Artists selected for 2009 Taiwan sculpture festival

Guandu International Outdoor Sculpture Festival opens June 13

Guandu Nature Park announces that the 2009 Guandu International Outdoor Sculpture Festival will take place at Guandu Nature Park in Taipei, Taiwan, from June 13 to September 27, 2009.  The 2009 Sculpture Festival will feature art installations by 8 international artists that focus on the environment and relate to “Land, Water and Culture.” Artists selected for the 2009 Festival are as follows:

Ashish Ghosh – India
Bonggi Park – Korea
Karen McCoy – USA
Merijn Vrij – Netherlands
Roy Staab – USA
Stuart Frost – Norway
Chao-chen Lee – Taiwan
Chun-sen Yang – Taiwan

These artists will all be working at Guandu Nature Park from June 1 – June 12 to make their site-specific outdoor sculpture installations. The artists will use sustainable natural materials and earth-friendly techniques, and will work with volunteers and staff at Guandu Nature Park to complete their artworks for the public opening on June 13 and June 14.  Each artist is creating a unique artwork about environmental problems related to land and water from the perspective of their own country and culture.

This year 238 artists from 48 countries sent proposals for the open international competition to select the artists to invite for the 2009 Festival. Jane Ingram Allen, American artist, independent curator and art critic working in Taiwan since 2004, is the curator for the Guandu Sculpture Festival. The curator made the selection of artists based on the proposal materials submitted and recommended artists for final selection at a meeting with Guandu Nature Park staff last week.

This is the 4th year of the annual international outdoor sculpture festival at Guandu Nature Park.  The exhibition began in 2006 and has continued each year with increasing international recognition. The Festival is supported by the Wild Bird Society of Taipei (managers of Guandu Nature Park), the City of Taipei, the Council for Cultural Affairs and other sponsors.  See the website at http://www.gd-park.org.tw for information about Guandu Nature Park and the website at http://www.colorfultree.com.tw/gdpark/ for information and photos of the 2008 Festival.