Yuguang Island Art Festival opens Saturday in Tainan

Taipei, March 25 (CNA) More than a dozen artists will exhibit works inspired by Yuguang Island's coastal scenery, at a biennial arts festival that starts March 27, Tainan Mayor Huang Wei-che (黃偉哲) said Wednesday.

The Yuguang Island Art Festival, to be held under the theme of "healing," is aimed at providing a soothing experience to visitors, after a turbulent year of battling with the COVID-19 pandemic and the effects of climate change, Huang said at a press event.

The exhibition will comprise 12 installations, created by 13 individual artists and groups, based on Yuguang Island scenery, which features beaches, ocean and forests and draws tourists all year round, the curator UrbanART Studio said.

Each installation reflects the artist's experience on the island off Tainan's southwest coast and seeks to explore the healing power of art and nature, said the studio, which is serving as curator for the third time since the biennial festival was launched in 2017.

One of the installations, "Quan House" by Feng Cheng-tsung (范承宗), was inspired by a type of fishing trap that is no longer in use in modern society, the studio said. Visitors can walk through the gigantic bamboo structure, the way a fish would swim into it, and ponder their relationship with that space, the studio said.

A piece titled "Will Become Trees and the Sky," by Japanese artist Abe Nyubo, includes a sculpture that portrays a traveler enjoying the vast sky and sea. The colors of the sculpture, ranging from yellowish-brown at the bottom to azure on the top, reflect the earth and sky, the studio added.

The opening of the festival Saturday afternoon will feature performances by award-winning singer-songwriter Summer Lei (雷光夏) and indie band I Mean Us. In the following three weeks, the festival will be open daily, with special weekend attractions such as street markets, guided tours, workshops, and food tasting events.

The festival will run through April 18, the organizers said, advising visitors to walk or take a shuttle bus across Yuguang Bridge, which links the main Tainan City to the island.

During the festival, the bridge will be closed 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. daily, and visitors will be required to register their names and contact information and also to wear a mask, the organizers said.