2025 Matsu Biennial kicks off

Taipei, Sept. 5 (CNA) The 2025 Matsu Biennial kicked off Friday in Taiwan's Lienchiang County (Matsu Islands), featuring more than 50 artworks and installations by 55 teams from nine countries.

The event is hosted by the county government and the General Association of Chinese Culture (GACC), and runs from Sept. 5 to Nov. 16, featuring works by artists from Taiwan, Hong Kong, Japan, South Korea, Malaysia, Australia, the United States, Spain and Canada.

Themed "Pha-Jiu -- Your Sea, My Land," the biennial opened with a dance performance inspired by a local fishing tradition in which men drive large wooden stakes, or "jiu" in Eastern Hokkien, into the seabed to secure fishing nets.

A new app was also launched for the event, offering visitors commentary on the artworks as they approach each exhibit, said Lienchiang County Magistrate Wang Chung-ming (王忠銘) in the event's opening speech.

Currently in its third edition, Wang said the introduction of the app represents a "breakthrough" in the biennial's history and a key step in Matsu's digital transformation.

Conceived as a 10-year project beginning in 2022, he said the biennial will ultimately transform Matsu into an "island of art" by the end of the decade.

GACC Secretary General Lee Hou-ching (李厚慶) also said this year's event carries extra significance.

Echoing the fishery theme, he likened this year's event to a "bountiful catch" following two years of groundwork, and pledged continued support from the GACC.