The ART SOLO 2023 Strengthening Taiwan's art market mechanisms and stimulating the urban vitality of art exhibitions!

The ART SOLO, organized by Taiwan Art Gallery Association (TAGA), focuses on artists’ solo exhibitions. Among the multitude of art fairs, ART SOLO uses the artist’s individual features and creative context, in combination with the curatorial prowess of the art galleries, to focus on in-depth interaction and communication between the audience and art. ART SOLO 2023 continued its presence at Taipei Expo Park Expo Dome, and while the event continued to promote art and culture events in the area around the Expo Park and Taipei Fine Arts Museum. It seeks to introduce itself to younger audience through collaborations with nearby stores and event-exclusive activities. The concept of sustainable management was also extended to Museum of Contemporary Art Taipei and the Zhongshan Linear Park, in order to promote the development of art and culture in the area.

The Ministry of Culture of the Republic of China served as a co-organizer of ART SOLO 2023 for the first time, showing Taiwan’s emphasis on art and culture; this year’s exhibition was attended by 10 foreign galleries (bringing with them 15 foreign artists), spanning 6 countries and regions (Japan, Malaysia , South Korea, Uganda, Hong Kong, and Singapore). The presence of the Ministry of Culture as a co-organizer also raised the event to the level of a national exhibition.

Appreciating the depth of the artists’ creative contexts and challenging the curatorial abilities of the galleries

The biggest feature of ART SOLO is the concept of "SOLO" – that of a solo exhibition art fair. In the past, the venue of an exhibition or fair was always rich and diverse because of the element of exposition. However, the form of the solo exhibition not only allows visitors to fully appreciate the entirety of a single artist’s creations in one booth, but also allows artists to use various approaches to present their creative context, such as selecting a series of works created over the years, or publicizing their creations from recent years in a more comprehensive manner, so that art lovers can better understand the concept and inspiration behind the works, and to comprehend and feel the meaning of the work on a deeper level. In addition, ART SOLO challenges the curatorial ability of the galleries and tests the tacit understanding between them and the collaborating artists, so as to be able to present a perfect exhibition space in terms of both artistic concepts and the art collection market. Thus, in addition to acting as the bridge between artists and collectors, the event plays an important role as a realization of galleries’ communicative and marketing abilities, and their keen eye for the arts.

Strengthening market mechanisms for collaborations with galleries

The organizer of ART SOLO, TAGA, set the core objective of "self-help within the industry and self- enhancement within the region" at the beginning of 2023, which is reflected in the exhibitions launched by TAGA; ART SOLO is not only a platform for displaying artworks, but also an excellent opportunity to promote and implement the core objective. ART SOLO provides galleries with more affordable booths through modularized exhibition planning (each booth is fixed at 36 square meters, and the color of the walls are fixed), lowering the threshold for galleries to participate in the exhibition, thereby increasing the willingness of galleries to be present at the event. At the same time, the venue of ART SOLO is located in the Taipei Expo Park, which, for Taiwanese galleries, not only allows galleries to experiment with panel-type art fairs with higher efficiency, but also emphasizes the close collaboration between artists and galleries. For overseas galleries, it offers a more economical way to connect with the Taiwan art market, which can be said to be the touchstone for the galleries’ business strategy in the Taiwan art market.

Weekend art lectures

The original intention of ART SOLO was to hold solo exhibitions for artists in many art fairs. With the structural changes to large-scale art fairs due to these events becoming more popular and the number of visitors on the rise, many galleries and collectors have also begun to think about meaning of artwork displays, transactions and socializing with audiences as art fairs become popularized. There are more and more options emerging in the art world that are favored by small and medium-sized galleries and professional collectors, who often try to create a more nuanced communication experience, so as to distinguish them from the atmosphere of following trends and chasing after mainstream tastes. The ART SOLO 2023 weekend art lectures on May 6 (Sat, 13:30) invited three artists and individual involved in the art industry, to speak on their experience in participating in regional art fairs at home and abroad, as well as about collaborating with alternative performances. Their talks focused on the three aspects of their experience in participating and visiting high quality regional art fair, cross-brand collaborative exhibitions and solo exhibition strategies in art fairs, and the lectures offered a retrospective view of ART SOLO while also looking to the future of the art scene in the region of Taiwan.

At the same time, with a turbulent global situation, and the complex societal background such as the Ukrainian-Russian War, inflation, climate change, are causing tense situations around the world, and even a new type of financial crisis is also affecting the global art market, where no one can predict the direction of the global situation will head in. The world view of crytpo has entered the public eye. In addition to being used for investment and collection, crypto assets also have the attribute of being a safe haven asset. This year, ART SOLO once again invited Mr. Shao-Fu Peng, the president of the Taiwan Blockchain Academia and Ms. Joyce Ke, the CEO of Taipei Art Economy Research Center, to discuss crypto assets from the angle of safe haven assets and to share on their features and implementation, and further explore their correlation with the art industry, in order to allow the audience to better understand these assets from different perspectives!

A more youthful, sustainable and environmentally friendly art fair

Due to the introduction of more economical booths and lowering of participation threshold, galleries are also more willing to put forwards more experimental works and young artists in ART SOLO, thus expanding the broadness of the gallery's collector list. ART SOLO was first held in 2014, and then made its return in 2022 in the era when young collectors were on the rise. From the direction galleries took for selecting works for display and curation strategy, it can clearly be seen that the collector population and aesthetic style have changed, making ART SOLO a special art fair in Taiwan's art market: an art fair that is becoming more youthful. TAGA's efforts for the benefits of the event are also reflected in the degree of sustainability and environmental friendliness. ART SOLO utilizes a modular exhibition design: each booth is fixed at 36 square meters, and only uses white paint to improve efficiency when setting up. This shortens the set-up period and reduces the number of steps, which further effectively reduces the use of air conditioning and lighting during set up. Green exhibitions and the sustainability of exhibitions, along with reducing waste and carbon emissions are all issues that cannot be avoided in today's exhibition sector. They are also hot topics for people from all walks of life. By adopting green exhibition design, TAGA can reduce the exhibition cost and the impact on the environment, so to realize the sustainable development for exhibitions, as well as to contribute to the arts and environment of Taiwan.

Collaboration with YouBike to explore surrounding stores and expand the arts and culture

In order to bring a richer exhibition experience, ART SOLO continues with its cross-sector collaborations with the art museum partnership and stores in the area surrounding Taipei Expo Park and Taipei Fine Arts Museum, and has further extended the store collaboration to Museum of Contemporary Art Taipei and Zhongshan Linear Park, as well as launched an art travel map for Taipei City, plus a collaboration with YouBike to combine the imagery of solo exhibition and bicycle - leading to the “SOLO RIDE Taipei Art and Culture City Tour”, allowing the public to explore the stores, with the art museum partnership, and art and culture spaces collaborating with ART SOLO. This offered the audience to deeply experience Taiwanese culture and local characteristics while visiting the fair. These cross-sector collaborations not only bring about more possibilities, but also contribute towards sustainable exhibitions and eco-friendly travel, making ART SOLO a green art feast that is worth looking forward to.

ART SOLO 2023 leading the way to a new vision of Taiwanese arts and culture

The ART SOLO strengthens the art market through various facets, deepens the connection between galleries and artists, collaborates with art and culture venues as well as local stores, and further connects everything through YouBike’s bicycles. These all enhance the urban vitality of art exhibitions, so that more youthful and experimental works can be presented to the audience, allowing the event to become a leading art fair amongst international art exhibitions, and through these diverse strategies, the event can move, step by step, towards the goal of regional self-enhancement for Taiwan's art industry!