Chi-tsung (吳季璁) and a walkthrough of Wurm’s show at the Taipei Fine Arts Museum, which is on view until June 14.
The online platform builds on the Taipei Dangdai’s mission of creating an “open forum for art and ideas” beyond the walls of the fair, organizers said.
It is the “first step” in its effort to engage with audiences through digital platforms, they added.
“Conversations that start at a fair frequently conclude throughout the year and sometimes in other places,” Renfrew said. “As there are fewer opportunities within the current context for these follow-up encounters to happen in person, we want to provide a focal point that can allow conversations to continue virtually.”
While there is “no replacement for meeting in person,” Taipei Connections intends to serve as a bridge between galleries and collectors, Peckham said.
The second edition of Taipei Dangdai, held in January at the Taipei Nangang Exhibition Center, attracted more than 40,000 visitors, organizers said.
The art fair closed just before the COVID-19 epidemic began to spread outside of China, forcing major cultural events across Asia to postpone or cancel.
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