Indigenous People Commission

After 23 years, the Taiwan Lantern Festival returned to Taipei again, creating a new style of the urban lantern festival. The World Taiwanese Lantern Association planned the exhibition area with the theme of "Flame Flow" and invited six groups of artists from different ethnic groups to create. The works have been completed and rehearsed in succession, and the unique aesthetic works are amazing.

Indigenous-themed works are located in the Baroque Garden, Royal Palm Boulevard, and Men's Bathhouse (P-L-A-C-E) in the Songshan Cultural and Creative Park. The exhibition area contains a total of six physical works and one digital work. Truku artist Lin Jiewen (Labay Eyong, Truku) created a pair of giant tribal women's legs with his sophisticated weaving technique. Located on the second floor of the Men's Bathhouse (P-L-A-C-E), this piece "Women's Minds Outside the Men's Bathhouse" is inspired by the image of tribal women sitting around the fire and chatting relaxedly, responding humorously and interestingly. It can also be viewed from different perspectives in the corridors on the first and second floors, bringing different feelings to the public.

Walking into the Baroque Garden, you will find the bright lighting on the Central Platform, "the Path with the Ancestral Spirits." Artist Iyo Kacaw (Amis) uses "bonfire" as the main design. The construction is 15 meters long and 7 meters high with a 360-degree transparent view, which is visually astonishing. At the same time, golden music-level music is produced. From 17:15, there will be a theatrical sound and light show every half an hour, which is bound to let the public experience the majestic original style of the lantern festival.

The other two works in the garden, "Aura of Stealth" (Tuwak Tuyaw, Kavalan, Chen Shuyan), were created based on the ancient fantasy stories of tribal elders by the fire. The lamps in the shape of ancient creatures, which look like fish but not fish, have a sense of the famous movie Avatar-The Way of Water. And "Vaavaaw Keeps the Heart Beating" (Malay Makakazuwan, Puyuma, Huang Jincheng), the artist is creating a vivid giant heart. With the light and shade expressing the sense of heartbeat, it blesses the people to work hard in the urban area with their original culture to continue to shine and glow.

There are also "Ancestral Spirit No. 6" (Reretan Pavavaljung, Paiwan) and "Friends in the Forests" (Pacake Taugadhu, Drekay) on Coconut Grove Avenue. "Ancestral Spirit No. 6" uses the Paiwan ancestral pillar as an image and presents it with a combination of three parts: the stove, the umbilical cord, and the ancestral pillar. It symbolizes the nutrients in the ups and downs of various civilizations, which are transported to the ancestral pillar. Through this carrier, the connection between the past and the present is found. "Friends in the Forests," full of Taiwan's native animals, is a digital interactive work. The cute animals appear alive in Songyan. It is hoped that the people who watch the lanterns will pass on the wisdom of the Indigenous Peoples in the mountains and forests and the concept of ecological conservation while having fun.

In addition, a digital work, "Lita kana da GO," scans the QR CODE through the mobile phone to cheer for the players in the upcoming 2023 National Indigenous Games. The public can freely choose the mascot Bear BRAVO! Icon with cheering words of various ethnic groups to create their unique photo of the Taiwan Lantern Festival and exchange limited-edition gifts. From physical offline to virtual online, Indigenous-themed works are brilliant and rich, with endless topics. It is hoped that people from all over the country who come to Taipei to watch lanterns can feel the style and characteristics of "Taipei Xinyuan Township."