DistantNews
Support us
🇹🇼 Taiwan /Culture & Society

Taiwan Protests Gwangju Biennale Over Pavilion Name Change

From Liberty Times · () Chinese

Translated from Chinese, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

News Named sources New plan
  • Taiwan is protesting the Gwangju Biennale's decision to remove "Taiwan" from its pavilion name.
  • Participating Taiwanese artists and curators condemned the move as political censorship.
  • They stated the biennale, rooted in democracy and human rights, should explain the restrictions on self-naming.

Taiwan has lodged a formal protest against the Gwangju Biennale organizers in South Korea for removing the name "Taiwan" from its pavilion, a move artists and curators involved are calling political censorship.

We believe a biennale whose history is rooted in democracy, human rights and the Gwangju spirit has a duty to explain why participants’ self-naming must face political restrictions.

— Taiwanese artists and curatorsIn a joint statement condemning the Gwangju Biennale organizers for removing 'Taiwan' from the pavilion name.

The 16th Gwangju Biennale, scheduled from September 5 to November 15, initially proposed participating under the banner of a "Taiwan Pavilion." However, promotional materials on the biennale's official website altered the name to "NTMOFA," the acronym for Taiwan's National Museum of Fine Arts, effectively erasing "Taiwan" from public view.

In a joint statement, the 10 participating Taiwanese artists and curators expressed their strong condemnation of the biennale foundation's actions. They highlighted that the organizer ignored repeated protests and negotiation attempts from the museum. "We believe a biennale whose history is rooted in democracy, human rights and the Gwangju spirit has a duty to explain why participants’ self-naming must face political restrictions," the statement read, adding that the foundation's decision constitutes "political censorship of art exhibitions."

We strongly condemn the foundation’s political censorship of art exhibitions.

— Taiwanese artists and curatorsIn a joint statement addressing the Gwangju Biennale Foundation.

The artists emphasized that the disappearance of the "Taiwan Pavilion" is not merely an erasure of a name but a threat to freedom of expression and the global art community. They stand in solidarity with all art workers facing political censorship. The abrupt renaming, occurring after all parties had referred to the exhibition as the "Taiwan Pavilion" since March, has raised concerns about the biennale's credibility in the international art world, especially as the event organizer has yet to issue a public response.

It is not merely the erasure of a name, but a threat to freedom of expression and the global art community.

— Taiwanese artists and curatorsIn a joint statement highlighting the implications of the name change.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by Liberty Times in Chinese. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

More Stories

From Our Blog