Taiwan Technology X Culture Expo to open with 'Game' motif

Kaohsiung, June 30 (CNA) The 2024 Taiwan Technology X Culture Expo (TTXC), to be held in October, will focus on the theme of "gaming and entertainment," "virtual idols," and "technological art" at the Pier-2 Art Center in Kaohsiung, the city's Bureau of Cultural Affairs has announced.

With "Future at Play" as the slogan, visitors are invited to "press play" to experience the interweaving of culture and technology at the expo, the bureau said in a statement released on Thursday.

The expo will showcase performances, film, music, technology and industry, incorporating the Kaohsiung Film Festival and the Takao Rock music festival, as well as XR Dreamland, which is made of an international short film competition and an XR film competition, the bureau said.

Culture Minister Li Yuan (李遠) said that as the center of the semiconductor supply chain, Taiwan has an increasing number of cultural workers who are fusing artificial intelligence and XR (extended reality) technologies to pioneer artistic expressions as technology is advancing.

Kaohsiung Mayor Chen Chi-mai (陳其邁) said that the expo being held in the southern city reflects not only investments from high-tech industries, but also significant cultural events. Among these is XR Dreamland, the biggest XR film festival in Asia, he noted.

XR is an umbrella term that includes augmented reality (AR), virtual reality (VR) and mixed reality (MR). Related technologies aim to merge physical and virtual interactions.

Organized by the Ministry of Culture and Kaohsiung City Government, the expo will run from Oct. 12-27. The Taiwan Creative Content Agency, central government ministries, local governments and private enterprises have all joined in to showcase Taiwan's strengths in culture and technology, the statement said.

According to the city bureau, Takao Rock will be held on Oct. 11-13, drawing the curtains for the expo with more than 60 singers and bands from Taiwan and around the world.

Early bird tickets for the complete music festival will be on sale on Opentix starting at noon on July 8, it said.