Poster image of. The 16th Gwangju Biennale Pavilion © Gwangju Biennale

With the Gwangju Biennale set to open on September 5, controversy over censorship has emerged after the “Taiwan Pavilion” was identified by an institutional name rather than by the name of the country.
 
The controversy came into the public spotlight on the 15th, when the curators and artists participating in the Taiwan Pavilion of the 16th Gwangju Biennale Pavilion Project issued an official statement titled A Pavilion under Censorship.
 
According to the statement, the country name “Taiwan” was unilaterally removed from the Gwangju Biennale Pavilion Project without the consent of the Taiwanese side. In response, voices of solidarity have grown among domestic and international members of the art community, including the Artists’ Solidarity Against Censorship, as well as members of the general public.
 
As of August 19, the posters and website for the Pavilion Project released by the Gwangju Biennale Foundation display only “NTMoFA,” the abbreviation for the National Taiwan Museum of Fine Arts, in place of the country name “Taiwan.”
 
Taiwan’s Ministry of Culture stated that it had submitted its proposal to the Gwangju Biennale Foundation earlier this year under the name “Taiwan Pavilion” and signed an agreement with the Foundation, but that the pavilion’s name was subsequently changed.
 
The Taiwanese side said it had repeatedly raised objections to the Foundation’s unilateral change of the name and attempted to engage in discussions, but received no official response. It has since stated that it will take the necessary measures. Some artists participating in the exhibition have also expressed their intention to withdraw from the project.


Exterior view of Gwangju Biennale Exhibition Hall © Gwangju Biennale

Amid growing criticism that the Gwangju Biennale, rooted in the values of democracy and human rights, has infringed upon participants’ right to define and name their own identity, the Gwangju Biennale Foundation issued an official statement on the 19th.
 
The Foundation stated that the issue “does not concern the content of the exhibition or freedom of expression, but rather a disagreement over administrative procedures regarding the type of participation and the designation of the pavilion,” firmly denying that it had “intervened in or censored the exhibition’s planning or content in any way.”
 
The Gwangju Biennale also explained that “NTMoFA proceeded with its participation in the Pavilion Project under the name of the institution and signed an exhibition agreement with the Foundation on January 12 in its institutional capacity.”
 
Accordingly, the Foundation maintained that the pavilion was designated by the institution’s name, NTMoFA, rather than by the name of a country.
 
The Gwangju Biennale Pavilion Project is an external initiative operated separately from the main exhibition, through which countries, cultural and artistic institutions, cities, and curators voluntarily propose exhibitions.
 
Launched in 2018 with three participating institutions, the Pavilion Project expanded to 31 pavilions in 2024, comprising 22 national pavilions and nine institutions or cities. This year, 16 national pavilions and 11 institutions are participating.

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