[After the Taiwan Pavilion Controversy at the Gwangju Biennale 2] The works of artists in the Taiwan Pavilion were blocked from the exhibition venue. The curatorial team explained the bottom line for the collective withdrawal of the exhibition.

This evening, the curatorial team of the Taiwan Pavilion of the 16th Gwangju Biennale, including host Zhang Yousheng (from right), curator Chen Xiangwen, participating artists Ruan Baiyuan, Zheng Tingting, Su Huiyu and others, held a symposium on "National Pavilion?! Starting from the Taiwan Renaming Incident of the Gwangju Biennale" at Xianliu Cidian.

The 16th Gwangju Biennale was held in South Korea from September 5 to November 15. In August this year, the organizers of the Taiwan Pavilion unilaterally changed the name "Taiwan Pavilion" to the abbreviation "NTMOFA" of the National Taiwan Museum of Fine Arts. After protests from the curatorial team and support from all walks of life, the original name was finally restored. After the incident came to an end, curator Chen Xiangwen, participating artists Su Huiyu, Zheng Tingting, Ruan Baiyuan and others held a symposium on "National Pavilion?! Let's talk about the Taiwan renaming incident of the Gwangju Biennale" at the Xianliu Bookstore today (17th). For the first time, the behind-the-scenes process of the blocked entry of the works, cross-border verification and collective preparations for dismantling the exhibition were made public.

Chen Xiangwen pointed out that during the dispute, the Asian Culture Center (ACC), the exhibition venue, suspended the Taiwan team's entry operations on the grounds that the two parties had not yet clarified the dispute. As a result, the truck carrying the artwork was blocked from the exhibition venue, and the works could not be unloaded and installed as planned. The related work was delayed for nearly 10 days. In addition to dealing with the exhibition title dispute, the team also had to face the pressure of transporting, preserving and approaching the exhibition date.

Another key to the controversy over the name change lies in the administrative reasons raised by the organizers. Chen Xiangwen said that the Biennale Foundation once explained that the Taiwan Pavilion should be presented with the abbreviation of the National American Pavilion on the grounds that other national pavilions were signed by official organizations. However, through the existing international art network, the team checked with national museums such as the Netherlands, Peru, and Malta, and found that relevant exhibitions also had cases contracted by independent art organizations, which was inconsistent with the original statement of the organizer.

Faced with the organizer's delay in proposing an acceptable solution, the exhibition team began to discuss the possibility of dismantling the exhibition. Su Huiyu and Zheng Tingting mentioned in the symposium that the information from all parties was not transparent at the time, and the team had to make their own judgments on different situations, including whether to accept the name change, how to publicly express their position, and how to deal with the works and exhibition after the exhibition was dismantled. After discussion, the nine artists and curators reached a consensus on joint advancement and retreat, and considered restoring the name "Taiwan Pavilion" as the bottom line for participating in the exhibition. If the organizer insists on changing the name, the team is prepared to withdraw from the exhibition en masse.

Chen Xiangwen revealed that the team had further developed alternative plans at that time, including producing protest T-shirts at their own expense, finding other exhibition venues, and continuing to present the works outside the formal exhibition system. These preparations also gave the team the option of refusing to accept the name change when negotiating with the organizer.

In terms of external communication, the team framed the dispute as "Identity Censorship," emphasizing that the issue involved how Taiwanese artists were identified and presented in international exhibitions, rather than a simple adjustment of administrative names. The relevant statement subsequently attracted attention from the local cultural circles in South Korea and other international exhibitors.

In the end, the organizers of the Biennale agreed to resume using the name "Taiwan Pavilion", and the Taiwan Pavilion was able to participate in the exhibition under its original name. However, the process from the obstruction of the entry of works to the preparation for dismantling shows that international art exhibitions may still have unpredictable disputes over cooperation contracts, administrative authority, and identification of exhibitors.

For the curatorial team, the restoration of the name is only the result of the incident. When a partner unilaterally changes the existing agreement, whether the artist can retain the right to choose and how to properly protect the work during the dispute are also issues that still need to be faced after the storm. The Taiwan Pavilion team of the Gwangju Biennale also created a special website "Where Is the Taiwan Pavilion?" to compile information and support content related to the name change incident.