Southern Taipei at night can be so different! On May 24th, Taiwan Tech hosted a unique outdoor projection immersive performance titled “Mixer” at the campus entrance. The content was created by a team of resident artists and students, bringing a bright and lively evening to the southern Taipei area. The performance was jointly prepared by teachers and students, showcasing Taiwan Tech's excellent learning and execution capabilities.

For the first time, Taiwan Tech hosted a nighttime outdoor projection art exhibition, projecting onto the facade of the International Building at the campus entrance.

To expand the interdisciplinary creativity, artistic literacy, and diverse perspectives of its students and faculty, Taiwan Tech has launched a new wave of the “Artist-in-Residence Program” with a focus on “Technological Art”. The program invites two young contemporary artists, Hsuan-Ming Chen and Jui-Min Huang from the renowned domestic art team Nine Grid Design, to reside on campus. They offer general education courses to help students from various backgrounds try their hand at audiovisual art creation.

Artist-in-residence Hsuan-Ming Chen stated, “This time, we’re not having students assist artists in completing pre-planned content. Instead, we’re providing them with resources, support, and discussions, allowing them to explore and find meaningful themes they want to pursue. Students use their unique skills and newly acquired knowledge to construct their own works, so they can create freely in the future without hesitation.”

Many students taking the course have no prior experience in artistic creation and must complete a three-stage development process, from receiving guidance from artists in body development, audiovisual translation, software editing, filming techniques, group creation, and finally, preparing and executing various live performances. The course is designed to enhance self-awareness, environmental perception, interdisciplinary collaborative skills, and expressive creativity, presenting a significant challenge and offering substantial learning rewards for non-art and design students.

“Mixer” means that in an era of rapid and complex digital information flow, people must develop multiple skills and identities. Engineers can also be artists and creators. Students from diverse backgrounds learn, intersect, collide, absorb, and integrate to become sources of their own creativity. The four groups' video creations include: “Renaissance”, “Dotted Notes”, “Colorful”, and “Inside and Out”.

The work “Renaissance” 

Cheng-Chia Luo, a senior in the Department of Computer Science and Information Engineering, who was responsible for the music production of “Renaissance”, explained that the piece narrates the emotional journey of practicing traditional Chinese music alone, facing setbacks, and experiencing a range of emotions such as joy, anger, sorrow, and happiness. His favorite part is the introspective segment that transitions from “sorrow” to “resilience”.

The work “Colorful”

Meng-Ting Tsai, a fifth-year student from NTU's Department of Pharmacy and a member of the “Colorful” team, believes that taking this course at another university allowed her to learn things she never thought she could master, and she gained a lot from the experience. She mentioned that her favorite part was the depiction of fear, where the atmosphere was well-crafted. She found the editing process so intense that she could hardly watch, indicating the success of the piece.

The work "Mixer" by resident artists Hsuan-Ming Chen and Jui-Min Huang uses visual blending and mixing to liquefy, stir, merge, and churn, resulting in multiple reproductions and redefinitions.

Taiwan Tech hosted its inaugural nighttime outdoor projection art exhibition, illuminating the facade of the International Building at the campus entrance. The event kicked off with the premiere of “Mixer”, a new creation by resident artists Hsuan-Ming Chen and Jui-Min Huang, featuring collaborative performances by dancer Chih-Ying Hsieh and musician Pei-Yuan Chen. The gorgeous and profound content transformed the once quiet campus nightscape into a vibrant hub of artistic intellect.

The work “Mix” presents the unknown feeling of fireworks produced by each combination.

Resident artists Hsuan-Ming Chen and Jui-Min Huang collaborated with dancer Chih-Ying Hsieh and musician Pei-Yuan Chen to create and perform “Mixer”, a visually immersive experience.

After the performance, students further organized a final exhibition to showcase their creative journey. All walks of life are welcome to come and exchange ideas. This course not only provides students with a more diverse cultivation of creativity but also serves as a medium to foster community engagement. Through collaborations with neighboring organizations like the Treasure Hill Artist Village, it advances the practice of university campus social responsibility, fostering a sense of community in the southern district of Taipei.

Group photo of all performers and students.

Exhibition Information:

"Mixer Exhibition"

Date: June 4th to June 7th, 2024 (10:00 to 17:00 daily, until 16:00 on June 7th)

Location: Taiwan Tech Gallery (1st Floor, International Building, Taiwan Tech)

Website: https://reurl.cc/oR524Q