The New York Taiwanese American Arts Council (TAAC) organized a joint exhibition in New York with the theme “People’s Movement: Sunflower Movement’s Tenth Anniversary,” inviting Taiwanese and international artists to reflect on the youth-led political movements around the world from an artistic perspective that took place between 2014, including the Sunflower Movement in Taiwan, the Umbrella Movement in Hong Kong, the Arab Spring, the Winter in Chile, and the pro-European Union movement in Ukraine.
A total of 12 artists participated in the exhibition, with several of them having personally taken part in the Sunflower Movement. Taiwanese artist Liu Zongrong showcased a large painting titled “Shining in the Darkness,” depicting the people’s insistence on caring about public affairs, using the sunflower as a symbol of hope and sunshine to pay tribute to the people who stood guard on the streets. The Island’s Bright Light team, represented by Chen Jingyuan, presented a series of portraits of participants created during the Sunflower Movement period, documenting this historical moment. Photographer Hong Yanping brought documentary works on New York’s social movements, exploring issues such as race, labor movement, animal rights, gender equality, and the significant presence of women in street protests. Sculptor Guo Jiaxuan exhibited a bust of Lai Ching-te in a white robe.
Other works included the “One Prayer, One Painting” project by Taiwanese-American artist Lin Shibao on the humanitarian aspects of the Ukraine-Russia war; photography documenting the Umbrella Movement in Hong Kong by artist Wong Guocai (Kacey Wong); an animated video series “Syrian Quartet” by Syrian artist Murad (Kevork Mourad) commemorating the Arab Spring; a tribute to the victims of the Winter in Chile by Chilean artist Martin (María Verónica San Martín) in the art book “In Their Memory – Chile’s Violation of Human Rights”; and enamel works “Ukrainian Wedding Photo” and “Yellow Sunflower” by Ukrainian artist Kovar (Oleksii Koval) exploring the pro-European Union movement in Ukraine.
The exhibition “People’s Movement: Sunflower Tenth Anniversary” was sponsored by the Ministry of Culture’s “Taiwan Cultural Spotlight Project” and held in two phases. The first phase successfully took place in April at Tianli Cultural College, while the second phase is scheduled from May 10 to June 9 at Nolan Park on Governors Island in New York.
The exhibition on Governors Island for “People’s Movement: Sunflower Tenth Anniversary” runs from May 10 to June 9, located at Nolan Park on Governors Island in New York City at TAAC House 7b. You can find more information about the curation and exhibition at https://www.taac-us.org/.