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Echoing the 2026 Taiwan Design Expo in Taoyuan, the children's special exhibition "Same but Different" takes "inclusion" as its core concept, featuring art installations by nine groups of artists and designers from France, the United States, and Taiwan. Together with the children, we will realize that while we all share the "same" desire to play and to be understood, we each have "different" bodies, senses, and ways of seeing the world. Through three major themes—"Space Play," "Difference and Inclusion," and "Everyday Imaginations"—and the perspectives and creative languages of the participating artists, the exhibition invites children and adults to recognize individual differences and appreciate the uniqueness of every person. In doing so, visitors will understand the diversity that shapes our world, and envision a more inclusive city together.

Flipping Spaces Through Play

In the "Space Play" section, French artist and architect Cyril Lancelin presents A Thousand Tilting Shapes. Inspired by the geometric outline of the Taoyuan Museum of Fine Arts (TMoFA), he uses hundreds of inflatable blocks to transform the gallery into a micro-architectural playscape where visitors can freely stack blocks and pass through them. Through play, visitors can physically experience the dynamic flow and transformation of space while feeling the joy of creation. Artist I-Hsuen Chen's work, Ultimate Domain Expansion, draws from his past photography series focusing on boundary markers such as traffic cones and barricades. By turning these objects of social regulation into an interactive, site-specific installation, Chen invites visitors to step across and move these boundaries, prompting them to reflect on the invisible rules of public spaces and imagine the possibilities of reshaping social order.

Getting to Know One Another by Embracing Differences

The "Difference and Inclusion" section further deepens our understanding and appreciation of individual differences. American artist Finnegan Shannon’s work, Do You Want Us Here or Not?, modifies part of the public seating in the galleries. Combining texts that prompt reflections, the artwork urges the public to consider the resting needs of diverse groups. Through an interactive, participatory leaning activity, it also encourages visitors to reimagine inclusivity in public spaces. The typography design team justfont presents their educational project, How the Word Looks Like to Me!. Through a digital interactive simulation of reading difficulties, the project allows visitors to experience these challenges firsthand. It prompts them to rethink how font design can connect diverse reading experiences and serve as a medium for more equal cultural participation.

From Tactile Senses to Bodily Imaginations

In addition, Taoyuan-based contemporary artist Wei-Cheng Tu has transformed his famous Bu-Num Civilization series into a "touchable" inclusive experience. By touching and feeling the antiqued textures juxtaposed with forms of modern technological items, visitors are invited to reflect on the relationship between the past and the present. Artist Pei-Mao Sun, who used to base in Taoyuan, derives his childhood memory-inspired ceramic sculpture series Fighter Jets into a co-creation project. Through a workshop, the project shifts children's creative perception from the visual to the tactile, allowing the textures and qualities of clay to awaken the creative potential of their sense of touch. Speculative designer and artist Paul Gong’s work, The Body as Imaginary Worlds, combines speculative design with sci-fi imaginations of the future human body. Starting from vestigial organs like the coccyx and arrector pili muscles, the work incorporates tactile play equipment, wearable devices, interactive experiences, and AI, inviting children to explore the infinite possibilities of the future body.

Exploring Differences in Daily Life

The "Everyday Imaginations" section brings the focus back to the daily lives we are familiar with. Artist Shao-Ying Huang’s Everyday Sculpture Practice for Ages 0 to 99: from the Table to the Sink integrates video, soft sculptures, and ready-made interactive objects to create a multi-sensory space suitable for audiences of all ages. Visitors can re-experience everyday items and daily habits, capturing the resonance between life and artistic creations. Furthermore, the Childhood Accompany Theatre and the 5th-grade art class of Ruei-Fong Elementary School in Bade, Taoyuan jointly held a seven-week, child-centered workshop. Grounded in the students' daily observations and driven by their own experiences and discussions, the children became the primary creators of the collaborative artwork Two Very Different People in the Class, presenting an imaginative vision of inclusion from children's perspectives.

With this exhibition, we invite all children and adults to bring your curiosity and begin with the question of being "Same but Different." Let us discover our differences, embrace diversity through those differences, and to build an inclusive future where everyone can freely and comfortably pursue the happiness of life.

Exhibition Information

Same but Different

Date | July 4 – November 30, 2026
Artists | Finnegan Shannon, Paul Gong, Pei-Mao Sun, Wei-Cheng Tu, I-Hsuen Chen, Shao-Ying Huang, Cyril Lancelin, justfont.
School Collaboration | Childhood Accompany Theatre & Ruei-Fong Elementary School 5th Grade Art Class
In-House Curator | Peng Hsiung
Advisors | Ministry of Culture, Taoyuan City Government, Taoyuan City Council, Taoyuan Department of Cultural Affairs
Organizer | Taoyuan Museum of Fine Arts