Artists Rally Behind Taiwan at Gwangju Biennale as Pavilion Name Dispute Escalates

Thirty-six artists and curators at the Gwangju Biennale have signed an open letter demanding that the biennial's foundation restore the name "Taiwan Pavilion" to its Taiwanese exhibition, just days before the event's 16th edition opens with a preview on September 4 Artnet.

The dispute centres on a name change the foundation made without what Taiwanese participants call adequate consultation. The exhibition had been renamed "NTMoFA," an acronym for its commissioner, the National Taiwan Museum of Fine Arts. On August 15, the Taiwanese exhibitors said the renaming went ahead despite repeated objections from the museum Artnet.

The situation has moved beyond words. The Taiwanese exhibitors said they had been locked out of the Gwangju Biennale venue, the Asia Culture Center, since August 18, leaving them more than a week behind on installation. Taiwan's culture ministry said on August 25 that the foundation had "sternly protested" the refusal to admit Taiwanese pavilion personnel — and alleged that the foundation suggested relocating the Taiwan exhibition to a smaller storage space Artnet.

The ministry asked the Gwangju Biennale Foundation to officially respond by Wednesday to the request to reinstate the name "Taiwan Pavilion."

The artists' open letter, which had 38 signatories, included 16 artists from the biennial's main exhibition and representatives from 12 pavilion projects. Signatories include the Indian collective CAMP, South Korean filmmaker Park Chan-kyong, Seoul artist Dew Kim, and Geumhyung Jeong Artnet.

The Taiwanese participants made three demands: restore the name "Taiwan Pavilion," disclose the grounds for changing it, and allow full access to the venue Taipei Times.

The Gwangju Biennale Foundation has pushed back. In a statement on August 19, it said the NTMoFA registered its participation as an institution rather than as a national pavilion, framing the name change as an administrative matter. The foundation rejected accusations of political censorship and said it "will continue to respect the autonomy of all participants and operate the Pavilion project fairly" Euronews; Ocula.

The name question carries weight beyond South Korea. Taiwan's exhibition has been an official collateral event at the Venice Biennale since 2003, after it lost its national pavilion status there — a change driven by diplomatic pressure from Beijing, which considers Taiwan part of its territory Artnet. The Gwangju exhibitors, in their own August 15 letter, described censorship of art as a global issue and condemned major powers for using diplomatic pressure and economic resources to interfere beyond their borders Artnet.

The biennial — a collateral event of the Venice Biennale, the recurring international exhibition held in Venice, Italy — is the oldest of its kind in Asia. Its 16th edition opens with a preview on September 4.