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The third “2025 Taoyuan International Art Award” reveals 12 finalists
Winners will be announced in March 2025

Hosted by Taoyuan Museum of Fine Arts (TMoFA), the third “2025 Taoyuan International Art Award” announces 12 finalists today (June 28). From 1,161 submissions, a total of 12 artists/groups of artists across 8 countries have been selected. The Secondary Review will be conducted by an international jury panel, with live Q&A sessions with the artists. The jury will select one Grand Prize winner, three Honorable Mention winners, and one recipient of the Sojourn Award. The winners will be unveiled at the Award ceremony, and the group exhibition of all selected finalists is scheduled to be held from March 26 to May 18, 2025 at Taoyuan Arts Center, Taiwan.

This year's international jury was convened by Chih Min Chang, Acting Director of TMoFA, and the preliminary review was conducted by Abby Chen, Head of Contemporary Art Department at the Asian Art Museum of San Francisco; Reuben Keehan, Curator, Contemporary Asian Art at Queensland Art Gallery | Gallery of Modern Art; Sunjung Kim, Artistic Director of Art Sonje Center, Seoul, South Korea; Po-Wei Wang, Artistic Director of Digital Art Foundation, Taiwan; and Pei-Yi Lu, Associate Professor at National Taipei University of Education, Taiwan.

The 12 finalists are Yu Ting Tsai (Taiwan); Yan Xiang Lin, Cheng Hsiang Wang (Taiwan); “Working Hard” Wen Ying She, Po-Yu Kuo (Taiwan); Tek Khean Lee (Malaysia); Chulayarnnon Siriphol, Kasamaponn Saengsuratham, Krongpong Langkhapin, Arjin Thongyuukong (Thailand); “Nut Brother”  (China); Aisuke Kondo (Japan); Goh Uozumi (Japan); “couch” Hiroki Miyazaki, Reiko Asao (Japan); Kevin Corcoran, Jorge Bachmann (US); Erdem Tasdelen (Canada); Robbe Maes, Reynout Dekimpe (Belgium).

The third “2025 Taoyuan International Art Award” jury includes Abby Chen, Reuben Keehan, Sunjung Kim, Po-Wei Wang, Pei-Yi Lu. Courtesy of Taoyuan Museum of Fine Arts.

"Taoyuan International Art Award" is a long-term project of the Taoyuan Museum of Fine Arts, designed to align with the international art scene before the official opening of its main building. The Award aims to discover creative proposals that reflect contemporary perspectives on a global scale, transforming the Museum into a hub that sparks creative energy and gathers reflections on globalization phenomena. The Jury noted, "The open category submission guidelines and diverse international jury composition contribute to the fluid characteristics of the Award. Each edition's nominees lead viewers into unique aspects of their creative concerns through continually expanding art forms and languages." Chih Min Chang, Acting Director of TMoFA, stated, "The Taoyuan International Art Award serves as a contemporary art platform that attracts global art talents. Now in its third edition, the increasing number of submissions also reflects the international attention directed towards the Museum."

The 12 selected artworks hail from artists spanning Taiwan, Malaysia, Thailand, China, Japan, the United States, Canada, and Belgium, encompassing diverse media categories. The open call received an overwhelming response from artists from 83 countries, with a total of 1,161 entries. This marks a 60% increase in submissions compared to the previous edition, with foreign submissions comprising 60% of the total, underscoring the rapid growing international recognition of the Award in recent years.

Yu Ting Tsai (Taiwan)'s “See you next time” employs a three-part narrative structure in video installation, unfolding geographical narratives from Taipei Island, Thailand, and the Golden Triangle. Using a fictional collage, the artwork guides viewers through movements on a small boat, offering a fresh perspective on contemporary environments. Yan Xiang Lin and Cheng Hsiang Wang (Taiwan)'s “Urge Miracle to Stay” focuses on the changing landscapes of the Taoyuan Aerotropolis development, documenting the gradual disappearance of local scenery. “Working Hard” Wen Ying She and Po-Yu Kuo (Taiwan)'s “Sleep in Fish (Ikan Kapan Bobok)” will construct Indonesian fisherman architecture at the TIAA exhibition using collected marine debris and worn-out furniture, highlighting globalization's impact on migrant worker cultures.

Tek Khean Lee (Malaysia)'s “Gai Gaau” sets a backdrop against a decontextualized short video generation. Through fabricated antique paintings, artifacts, and falsified documentaries, the artwork playfully navigates social media, creating a fictitious religion called "Gai Gaau" (“Chicken Religion” in Chinese) to illustrate absurd contemporary life situations. Chulayarnnon Siriphol, Kasamaponn Saengsuratham, Krongpong Langkhapin, and Arjin Thongyuukong (Thailand) delve into the visual representation of Muay Thai with “Red Eagle Sangmorakot: No More Hero In His Story,” exploring the national history of Thailand during the Cold War era. “Nut Brother”  (China)’s "Heavy metal village tour" has involved extensive field investigations in rural areas. He uncovers the hidden truths behind severe environmental pollution caused by economic development and uses attention-grabbing rock band tours to raise awareness among the public.

Aisuke Kondo (Japan)'s “Yellow Peel” reflects on the artist's experience living in Germany, observing how the late 19th-century Yellow Peril discourse resurfaces during the COVID-19 pandemic. His work explores the historical discrimination against Asians in Europe, while one part of his photographic trilogy will be presented in the TIAA exhibition. Goh Uozumi (Japan)'s “Social Choice and Its Enemies - ver.2” aims to establish an online voting system to shape collective consensus through internet voting mechanisms. The work provocatively challenges contemporary election processes with AI-generated content. “couch” Hiroki Miyazaki and Reiko Asao (Japan) propose “A fable of a fable <Wildcat>,” a large-scale installation for the TIAA exhibition. This project employs slit animation to narrate four fables about wildcats. It will also integrate with the result of the Taiwanese Wildcat survey scheduled for the end of 2024 in Taiwan.

Kevin Corcoran and Jorge Bachmann (US)'s “Refrained Invocations (Encodings)” proposes a collaborative method of critical social experimentation. They collect environmental sounds from the coastlines of California and Taiwan, crafting on-site sound sculptures in the form of wooden stake towers to encode voices of place. Erdem Tasdelen (Canada) presents a new project titled “Demagogues: 7,” extending his exploration into contemporary political phenomena of demagoguery. He plans to construct local advertising billboards as a form of resistance against non-liberal regimes. Robbe Maes and Reynout Dekimpe (Belgium)'s “Welcome to Fieldkapelle” creates a fictional village from the 1990s using miniatures and still life paintings. Through collage and props, they construct a miniature Belgian village, showcasing a virtual home where reality and imagination coexist.