TAOYUAN, TAIWAN — Fifteen finalists from 62 countries will be running for the title of “2023 Taoyuan International Art Award” winners and a total prize of NTD 1.45 million. Despite the challenge imposed by the pandemic, the second edition of the art award has successfully attracted 687 artworks worldwide to participate with a growth rate of over 13% for the number of submissions received. The award exhibition is looking to run from March 16 to May 11 at Taoyuan Arts Center, Taiwan; the final winners will also be announced on-site.
Strong growth in participating artworks and recognition among international artists
The Taoyuan International Art Award organized by the Taoyuan Museum of Fine Arts (TMoFA), formerly known as the Taoyuan Contemporary Art Award launched in 2001, has over two decades of experience supporting the art creation and community. With the vision to drive the development of contemporary art creations, strengthen international art and cultural exchanges, and build a foundation for art-related research and creations, TMoFA started to welcome the participation of great artworks from around the globe. The endeavor has paid off, for the upcoming 2023 Taoyuan International Art Award has seen strong growth in participating artworks and recognition among international artists.
A total of 687 submissions sent from artists in 62 countries worldwide to participate in the award reached an eye-opening growth of over 13% in the number of works received, inclusive of a wider variety of media, artist backgrounds, and messages.
The director of TMoFA, Chun-Lan LIU, said, “The building up of an international art award and finding its unique position is never an easy one, even though the Taoyuan International Art Award is rooted in the solid foundation of Taoyuan Contemporary Art Award for the past two decades. Yet we always believe strongly in our mission within the industry, and the vision to create the upcoming museum to be an artistic hub for the talents in the contemporary art world. Hence, we are delighted to see so many great artworks from around the globe taking part in the open call of the “2023 Taoyuan International Art Award”. This is a great encouragement to the development and the prospect of the awards and the Taoyuan Museum of Fine Arts. We look forward to creating a quality and sustainable platform to support art creations and spark ideas continuously.”
15 Finalists from 62 countries running for grand prize
The 15 finalists for the 2023 Taoyuan International Art Award are Felipe Castelblanco (USA), Lee Kai Chung (Hong Kong), Andrea Ferrero (Peru), Maira Ali Lacerda Flores (Brazil), Yan Jiao (China), Sara Naim (Syria), Delphine Pouillé (France), Belen Santamarina (Argentina) and 7 Taiwanese artists YL Hsueh, Li Kuei-Pi, Liu Yunyi, Liu Zi-Ping, Lin Yu-Sheng, Tseng Li-Chuan, Wang Yen-Ran.
The jury was led by the director of TMoFA, Chun-Lan LIU, alongside the artistic director of the National Museum of XXI Century Arts (MAXXI), Hou Hanru, chief curator at the Centre Pompidou, Christine Macel, former executive director/curator of Para Site, Cosmin Costinas, and independent curator, Takamori Nobuo. The Shortlisted works range from painting, sculpture, photography, installation, video, and new media artworks, showing a great variety of subjects. The artists transformed personal experiences into diverse artistic expressions and will be creating unique visual and spacial experiences for the viewers in the exhibition that will be taking place in 2023.
Impressed by the works, Cosmin Costinas shared, “The award opening to all media and categories is a very ambitious move among art museums in Asia, and this shows the vision of the museum. Correspondingly, the participating works are hence organic, echoing strongly with the global contemporary art scene.”
Christine Macel also said, “I am very excited to see such energy derives from contemporary art creations worldwide gathers in this international art award held in Taiwan.”
TMoFA will be providing initial exhibition set-up costs, return shipping expenses of the work, and round-trip economy class airfare for the 15 artists to participate in the exhibition. The final stage of the award announcement will be taking place in the exhibition venue and includes impromptu Q&A sessions with the jury.
The Grand Prize winner will be entitled an NTD 600,000 reward, and three Honorable Mention winners will receive NTD 200,000 respectively. In addition, a Sojourn Award of NTD 250,000 will be offered to a Taiwanese artist for a visit abroad to inspire new artistic creations and cultivate emerging artistic talents.
More to expect for the upcoming Taoyuan Museum of Fine Arts (TMoFA)
The main infrastructure of TMoFA is scheduled to be completed in 2024, even before its inauguration, the museum team has been continuously promoting contemporary art creations, both domestic and international, in different ways without being restrained by the lack of physical exhibition space, the organization of Taoyuan International Art Award is one among these efforts.
Jointly designed by Joe Shih Architects and Riken Yamamoto & Field Shop Co., Ltd., the architecture will be presented in a novel “hill” as its exterior. After its completion, the main pavilion of TMoFA will be located in Qingtang Park, near the high-speed rail Taoyuan Station and the A19 station of the Airport MRT Line. With the great convenience, the museum is looking to welcome more exhibitions and art lovers from across the globe.
For more information, please visit the official website of the Taoyuan Museum of Fine Arts and the Taoyuan International Art Award.
