"Happy Together": 400 Taiwanese faces in the heart of Avignon, France

In recognition of Taiwan's longstanding 17-year collaboration, Festival Off Avignon has invited Taiwan to be the "Pays invité d'honneur du festival Off Avignon 2024," meaning "Guest of Honor" for the 2024 edition. This is also the first time the festival has ever invited a country to be the guest of honor. 

"Happy Together" conveys Taiwan culture as the "invité d'honneur" role in Festival Off Avignon. 

Additionally, this year marks the 30th anniversary of the Centre Culturel de Taïwan à Paris. To commemorate this historical moment, the Centre Culturel de Taïwan à Paris and Plan b Inc. have launched "Inside Out Taiwan OFF Avignon — Happy Together." This action features hundreds of Taiwanese portraits encircling the Village du Off, showcasing Taiwan's cultural diversity to over 2 million visitors from nearly 150 countries. 

Taiwan's rich historical backgrounds and diverse ethnic identities have fostered unique cultures. The free and inclusive social atmosphere allows everyone to live harmoniously and happily together, aligning with Festival Off Avignon's core values of diversity and freedom. During the festival, art groups perform freely in the city, across theaters, schools, and streets.

Hundreds of Taiwanese portraits encircle the Village du Off, showcasing Taiwan's culture of diversity and freedom. 

The action started in traditional markets, an essential place in Taiwanese people’s daily lives, and blue-and-white canvas patterns, commonly used for shading in markets, were used as backdrops. Six culturally iconic markets across Taiwan were selected: Min Nan culture in Diyi Market (Lukang, Changhua), immigrant culture in Zhongzhen Market (Zhongli, Taoyuan), seaport culture in Anping Fish Market (Anping, Tainan), mainlander culture in Chenggong Market (Daan, Taipei), Hakka culture in Zhongyang Market (Zhudong, Hsinchu), and international culture in Shidong Market (Tianmu, Taipei). Three photographers with diverse backgrounds were invited for the photo shoot, attracting over 400 participants to join the action.

The portraits were taken in six traditional markets using a blue-and-white canvas as a backdrop. 

With the assistance of the Inside Out Team, posters were pasted using boom lifts and ground-level efforts. Visitors from around the globe, seeing Taiwanese faces adorning historical buildings, felt the stories come to life through their expressions. This reflects the core mission of the Inside Out Project, which seeks to convey powerful messages through human faces. 

Plan b and the Inside Out Team collaborated on the installation process. 

"Seeing the portraits of Taiwanese people hanging on the walls at the Village du Off is truly moving." said one participant. Taiwanese participants were also deeply affected. "This action made us realize that we all grew up in this land of diversity and freedom." Most Taiwanese have always felt a deep desire to connect with the world because of the unique international situation. Now, Taiwan’s art and culture can be proudly showcased at this world-class art festival through the Inside Out Project. Within the posters of sincere and joyful smiles, visitors of the festival are inspired and curious to learn more about Taiwanese society and culture.

Visitors from around the globe gather beneath Taiwanese portraits and enjoy the moment. 

What inspired you to create your Action?

Growing up in Taiwan, most Taiwanese have always felt a deep desire to connect with the world because of the unique international situation. However, when we reach out, we find art as a universal language. Through art, we find equality, love, and inclusion. Over the past 17 years, Taiwanese performance art groups have actively participated in the Festival Off d’Avignon, and we’re proud to be part of this global artistic community.
This year, since Taiwan has been invited as the "invité d'honneur”, the guest of honor, of one of the biggest art festivals in the world, it was the perfect chance to present the culture and values of Taiwan through the form of art. 

What did you aim to accomplish with your Action?

Despite all the challenges we face – earthquakes, typhoons, and complicated geopolitics – the resilience and perseverance of the Taiwanese people are truly remarkable. We have managed to flourish on this beautiful island. Taiwan's rich ethnic diversity thrives due to our commitment to freedom and inclusivity. Therefore, we have chosen the theme “Happy Together”  to show the world how much we appreciate life and our belief in a better future.

Who helped you carry out your project? How did they help you? What were the reactions of the participants? Is there a particular story they would like to share?

To bring this project alive, we collaborated with Plan b Inc., the project coordinator of this action and also the first consulting firm in Taiwan to work with a  Sustainable Development mindset. They were in charge of the photo shoot in Taiwan and the execution of the installation in Avignon.
Avignon Festival & Compagnies, the host of  Festival Off d’Avignon, meticulously organized all the details in the Village du Off, providing us with a vibrant venue for the installation. The Inside Out Team guided us from the project's inception, assisting us throughout the entire process.
For the participants, as we aim to highlight the diverse culture and freedom of our land as well as the positive energy of the Taiwanese people, the photograph featured people in six markets from north to south of Taiwan: Diyi Market (Lukang, Changhua), Zhongzhen Market (Zhongli, Taoyuan), Anping Fish Market (Anping, Tainan), Chenggong Market (Daan, Taipei), Zhongyang Market (Zhudong, Hsinchu), and Shidong Market (Tianmu, Taipei). Each reflects different types of ethnic or industrial culture across the nation.
The community in each market enthusiastically assisted us in finding suitable shooting locations and facilitated communication with local vendors. We invited three photographers — Ivy Chen, Ricor Lee, and Chong Kok Yew — with diverse backgrounds to join the project, attracting over 400 participants of different ages, genders, and ethnicities.
People gladly accepted our invitation to be part of the project. They gave us full support and were happy to represent their hometown. 

What was the impact of your action on your community? How did people react? Was it significant for your participants and your community?
After the launch, members of our community expressed pride in how Taiwan is portrayed to the world and in their role in conveying the nation's diversity and spirit of freedom through their portraits.
The performance groups representing Taiwan at the Festival Off Avignon were excited to see their hometown featured at this international event. Participants from the markets were amazed that their faces had been carried from Taiwan to France. Other Taiwanese people who learned about the project through the press and social media were eager to see the exhibition in person. "This action made us realize that we all grew up in this land of diversity and freedom." said one participant. They were proud to see Taiwan in the spotlight for audiences worldwide. 

What challenges did you face along the way? How did you solve them?

We were a diverse team with partners from different countries, Taiwan, France, and the United States. Overcoming time differences and geographical challenges, we found the experience of connecting with people with different backgrounds to be both fascinating and rewarding.

On the day of the festival opening and our project launch, we encountered some noise from China. However, as Taiwanese, we remain committed to upholding the values we believe in, and we have received support from Festival Off d’Avignon, which allows us to express our voices authentically. Through the Inside Out Project, our action perfectly echoes the spirit of diversity and freedom.

Click here to see more from this Action!