Giant red ball finishes its 10-day run in Tainan

Taipei, April 8 (CNA) A giant inflatable red ball has completed its 10-day run in Tainan, which city officials said brought new attention to the city's cultural and historical sites despite suffering a setback on Friday.

The red ball, measuring 4.5 meters (15 feet) in diameter, appeared at several Tainan attractions, including Yong Le Market, Tainan Park, Anping Old Fort and Zhuxi Waterfront Park before concluding its March 29-April 7 run at the city's Great South Gate.

The event coincided with the city's celebration of its 400th anniversary, and the sites where the ball appeared were chosen in advance by the ball's creator, American artist Kurt Perschke, who was in Tainan during the past two weeks.

Huang Jo-hsun (黃若珣), the event's curator, told CNA on Sunday that Perschke said each appearance of the red ball aligned with his idea of the exhibition, and it apparently made its mark, attracting over 100,000 people in all, according to a city government estimate.

Hsieh Shih-yuan (謝仕淵), director-general of the city's Cultural Affairs Bureau, said in a statement Sunday that the installation artwork had a visual impact on ordinary streets and guided onlookers to rediscover Tainan's historical sites, which Huang said was the purpose of the show.

While sites such as Tainan Park, Anping Old Fort and the Great South Gate were already well-known, many local residents may not have visited those places for a long time, and the event sparked interest and highlighted Tainan's cultural richness, Huang said.

The ball did have one mishap along the way, accidentally bursting after being pierced by scaffolding on April 5 near the Xinhua Council House, which was built in 1934 during the Japanese colonial period.

Fortunately, the damage was repairable, and the ball was put on display at 3 p.m., about five hours later than scheduled.

As the red ball campaign concluded Sunday, Tainan Mayor Huang Wei-che (黃偉哲) said that the red ball will take Tainan's blessings with it wherever it goes next.

The city will also roll out another event at sites not chosen by the artist, Huang said in a statement Monday.

That event will be held in places such as the Tainan Public Library New Main Library, the Xinying Cultural Center, and the YueJin Art Museum. Visitors can participate in games and win limited mini red balls that have been authorized by Perschke, the statement said.

Since 2001, the RedBall Project has traveled to more than 40 cities globally, including Barcelona, Montreal, Sydney and Taipei, which it visited in April 2010, according to the artwork's website.