Since 2006, the Digital Art Festival Taipei initiated by Taipei City Government has become an annual gala event of art in Taipei. This festival not only features the cutting-edge digital artworks created by domestic and foreign artists, but also presents them in the forms of exhibition and performance. The festival has entered its tenth year. It follows the approach of thematic curating, addressing vital issues concerning the development of digital culture this year. Treating the newly emerged “maker culture” as the point of departure, manifesting the profound connotations of human creativity through the collaborative practice that underscores community interaction, sharing, and learning.
In retrospect, the rheological trajectory of themes introduced in previous Digital Art Festivals indicates the shift of digital art in terms of its horizons. From the earlier themes such as the role of art in the digital era and the development of technological interfaces to the recent themes such as the transdisciplinary phenomena and issues of digital culture, we noticed that digital art concurrently displays the qualities of “technology/science” and “art/humanistic creativity.” This year, we specifically invite domestic maker community to curate this festival with its local maker experience. Adopting Digitopia as the curatorial theme, the team attempts not only to alert the public to the coming of the era in which digital technology and social life intertwined with each other, but also to expand spaces for art and to push the boundary of creativity. The curatorial team also aims to demonstrate the transdisciplinary nature of digital art and collaborative culture through breakthrough innovation and new exhibition forms.
“Collaboration” implies that artistic creation is no longer a personal activity, but the local manifestations and collective cultural consciousness formed naturally in response to the social, economic, cultural and environmental changes in the world. The iconic international creative projects in the exhibition this year not only reflect the philosophy of social design but also enrich the creative horizons and experimental spirit of this exhibition. We expect the exciting program of events in the 10th Digital Art Festival Taipei to bring the visitors diverse creativity and imagination of digital art in Taiwan by extending its avant-garde art forms.
Department of Cultural Affairs, Taipei City Government October 2015