From Taiwan to New York: An Unbroken Continuity of Art Connecting Islands
From Taiwan to New York: An Unbroken Continuity of Art Connecting Islands
at TAAC House 7b, Nolan Park, Governors Island
From Island to Island
For two consecutive years, the Taiwanese American Arts Council (TAAC) has been selected as a residency and performance unit on Governors Island in New York. As the only Asian organization to receive this honor, TAAC is the most important nonprofit organization in the Eastern U.S., and possibly the entire country, promoting Taiwanese-American artistic exchanges. In just these two years, TAAC has gathered over 100 Taiwanese and international artists and performers, capturing the attention of global visitors through marathon-style exhibitions and performances.
Governors Island is a historic gem at the southern tip of Manhattan. This beautiful small island was originally a colony occupied by the Dutch West India Company in 1624. By 1785, it was transformed into a US Army base and barracks, and later served as a station for the U.S. Coast Guard. During turbulent times of war, the island played a crucial role in defending New York Harbor. In 2003, it was officially taken over by the New York State government, which established several operational units, preserved and restored the island’s historic buildings, and developed it into a unique tourist destination with a focus on recreation and the arts. Now, just a five-minute ferry ride from Manhattan, it is a tranquil cultural haven. To imagine it from a Taiwanese perspective, it’s like a small island cultural park just a five-minute ferry ride from Taipei Main Station. After 20 years of careful management, Governors Island attracted 710,000 visitors in 2023, becoming a sought-after cultural destination for both New Yorkers and international tourists.
In 2023, Governors Island launched an artist residency and exhibition program that excited New York's art scene: the Governors Island Arts’ annual Organizations in Residence program. The management provided 25 houses for New York art and nonprofit organizations to apply for residencies from May to October, rent-free, for six months of creation and exhibition. For space-constrained Manhattan, this is an incredible opportunity. Amid intense competition, the Taiwanese American Arts Council stood out with its theme, "From Island to Island," securing residency at House 7B in Nolan Park. In 2024, the organization was once again selected, this time with the theme "Island Sunrise," marking a new milestone for Taiwanese nonprofits in the U.S.
During these two years of marathon-style exhibitions and performances, TAAC invited over 100 local New York artists, artists from Taiwan, and others from around the world. The scale is almost akin to a new form of international biennale. Due to the large creative team, TAAC hosts new themed exhibitions monthly, showcasing a rich diversity of cross-island international artistic perspectives. Not only does this promote the talents of individual artists, but it also enhances the understanding and appreciation of Taiwanese art and culture among American and international audiences, significantly boosting Taiwan's global image.
New York-Taipei: Eve Clone in Two Cities
In 2023, the first year TAAC participated in the Governors Island residency program, most of the featured artists were New York locals. However, due to the six-month-long series of performances and the related media coverage, it quickly caught the attention of the art community in Taiwan. TAAC, hoping to invite more Taiwanese artists to showcase their work in New York, the world’s art capital, has significantly increased the number of Taiwanese creators in this year’s artist lineup. Among them is Lin Pey-Chwen, the first Asian artist to win the prestigious "New Media Art" global grand prize at the 2019 Florence Biennale. Known as a pioneer of digital art in Taiwan, Lin has been creating art for over 40 years. In July, she was invited by TAAC’s Executive Director, Luchia Meihua Lee, to showcase her latest AI-integrated work, Eve Clone: Wannsee Conference I, at Governors Island.
The title of the piece draws inspiration from Hitler’s infamous 1942 Wannsee Conference, where the details of the plan to exterminate the Jewish people was devised. In her creation, Lin Pey-Chwen uses advanced AI machine learning algorithms and 3D modeling software to enhance the human facial features of Eve Clone. She merges the faces of political and technological leaders, including Putin, Kim Jong-un, Xi Jinping, Zuckerberg, and Obama. Through a voice recognition system, the speeches of these figures are converted into corresponding facial expressions. In addition, Lin exhibits the augmented reality (AR) piece Making of Eve Clone I, where viewers can interact with the work using a tablet. This Taiwanese masterpiece stunned international audiences at Governors Island this summer.
Starting in the summer of 2024, three generations of Taiwanese artists working in new media and technology art have been arranged to exhibit at Governors Island's "TAAC House 7b." These include the Between Mountains and Seas outdoor LED installation by Hu Chin-Hsiang and the Kurokawa Interactive Multimedia Team, under Lin Pey-Chwen's guidance. The young artist Chuang Ching-Yi, mentored by Lin's students, and artist Yang Chun-Kai. who has a background in architecture, collaborated to create a dynamic projection of Taiwan's industrial map, depicting Taiwan as a leading global technology island. The other exhibited works link the history, culture, and geography of both Governors Island and Taiwan, while reflecting current global cultural trends. The meticulously curated interdisciplinary art display by TAAC has become one of the most distinguished and notable among the 29 residency organizations on the island.
The Eve Clone exhibition on Governors Island will run until November 3. Meanwhile, Lin Pey-Chwen has also been invited by a Taiwanese organization to present her Eve Clone: Babel Tower I series at the Her Artistic Imagination: New Media Cross-disciplinary Creation Exhibition, curated by Wang Yu-Ling. This exhibition is being held at the third exhibition hall of the Chiang Kai-Shek Memorial Hall and runs until November 2, creating an unexpected cross-city journey for Eve Clone between New York and Taipei. In Her Artistic Imagination, Lin Pey-Chwen will showcase her work alongside artists from different generations, including Chen Yun-Ju, Chen Yi-Chun, Hsu Yi-Bai, Wang Zi-Hsin, and Hung Yi. This exhibition invites the public to experience the charm of virtual and real interactive, cross-disciplinary creations, offering a firsthand look at how technology permeates daily life and culture. These exceptional Taiwanese female artists have used digital technology to break through traditional gender boundaries in art, demonstrating the incredible power and emotional impact of their work.
A Decade of Success for TAAC
The Taiwanese American Arts Council (TAAC), the most influential international platform for Taiwanese artists in New York, is celebrating its 10th anniversary this year. It was founded on July 19, 2014, in the grand hall of the Queens Museum in New York, where over 300 guests from across the U.S. political, business, and arts communities gathered to witness and celebrate its launch. The founding president, Dr. Lung Fong Chen, one of the co-founders of the Taiwan Center in New York, was joined by three founding board members: Huang Tsai-Tien, founder of Brooklyn Arts Studio (BAS); Chen Chiu-Kwei, Chairman of Concord Windows; and senior curator Luchia Meihua Lee. Additionally, Liao Shiou-Ping, a pioneering artist of modern Taiwanese printmaking, served as Honorary President. Luchia Meihua Lee took on the role of Executive Director, and over the past decade, TAAC has persevered through challenges to organize numerous exhibitions and exchange programs for both Taiwanese and international artists. It has also built a vast network of connections with art venues and cultural organizations in the Greater New York area, promoting the cultural and artistic exchange between Taiwan and the global stage in this major international art hub.
Later, Ming Chiang, Executive Director of "Hello Taiwan," and Patsy Chen, Artistic Director of the New York Youth Orchestra CYCNY, joined the board, contributing to the association's operational vision. Dr. Ken Howell, the husband of Executive Director Luchia Meihua Lee, has selflessly served as a spokesperson and liaison for American institutions. This year, James Yang, Chairman of First Commercial Bank in Flushing, has taken on the role of TAAC’s new president, while Fulbright Scholar Liliane Huang serves as Co-Curator. Together, they continue to build an invisible yet invaluable bridge of artistic and cultural exchange between Taiwan and the U.S., fostering a powerful voice for art and culture during times of political unrest, using art as the most beautiful and impactful form of expression.
