To the Ordinary People…

To the Ordinary People… / Walking in Wanhua: A Social Assembly. Curator: Hongjohn Lin.

Walking in Wanhua: A Social Assembly is an art engagement in the communities and neighborhoods of Wanhua, Taipei, over the past three years. Dedicated to ordinary people, the project employs the act of walking as an artistic strategy. Each participating artist organizes a micro-social assembly, aiming to grant equal aesthetic rights to the commons, fostering new communal relations grounded in individualities. The exhibition pays tribute to the unsung heroes among ordinary people involved in community engagement.

Firstly, the walk signifies the streets of Wanhua, tracing urban development from its origins as a settlement of indigenous people to a territory of colonial modernization and onward to hyper-modernization. This exploration unveils the underlying tension between government-led public urban planning and the dwelling of private personal space. Secondly, it refers to walks of life, exploring the history of work and labor in Wanhua. The division of labor reflects social institutions while accentuating the pride and dignity of the commons generated from the vita activa. Thirdly, the act of walking in the city serves as a social intervention, referencing Michel de Certeau’s concept of “walking” to embody the poetics of local anecdotes and legends and involving opportunities and encounters with others. The artistic walking fabricates new neighboring relations, as the etymological meaning of the word ‘neighbor’ depicts communal living as “together-becoming.”

We believe that empowering the originally voiceless and the silent majority—the ordinary people—through a social assembly can lead to an art of democracy grounded in dingpolitik. The exhibition attempts to emancipate passive spectatorship by fostering hidden and suppressed public discourses through various artistic endeavors, commoning individuals with diverse singularities.

Exhibition venues and artists
Zhongshan Hall, Taipei City
Address: No. 98, Yanping S. Rd., Zhongzheng Dist., Taipei City. Exhibition period: Gallery 1 & Gallery 2 from January 23–February 25, 2024.; Guangfu Hall from January 30–February 25, 2024. Artists: Huang Yen-Chao, Jiang Yu-Cheng, Tsai Ming-Liang.

Taipei City Archives
Address: No. 174-2, Sec. 1, Zhonghua Rd., Wanhua Dist., Taipei City. Exhibition period: January 17–February 25, 2024. Artists: Chang Chien-Chi, Chen Fei-Hao, Chiu Chie-Hsen x Guillemot Margot, Hsu Yi-Ting, Hung Yu-Hao.

Bopiliao Historic Block
Address: Aly. 173, Kangding Rd., Wanhua Dist., Taipei City. Exhibition period: January 9–February 25, 2024; Audiovisual Room: January 9–February 4, 2024. Artists: Anchi Ring, Chen Yung-Hsien, Kao Deng-Huei, Michelle Lee Ho-Wing.

Nanmon-Cho 323 of Taipei Botanical Garden
Address: Intersection of Nanhai Rd. & Sec. 2, Heping W. Rd., Zhongzheng Dist., Taipei City. Exhibition period: January 17–February 25, 2024. Artist: Su Yu-Hsin.

Heart Spot
Address: No. 94, Longchang St., Wanhua Dist., Taipei City. Exhibition period: January 17–February 25, 2024. Artist: Lee Chia-Wei.

Juguang Social Housing
Address: No. 22, Wanda Rd., Wanhua Dist., Taipei City. Exhibition period: January  17–February 25, 2024. Collective: Homeless Taiwan Association.

Waley Art
Address: No. 6, Aly. 322, Wanda Rd., Wanhua Dist., Taipei City. Exhibition period: January 9–February 25, 2024. Artists: Chang Che-Jung, Chu Chung-Wen, Kuo Hsiang-Lin, Lin Wang-Ting, Wu Pei-Chen.

Organizer: Department of Urban Development, Taipei City Government

Co-organizers: Taipei Zhongshan Hall, Taiwan Forestry Research Institute, Ministry of Agriculture, Bopiliao Historic Block, Taipei Housing and Urban Renewal Center, Ying Art, Heart Spot

Participating social collaboration organizations: A Kernel of Wheat Foundation, Dongyuan Second Hand Bookstore, Gutter 2nd Chance, Homeless Taiwan Association, Nanjichang Night Market Association, Taiwan Community Practice Association, Taiwan Kita Group

Producer: Peng Tsai-Huan, Waley Art.