Contemporary Indigenous Art in Taiwan

Contemporary Indigenous art in Taiwan has undergone a profound transformation over the past 30 years. Beginning in the 1990s, a group of Indigenous artists moved beyond their communities and entered the mainstream art world, using their work to redefine what “Indigenous art” means. Beyond serving as preservers of traditional crafts, they also became creators in dialogue with contemporary issues, presenting the many faces of Taiwan’s Indigenous cultures across diverse art platforms¹.

From Traditional Crafts to Contemporary Transformation

The Artistic Foundations of Traditional Crafts

Each of Taiwan’s Indigenous peoples possesses sophisticated traditional craft techniques, and these skills have become vital nourishment for contemporary creation. Atayal weaving, Paiwan woodcarving, Amis pottery, and Tao boatbuilding each contain deep cultural meanings and aesthetic ideas.

Atayal weaving is especially refined. Textiles woven on traditional ground looms use geometric motifs such as diamonds and stripes, and each motif has a specific name and meaning. The “eye of the ancestral spirits” pattern represents ancestral protection, while “sunlight rays” symbolize the force of life. These patterns are not merely decorative; they are carriers of collective memory.

Paiwan woodcarving and stone carving are equally striking. The hundred-pace viper motif, human-head motif, and sun motif are the most classic elements, embodying Paiwan reverence for the natural world and for ancestors. Traditional woodcarving was often used to decorate the houses of chiefs, displaying noble status and social rank.

These traditional skills face crises of transmission in the contemporary era, but they also provide rich materials and sources of inspiration for contemporary art. Many Indigenous artists reinterpret these traditional elements in their work, allowing ancient techniques to gain new life in modern contexts.

The Transition from Tradition to the Contemporary

In the late 1980s, Taiwanese society began to place greater emphasis on multiculturalism, and the visibility of Indigenous art increased. The 1988 “Taiwan Indigenous Art Festival” marked the starting point for Indigenous art’s entry into the mainstream art system¹. The event not only exhibited traditional crafts but also encouraged innovative creation.

During the same period, some Indigenous artists began receiving modern art education, studying Western techniques such as oil painting, sculpture, and printmaking. In the course of this training, they reflected on how to combine traditional culture with modern art, opening up an exploration of the “contemporization of traditional crafts.”

This transition was not smooth. Early works were often questioned as either “not traditional enough” or “not contemporary enough,” and artists had to find a balance between maintaining cultural authenticity and pursuing artistic innovation. After years of experimentation, contemporary Indigenous art in Taiwan gradually developed its own distinctive features and vocabulary.

Major Artists and Creative Trajectories

First-Generation Pioneers

Sakinu Pawavalung is an important pioneer of contemporary Indigenous art in Taiwan. This Paiwan artist began creating in the 1980s, combining traditional Paiwan woodcarving techniques with concepts from contemporary installation art. His Ancestral Spirit House Series transforms the idea of the traditional house into large-scale installations, re-creating Paiwan sacred space within the museum.

Cultural revitalization is the central concern of Sakinu’s practice. He established a studio in Sandimen, Pingtung County, where he trains a younger generation in woodcarving and transmits traditional skills to urban Indigenous youth. For related creative ideas, see the artist pages of the Council of Indigenous Peoples’ Taiwan Indigenous Peoples Cultural Development Center.

Yuma Taru is a major advocate for Atayal weaving art. Since the 1990s, she has devoted herself to revitalizing traditional weaving, not only preserving traditional techniques but also bringing weaving into the field of contemporary art. The “Lihang Studio” she founded has become a key base for promoting Atayal weaving culture².

While maintaining traditional techniques, Yuma’s textile works boldly experiment with new combinations of colors and patterns. Her large-scale textile installation Words of the Ancestral Spirits was exhibited at the 2010 Taipei Biennial, allowing the international art world to see the contemporary appeal of Taiwan’s Indigenous weaving.

Second-Generation Breakthrough Figures

Rahic Talif is a contemporary artist of Amis background whose work boldly challenges the boundary between tradition and modernity. He has participated in major international exhibitions many times and is one of the most visible artists representing contemporary Indigenous art from Taiwan in international contexts².

Rahic’s Wish/Origin series explores the complexity of Indigenous identity. Using driftwood, discarded objects, and modern materials, he creates large-scale installations that reflect the situation of Indigenous peoples in modern society. In his works, driftwood symbolizes uprooted Indigenous people, while also conveying tenacious vitality.

His creative methods combine performance art, installation art, and video art, breaking the limits of traditional media. In the Venice Biennale work If You Were to Stand at the Center of the World and Shout Love, he used traditional Amis songs and contemporary video technology to create a powerful audiovisual experience.

An Sheng-hui is a Paiwan ceramic artist whose work brings traditional pottery techniques to the level of modern ceramic art. Her works combine the forms and firing techniques of Paiwan traditional pottery, but are freer and more experimental in form and concept.

An Sheng-hui’s Land Memory series uses clay to record Paiwan community spaces and memories of everyday life. She collects soil from different communities and mixes it into fired ceramics, allowing each work to carry the history and memory of a specific place.

Third-Generation Innovators

Eleng Luluan is a Rukai curator and artist who has long worked to advance the development of contemporary Indigenous art. The “Art Festival on the Slope” that she curated is an important platform for presenting the creative energy of a new generation of Indigenous artists. For details, see related information from the Indigenous Peoples Cultural Foundation.

Eleng’s curatorial philosophy emphasizes “de-marginalization.” She argues that Indigenous art should not be treated as “special” or as “the other,” but should instead be understood as an important component of contemporary art in Taiwan. Her exhibition So That Is How It Is reorganized the developmental context of Indigenous art in Taiwan and received high praise from the art world.

Lin Jie-wen is a younger-generation Amis artist whose work makes extensive use of new media technologies. His VR work The Amis Sea immerses viewers in Amis ocean culture and allows them to experience traditional fishing and hunting life.

Lin Jie-wen’s practice reflects the cultural experience of Indigenous people in the digital generation. He has said: “Our generation of Indigenous people has lived in a digital world since childhood, so creating with digital media is very natural. The key is how to use modern technology to convey ancient wisdom.”

Contemporary Issues and Cultural Dialogue

Explorations of Identity

The core issue facing contemporary Indigenous artists is identity. Most grew up in urban societies dominated by Han people, and their connections to traditional culture may have been fractured or become indistinct. How to reconnect with cultural roots while establishing a contemporary identity is an important theme in the work of many artists.

Etan Pavavalung’s photographic work Who Are We documents the lives of urban Indigenous people. He photographs Indigenous laborers, students, and office workers in Taipei, showing their efforts to maintain cultural identity within urban life.

In these photographs, we see office workers wearing suits while also wearing traditional necklaces, students working part-time in convenience stores while still speaking their Indigenous languages, and families living in apartments while continuing to perform traditional rituals. These images reflect the complexity and diversity of contemporary Indigenous identity.

Land and Environmental Issues

Land is the foundation of Indigenous culture and an important theme in contemporary art. Many artists use their work to express concern about land development and environmental destruction, speaking up for the land rights of Indigenous peoples.

Siki Sufin, an Atayal artist, exhibited his large-scale land art work Mother’s Calling in Jianshi Township, Hsinchu County. The work uses local stone to form a huge spiral structure, symbolizing the embrace of Mother Earth. Traditional plants are planted around the work, re-creating Atayal knowledge of plant use.

This work serves both aesthetic and environmental-education functions, while also acting as a site of cultural transmission. As viewers look at the work, they also learn about Atayal ecological wisdom.

Adaw Palaf Langasan, a Puyuma artist, created the video work Songs of Nuclear Waste, which documents the Tao people of Orchid Island and their resistance to the nuclear-waste storage site. In the work, Tao elders use traditional songs to express anger and grief over environmental pollution.

These works demonstrate Indigenous artists’ sense of social responsibility: they are at once aesthetic creators, cultural guardians, and voices for environmental issues.

Gender and Family Memory

In recent years, the voices of Indigenous women artists have become increasingly important. From the perspectives of women and mothers, they examine gender roles and family transmission within Indigenous cultures.

Iyo Kacaw is an Amis woman artist whose installation Mother’s Hands re-creates the living space of Amis women. At the center of the work is a huge stone mortar, surrounded by various traditional everyday tools, symbolizing the important position of women in the transmission of community culture.

The Amis are a matrilineal society, and women hold an important position in the family. Iyo’s work reminds viewers that women’s wisdom and contributions within Indigenous cultures are often overlooked and deserve to be rediscovered and respected.

Wan-mao Lu Sen-bao is a Puyuma woman artist whose fiber-art work Grandmother’s Stories uses traditional weaving techniques to create modern sculpture. In the work, various plant fibers interweave into complex net-like structures, symbolizing the transmission of family memory.

She has said: “Grandmother’s stories are woven by hand. Every knot is a memory, and every thread is a piece of history. My work is meant to make these invisible stories visible.”

International Stages and Global Dialogue

The Venice Biennale and International Platforms

In recent years, Taiwan’s Indigenous artists have become more visible in international exhibitions, with the Venice Biennale among the important stages. Rahic Talif’s work If You Were to Stand at the Center of the World and Shout Love has been shown in multiple international exhibitions. Using the traditional Amis song The Elder’s Drinking Song as its sonic background, it allows audiences from around the world to hear the voices of Taiwan’s Indigenous peoples².

The participation of Taiwan’s Indigenous artists in international settings carries symbolic significance for establishing the subjectivity of Indigenous culture. A creator from an Indigenous community in Taiwan speaking for Indigenous peoples in the international art field was a form of cultural visibility that was nearly absent before the 1990s.

International Networks of Indigenous Art

Taiwan’s Indigenous artists have built transnational connections, engaging in exchanges and collaborations with Indigenous artists from countries such as Canada, Australia, and New Zealand³. These transnational links have the dual character of artistic exchange and Indigenous rights movements³.

In 2018, the “Contemporary Indigenous Art Exhibition of Pacific Island Nations” was held at the Taipei Fine Arts Museum, inviting Indigenous artists from Taiwan, the Philippines, Indonesia, Australia, and other countries to exhibit together. The exhibition presented both the diversity and commonality of Austronesian cultures.

Non-Indigenous artists such as Tong Yang-tze have also supported the development of Indigenous art, collaborating with several Indigenous artists to promote cross-cultural dialogue. This model of cross-ethnic collaboration has brought new perspectives and possibilities to Taiwan’s art world.

Market Development and Industrialization

Opportunities and Challenges in the Art Market

Recognition of contemporary Indigenous art in Taiwan’s market has increased in recent years, but it still faces certain challenges. Traditional crafts have a stable collectors’ market, while market recognition of contemporary artworks still has room to grow.

Public museums such as the Kaohsiung Museum of Fine Arts and the Taipei Fine Arts Museum have already collected a substantial number of contemporary Indigenous artworks, helping establish standards for the market⁴. Private galleries and collectors have also begun paying attention to this field, though the overall market remains limited in scale.

One important trend is the discussion of “cultural authenticity.” Collectors and curators increasingly value the cultural backgrounds of works and the identities of their creators, which presents both opportunities and challenges for Indigenous artists.

Development of the Cultural and Creative Industries

Indigenous art is developing not only in the field of fine art but also in combination with the cultural and creative industries, producing diverse products and services.

The “Indigenous Cultural and Creative Industry Cluster” was established in Chenggong Township, Taitung County, bringing together multiple Indigenous artists and craftspeople to develop creative products with cultural characteristics. Products include modernized textile accessories, everyday goods incorporating traditional patterns, and clothing designs using Indigenous elements.

These attempts at industrialization face the issue of balancing “commercialization” and “cultural authenticity.” How to maintain cultural substance while pursuing commercial development is a challenge the industry must confront.

Over the past 30 years, contemporary Indigenous art in Taiwan has moved from the margins toward the center. Through their work, artists have shown that Indigenous culture is not merely cultural heritage in need of protection, but also a contemporary force capable of engaging the world in dialogue.

Rahic Talif’s installations, Sabu Kacaw’s photography, and Iyo Kacaw’s woven sculptures have long since moved beyond the framework of “community crafts,” becoming works that coexist with global contemporary art in artistic venues from Venice and Taipei to New York. Their works not only reveal the richness of Indigenous cultures but also inject irreplaceable vitality into contemporary art in Taiwan.

In an age of globalization, these voices from Indigenous communities appear all the more precious and important, because what they carry are memories and experiences that cannot be replicated anywhere else.

References

Further reading: History of Taiwan’s Indigenous Peoples and the Name Rectification Movement · Land Justice and Traditional Territories of Taiwan’s Indigenous Peoples · Cultural Map of Taiwan’s 16 Indigenous Peoples · Taiwan’s Indigenous Language Revitalization Movement · Taiwan Indigenous Foodways · Taiwanese Indigenous Ecological Wisdom and Environmental Conservation