On the opening weekend, November 1 and 2, 2025 the Biennial hosts a two-day forum of 6 panels, delving deeper into themes of yearning, belonging, dissonance, history, seeing and collaboration. The event will feature conversations and contributions from nearly 30 acclaimed artists and thinkers. Building on the exhibition’s presentation, these sessions spark discussions and exchanges on art’s ability to probe deeply, challenge assumptions, and open new possibilities.
November 1（Saturday）
14:00 – 14:10
Remarks
Li-Chen Loh Director, Taipei Fine Arts Museum
Introduction
Sam Bardaouil Curator, Taipei Biennial 2025
Till Fellrath Curator, Taipei Biennial 2025
14:10 – 15:10
On Belonging: How to dwell somewhere in between
What does it mean to belong when home is never one place alone? The artists on this panel reflect on lives and practices formed between cultures, countries, and identities. Their stories remind us that in-betweenness is not just displacement, but also possibility.
Moderator
Shao-Chien Tseng Chair, Graduate Institute of Art Studies, National Central University
Artists
Ivana Bašić Artist, Taipei Biennial 2025
Mona Hatoum Artist, Taipei Biennial 2025
Anna Jermolaewa Artist, Taipei Biennial 2025
Kiriakos Tompolidis Artist, Taipei Biennial 2025
15:30 – 16:30
On Dissonance: How to find power in vulnerability
Dissonance can feel like fracture, but it can also be strength. In this conversation, artists share how they work with fragility, conflict, and contradiction to create new forms of expression. Vulnerability becomes not a weakness but a source of power.
Moderator
Yi-Wei Keng Dramaturg, National Kaohsiung Center for the Arts
Artists
Fatma Abdulhadi Artist, Taipei Biennial 2025
Joeun Kim Aatchim Artist, Taipei Biennial 2025
Skyler Chen Artist, Taipei Biennial 2025
Yeesookyung Artist, Taipei Biennial 2025
17:00 – 18:00
On Yearning: How to sense the world
Yearning is not just an emotion, it’s a way of perceiving. This session brings together writers and curators to ask how longing shapes our senses—how it can guide us to notice things we might otherwise overlook. From literature to visual art, the panel explores how desire becomes a tool for seeing the world differently.
Moderator
Chien-Hung Huang Professor, Graduate Institute of Trans-disciplinary Arts, Taipei National University of the Arts
Panelists
Ming-Yi Wu Writer, Artist, Environmental Activist
Mal-Soon Choi Chair, Graduate Institute of Taiwanese Literature, National Chengchi University
Sam Bardaouil Curator, Taipei Biennial 2025
Till Fellrath Curator, Taipei Biennial 2025
November 2 (Sunday)
14:00 – 15:00
On History: Past images through the present lens
History is never just the past—it is always reframed in the present. This session looks at how artists revisit archives, myths, and memories to challenge official narratives. Together, they ask how images of the past can open new ways of imagining the future.
Moderator
Wen Liu Associate Research Fellow, Institute of Ethnology, Academia Sinica
Artists
Zih-Yan Ciou Artist, Taipei Biennial 2025
Omar Mismar Artist, Taipei Biennial 2025
Hiraki Sawa Artist, Taipei Biennial 2025
Sung Tieu Artist, Taipei Biennial 2025
15:10 – 16:10
On Seeing: Universes big and small
To see is to expand the scale of our attention—from the vastness of the cosmos to the intimacy of a single gesture. The artists in this panel explore different dimensions of vision: ecological, architectural, astronomical, and personal. Their works reveal how even the smallest detail can hold entire worlds.
Moderator
Ching-Yueh Roan Novelist, Architect, Critic, Curator
Artists
Isaac Chong Wai Artist, Taipei Biennial 2025
Henrique Oliveira Artist, Taipei Biennial 2025
Chia-Yun Wu Artist, Taipei Biennial 2025
Ruyi Zhang Artist, Taipei Biennial 2025
16:30 – 17:30
On Collaboration: Rethinking models of patronage
Art today is sustained by many forms of support—from government foundations to private collectors, from corporate initiatives to individual patrons commissioning new work. This session highlights the breadth of ways artists, museums, and institutions like the Taipei Biennial are supported, and how these models shape the cultural landscape. Here, leading voices join the curators of the 2025 Taipei Biennial to explore how patronage can move beyond transaction toward responsibility, experimentation, and shared vision.
Moderator
Jo Hsiao Senior Curator, Taipei Fine Arts Museum
Panelists
Sam Bardaouil Curator, Taipei Biennial 2025
Till Fellrath Curator, Taipei Biennial 2025
Aya Al Bakree CEO, Diriyah Biennale Foundation, Saudi Arabia
Erica Yu-Wen Huang Director, CTBC Foundation for Arts and Culture
Grace Cheung Executive Director, Hong Foundation
Patrick Sun Executive Director, Sunpride Foundation
Venue
Auditorium, Taipei Fine Arts Museum
※ Simultaneous Interpretation in Mandarin and English Provided
More information and registration HERE