Foreword from the Mayor

For the digital art industry in Taiwan, 2009 is an important year, because the Digital Art Center, Taipei, which has been under preparation for so many years, was finally officially opened on June 28 this year. We have entrusted management of the center to the Digital Art Foundation, which is comprised of professionals from both the art world and the technology industry. In addition to planning and operating the Digital Art Center, Taipei, the Digital Art Foundation is also responsible for organizing the Taipei Digital Art Festival, putting into practice the Taipei City Government’s policy of promoting digital art in both its hardware and software aspects. We look forward to seeing the Taipei Digital Art Festival and the Digital Art Center, Taipei complement and enhance each other. The Taipei Digital Art Festival will focus its energy on the Digital Art Center, and each year the Digital Art Center will showcase the results of its research efforts at the Festival for the people of Taipei to enjoy.

The Taipei Digital Art Festival has always brought about different digital art experiences for the citizens of Taipei. This year, the event will break away from the interfaces, visual forms and science fiction motifs of the past, and instead will be a more mature and content-rich exhibition. Through the theme of “Funky Light,” we invite the public to contemplate light both natural and manmade, and to consider how technology has changed human behavior. Technology has not only created an ideal world for humanity, but also altered our lifestyle and cultural values. Light captures people’s lines of vision. It acts as a guide, or as an allurement. Whether it provides direction – or perhaps perplexes – it indeed warrants the contemplation of people living in the modern world.

The 4th Taipei Digital Art Festival primarily takes place at the Museum of Contemporary Art Taipei, and also extends to four other venues: the Digital Art Center, Taipei; the Red House Theater; the Goethe Institute Taipei (German Cultural Center); and Huashan Arts District. By involving more organizations, digital art can be represented in different areas and with more diverse content, thereby sharing this artistic feast with even more people.

Although the duration for this year’s Taipei Digital Art Festival is only 10 days, the radiance and passion of the digital artists, from both Taiwan and overseas, are sure to keep the Digital Art Center, Taipei warm the entire year. I hereby extend my sincerest gratitude to all the organizations involved, for making the Taipei Digital Art Festival the most progressive art event in Taiwan, accentuating Taipei’s image of abundant culture, flourishing industry and technological advancement.