Text by MOOK Scenic Spots Home – Compiled Report
The 2016 North Coast Art Festival officially launched on September 1. Works spanned six major areas of the North Coast, where 26 domestic and international artists collaborated to create 20 site-specific artworks. The festival also integrated art mini-tours, exciting performances, workshops, and other activities, transforming the North Coast into an artistic coastline that connects local cultural heritage, mountain-sea terraced fields, flower seas, and other natural landscapes—offering food, performances, and art experiences all in one.
Work by Xie Xinting: Bombing Flames at No. 14 Site. (Image source / New Taipei City Government)
The art festival specially invited Taiwanese artist Lin Shunlung to be based at the Tamsui Customs Wharf in the Tamsui area. Lin has been invited for three consecutive editions to participate in the Echigo-Tsumari Art Triennale and the Setouchi Triennale in Japan. His works are mainly public art, often using the creative process to explore emotional connections between people, land, and living environments. His newly created work, “Drifting Chronicles,” crafted from driftwood, features an overturned ancient ship whose hull has been transformed into an island.
Work by Lin Shunlung: Drifting Chronicles. (Image source / New Taipei City Government)
Eighteen selected artists were stationed across six North Coast regions—Tamsui, Bali, Sanchi, Shimen, Jinshan, and Wanli—each using different materials and themes to develop diverse on-site creations and interactions. The materials ranged from natural elements such as bamboo, miscanthus, and rice straw to synthetic ones like PET bottles and fishing nets, bringing a rich variety of expressions to the North Coast Art Festival. They showcased the diverse aesthetics of mountains, sea, and earth, conveyed care for the land and local connections, and reshaped new regional values.
Works by Dai Suzhen and Chen Yiling: Message in a Bottle. (Image source / New Taipei City Government)
Works by Chuang Yaping and Ai Shu Creative: Book Station. (Image source / New Taipei City Government)
In addition to on-site art installations, the 2016 North Coast Art Festival also organized a series of activities during the exhibition period, including interactive art workshops, cultural performances, art markets, and North Coast art mini-tours. These initiatives gathered the area’s abundant artistic energy, connected emotions between the local environment and its people, and rekindled a sense of home and identity.