Ingo Günther, Worldprocessor (1988-ongoing). ©Ingo Günther, Nova Rico SpA, Florence, P3 art and environment, Tokyo and TFAM.

The 11th edition of Taipei Biennial 2018, Post-Nature—A Museum as an Ecosystem takes place at Taipei Fine Arts Museum from November 17, 2018 to March 10, 2019. Co-curated by Mali Wu and Francesco Manacorda, the Biennial focuses on the interconnectivity of ecosystemic structures formed between humans and nature and aims to serve as a platform for social experimentation, generating new interdisciplinary possibilities for long-lasting, community-driven, bottom-up synergies.

The exhibition venue, Taipei Fine Arts Museum, is reconsidered as a social model. Exhibitions grow quickly, occupy a limited time span, and have little ability to sustain their reach, while museums develop slowly and organically, responding carefully to their environments and preserve their own longevity. The curators mention, if too rigidly confined by an architectural and conceptual framework, a museum can become an isolated space for art contemplation, rather than remain open to constant ecosystemic transformation, osmosis and growth. This Biennial aims to investigate how museum as an institution exists as, and within, a social, cultural, economic and political ecosystem.

Participants include (in alphabetical order): Ruangsak ANUWATWIMON , Martha ATIENZA , AU Sow-Yee, Ursula BIEMANN, Alexey BULDAKOV, Huai-Wen CHANG+MAS (Micro Architecture Studio) , Ting-Tong CHANG, Jui-Kuang CHAO+Tainan Community University, Julian CHARRIÈRE , CHEN Chu-Yin+Solar Insects Vivarium Workshop, Paris 8 University, Lucy DAVIS (The Migrant Ecologies Project) , ET@T , Laila Chin-Hui FAN, Futurefarmers, Tue GREENFORT, Ingo GÜNTHER, GUSTAFSSON & HAAPOJA, Henrik HÅKANSSON, Helen Mayer HARRISON & Newton HARRISON, Jeffrey HOU & Dorothy TANG, HSIAO Sheng-Chien, HUANG Hsin-Yao, Indigenous Justice Classroom, KE Chin-Yuan + “Our Island” , Keelong River Watch Union, KHVAY Samnang, Kuroshio Ocean Education Foundation, Candice LIN, Zo LIN—Weed Day, Duane LINKLATER, LU Ji-Ying, Nicholas MANGAN, Jumana MANNA, Mycelium Network Society (Franz XAVER + Taro + Martin HOWSE + Shu Lea CHEANG + global network nodes) , Open Green, Allan SEKULA, Rachel SUSSMAN, Vivian SUTER, Taiwan Thousand Miles Trail Association, WU Ming-Yi, Robert ZHAO Renhui, ZHENG Bo.

Taipei Biennial 2018 Events

As curator Francesco Manacorda explains, conversations between practitioners of different fields and discursive investigations are at the very center of this year Biennial’s structure and methodology. The symposia aim to expand some of the themes that artists have brought to the fore in the exhibition or that activists have been working on in their practice.

  • Between 17 and 18 November, Taipei Fine Arts Museum will host a series of talks, considering the sub-themes ‘Re-naturalizing Citizenship’ and ‘Democratizing Boundaries’.
  •  From 15 to 16 December, the talks will examine the sub-themes of ‘Re-politicizing Ecology’ and ‘Decolonizing Nature.’

The Taipei Biennial 2018 continues through March 10, 2019. For more information, visit tfam.museum/Taipei-Biennial.