Taiwan Culture in Europe 2025-The visual arts exhibition program

Exhibition Synopsis

The visual arts exhibition program of Taiwan Culture in Europe 2025 in Europe will unfold across multiple European countries from September to November in four major events. “Revealing Taiwan Through Design” opens Sept. 10, “Ocean Taiwan: Landscapes and Paintings” and “Gloria: Taiwanese Artist Hsieh Sheng-Min’s Religious and HOPE artworks”, and “Taiwan in the Spotlight: Design Excellence” opens Nov. 7.

Exhibition Locations

The exhibitions will be staged across numerous locations in Europe. “Ocean Taiwan: Landscapes and Paintings” will tour 23 of Taiwan’s diplomatic missions, including locations in Austria, Belgium, Czechia, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Lithuania, Latvia, Poland, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, the Netherlands and the U.K. “Revealing Taiwan Through Design” will be presented at the Taipei Representative Office in the United Kingdom, while “Gloria” will be hosted at the embassy to the Holy See in Vatican City. Finally, “Taiwan in the Spotlight: Design Excellence” is being organized by the Taipei Representative Office in Germany.

Curatorial Vision

This program aligns with President Lai Ching-te’s policy of values-based diplomacy and Foreign Minister Lin Chia-lung’s promotion of cultural diplomacy. The varied projects and events under the umbrella of Taiwan Culture in Europe 2025 showcase Taiwan’s rich cultural heritage and the creative vitality of its contemporary design and art, while enhancing the nation’s visibility and influence on the international stage.

Core Concept

The exhibitions are organized around the theme “Design Horizons: Images of Taiwan.” Through the language of contemporary design and visual expression, it presents Taiwan’s cultural character and creative spirit, fostering understanding and goodwill toward Taiwan across Europe.

Exhibition Highlights

The exhibition program, curated with international expertise, brings together Taiwanese designers alongside award-winning works from the global stage. It embraces a rich spectrum of media—ink, watercolor, oil and more—while incorporating interactive experiences and professional exchange. In doing so, the program becomes a vital platform for cultural dialogue. Beyond enhancing the international visibility of Taiwanese design and art, it also deepens connections between Taiwan and Europe in design education, cross-disciplinary collaboration, and the cultural and creative industries.

Vision and Goals

Through this program of exhibitions, European audiences are invited to move beyond impressions shaped solely by politics and economics in order to gain a deeper appreciation of Taiwanese land and culture. Harnessing the visual power of art, the program seeks to forge a distinct cultural identity while opening the broader international stage to Taiwanese designers and artists.

Curator Introductions

Apex Lin, Pang-Soong

Acclaimed as a mentor to Taiwan’s design community, Lin was awarded the National Award for Arts in fine arts in 2007 and the Ministry of Culture’s Taiwanese Cultural Collaboration Medal in 2023. In 1991, he founded the Taiwan Image Poster Design Association, uniting Taiwanese graphic designers in an annual creative endeavor. Through these posters, the association has joined international competitions and global design exchanges. Over the years, Taiwan Image posters have garnered numerous awards at major international design contests and served as a powerful medium for cultural exchange worldwide, a vibrant voice through which the world sees Taiwan.

Liao Ren-yi

An art historian, museum scholar, and curator, he has held a number of distinguished posts, including director of the Graduate Institute of Museum Studies at Taipei National University of the Arts, director of the Research Center for Traditional Arts, director of the Taiwan Cultural Center in Paris under the Ministry of Culture, and Director of the National Taiwan Museum of Fine Arts.

Liou Bi-shiu

Liou is an art historian, critic and curator who earned a doctorate in Art Studies from Taipei National University of the Arts and is currently an assistant professor in the Department of Fine Arts at National Taiwan Normal University.