Taiwan HYPE

Summary

The Ministry of Culture invited JL DESIGN to work as the chief curator of the Taiwan Pavilion at SXSW in 2020. It was the first edition the Taiwanese government participated in for showcasing the world the values of Taiwan’s creative industry. Therefore, we came up with the idea of “Taiwan Hype”, demonstrating the passion of this island and turning the exhibition venue into “The Temple of the Future” where 37 teams specialised in technology, art, design, or manufacturing worked together to present brand-new species inspired by Taiwan’s culture, creativity, and technology. Due to the global pandemic, the show didn’t make it to SXSW at Texas, the United States at the end, so we decided to exhibit it at Vieshow Square, Xinyi District, Taipei for five days to demonstrate Taiwan’s creativity at the busiest commercial zone in Taipei.

Mission

JL DESIGN was the curator of the Taiwan Pavilion at one of the best art events in the world – SXSW. We aimed to demonstrate Taiwan’s charm, the diversity, ecology, and structure of Taiwan’s arts and cultural industry, as well as its values and uniqueness on the international stage, so that we can show the world what’s so unique about Taiwan.

Solution

JL DESIGN proposed the idea of “Taiwan Hype” and turned the exhibition venue into “The Temple of the Future” where 37 teams specialised in technology, art, design, and manufacturing were recruited to present Taiwan’s image. The five dishes used to worship deities in Taiwan – chicken, pork, fish, duck, and squids – were transformed into new media carrying both cultural and technological values, while the zhuyin spelling system used in Taiwan became a part of the logotype. By doing so, we created new identity for Taiwan combining the island’s culture with the use of technology, delivering an amazing art experience that showcased the achievement of our creative industry.

Space

Impact

We couldn’t make it to Texas for SXSW due to the global pandemic in 2020, but we exhibited the works in Xinyi District, Taipei for five days, attracting more than 50,000 visits, including locals and foreign visitors, by demonstrating the native cultural ecology, the diverse development of the cultural industry, as well as the works made by creative talent in Taiwan. It was a show conveying both traditional and contemporary values, where technology and art were both applied to present a rich and organic art experience to the public.