By Liu Jiawen, compiled and reported
Want to explore what Taiwanese society was like in the 1960s? The “Nostalgia – Old Taiwan Life Photo Exhibition” offers an authentic glimpse into that era. Following its runs in Taipei and Kaohsiung, the final stop of this photo exhibition is Taichung, where it will be on display from now until December 29th on the first floor of the Wenhua Building at the New City Hall. A collection of 100 photos records many precious moments from that time, taking visitors back to the past.
The “Nostalgia – Old Taiwan Life Photo Exhibition” is on display in Taichung from now until December 29th. (Photo provided by the FuBang Cultural and Educational Foundation)
The black-and-white photos exhibited in this show cover eight major themes: President Eisenhower’s Visit, Troops on High Alert, Sunshine in the South, Mother, Childhood Inside and Outside the Home, The Distant Sea, Mountain Village Life, and Street Life. They also depict how Taiwan in the 1960s was gradually transitioning from an agricultural society to an industrial and commercial one, reflecting the nationwide drive for economic development during that era.
The exhibition showcases 100 black-and-white photos documenting life in Taiwan during the 1960s. (Photo provided by the FuBang Cultural and Educational Foundation)
The photos exhibited were taken by American Christian worker Sidney D. Gamble. He was stationed in Taiwan in 1960 to assist in distributing donations from American civilians. Over the course of two years, he traveled deep into Taiwan’s rural areas and outlying islands, capturing the social conditions of the time through his camera lens, amassing nearly 3,000 negatives. These old images of Taiwan had once been scattered across Europe and America, but were eventually collected by photo collector Hsü Tsung-mao in Europe—this is their first exhibition in Taiwan.