臺北市新住民專區網站英文版

Taipei City Department of Civil Affairs press release

Released by the Population Policy Division 

Released date: February 15, 2023

Contact: Chief Wu Chung-hsin, or Ms. Lo Hsiang-yun

Telephone:1999 ext. 6258 or 6375; 0966590813; 0935265759

  The Fount of Light Display Zone of the 2023 Taiwan Lantern Festival embraces diverse cultures from around the world. It utilizes various languages, writings, music, and symbols and patterns from different ethnic groups, and the collision of different cultures to create new sceneries. The lantern installation, Here We Are - Taipei | New Immigrant Stories, symbolizes "co-existence" and "co-prosperity." The organizer invited artists, new immigrants, and second-generation immigrants to participate in the lantern-making process. Different stories are interconnected and intertwined in the lantern, shining brightly under the night sky of Taipei.

  Light Arts LAB specializes in transforming mechanical and lighting technology, it uses changes of colorful lights to create About Taipei. Under the refractions of colorful rays of light,  About Taipei illuminates new immigrants’ imaginations on Taipei. Different languages connecting together, and presenting the imagery of working and living together in Taipei under the flickering of light. Artist Wang Wen-chih is skilled in using bamboo weaving as a creative medium. He created a large lantern installation named Here We Are for the Taiwan Lantern Festival. The lantern displays different appearances depending on the lighting conditions during the day and night. Through the use of different materials, the lantern symbolizes the integration of new immigrants and various cultures. Japanese artist Daisuke Nagatomo and Taiwanese artist Chan Ming-Ni created the artwork Hito Bito, which describes the art that closely connecting people. The two Chinese characters "ren" at the entrance symbolize the support and sharing of joy between people.

  French artists Margot Guillemot and Chiu Chieh-sen created a lantern installation using stacked suitcases and drawn out the outlines of 12 administrative districts of Taipei using light stirps. The interior of the house made by suitcases are designed and decorated to look like a home, symbolizing new immigrants from around the world come to Taipei and found a place to call their own. Paper sculpture artist Cheng Jo-han aims to evoke people's memories of the past with her work Grow the Taipei Tastes. The artist draws inspiration from the history of the Songshan Cultural and Creative Park, which was originally a tobacco factory. She imagines using the heat generated by the tobacco factory boiler room to serve up new flavors of Taipei that mix international and Taiwanese cultures. Through workshops, Floatel Studio invited new immigrants and second-generation immigrants to create Under the Stars, allowing everyone to depict their experiences of living in Taipei and showcase different cultures. Filipino artist Mark Lester Lugay Reyes collaborated with Light Arts LAB to create The River of Memory. They attempt to use the traditional Philippine cultural image of Bayanihan to express the beautiful memories of people supporting and helping each other. Kidult Studio’s “New Year” is exhibiting at Wanhua New Immigrants' Hall. The luminous mural showcases traditional New Year’s cuisine eaten during New Year celebrations from 13 different countries including Vietnam, Malaysia, India, Japan, France, Myanmar, South Korea, Cambodia, Italy, the Philippines, the UK, the Netherlands, and Ireland. The mural conveys the message of unity and sharing of food across the globe.

  The 2023 Taiwan Lantern Festival in Taipei, Here We Are - Taipei | New Immigrant Stories, showcases the stories of new residents who have grown and rooted themselves in Taiwan through collaborative works by artists, new immigrants, and their children. Even though they speak different languages and come from different cultures, they find resonance with each other through the process of creating and expressing their heartfelt stories. We invite you to visit the Songshan Cultural and Creative Park and the Wanhua New Immigrants' Hall to admire the lantern installations created by new immigrants, and to appreciate the diverse and inclusive cultural stories with us.