Gwangju Biennale chief calls for separating China-Taiwan politics from art

By Baek Byung-yeul

• Published Sep 4, 2026 4:28 PM KST
• Updated Sep 4, 2026 5:35 PM KST

As diplomatic tension over the Taiwan Pavilion threatens to overshadow the Gwangju Biennale, organizers of Asia’s premier contemporary art event appealed for the exhibition to be viewed separately from political disputes.

The controversy centers on the decision by the organizers to use the name "Taiwan Pavilion" for a project organized by the National Taiwan Museum of Fine Arts.

The move prompted Chinese artists and organizers to announce their withdrawal from the exhibition on Thursday, arguing that the title brought political issues into the cultural field.

Youn Bum-mo, president of the Gwangju Biennale Foundation, expressed deep regret over the situation while defending the foundation’s original administrative process.

"It is truly regrettable that we have reached this situation, and I am deeply sorry," Youn said during a press conference held at the Gwangju Biennale Exhibition Hall in Jeonnam-Gwangju Special Metropolitan City, Friday, the day before the 72-day event opens.

"We wanted the Chinese Pavilion to participate until the end, and it is very disappointing that it led to their withdrawal."

Youn clarified that the foundation originally signed an agreement with an artistic institution rather than a national entity.

"To state the facts, the Taiwanese side initially applied under C-LAB, a small-scale institution, which later shifted to the National Taiwan Museum of Fine Arts," the president said.

"The only legally binding document signed between the Taiwanese side and our foundation was an agreement between two institutions. It was strictly an institution-to-institution agreement."

However, different opinions came up among local and international artists about what to name the pavilion.

"We were deeply concerned that this issue might spark a diplomatic dispute with China," Youn said. "We have consistently maintained that we are an art institution. Art is art, and politics is politics. We urged everyone not to overlap the two and emphasized that this is a pure art event."

The president added that the foundation plans to overhaul its system in future editions to avoid confusion over national and institutional representations.

Addressing the situation, Ho Tzu Nyen, the Singaporean artistic director of the event, called for attention to remain on the core artistic works and the participating teams.

"I think first and foremost it is important to clarify that the main exhibition which we are involved in is completely separate from the operation of the pavilion," Ho said. "This is often confused even by journalists and other professionals."

The artistic director said political disputes often take public focus away from the art itself.

"Human attention seems always drawn to change that happens violently, change that happens suddenly," Ho said. "Against the world of politics, the power of art sometimes seems weak and powerless, but I believe otherwise that art has power, and that power extends over long durations."

Ho emphasized that the core intention of this year's biennale is to encourage viewers to slow down and connect with the nature of art.

"Art transforms humans in a profound, slow and enduring way," Ho said. "I believe we are all gathered here today for art, and I hope we can respect what art is."

The diplomatic friction has also drawn responses from national authorities. On Thursday, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs reaffirmed its respect for the "One China" policy, while emphasizing that the naming decision was made independently by the private sector in the cultural field and does not reflect the government's official stance on Taiwan.

However, the dispute quickly expanded beyond the exhibition venue. On Friday, the Jeonnam-Gwangju Special Metropolitan City Government confirmed that a scheduled visit by a delegation from the Standing Committee of the Guangzhou Municipal People's Congress was canceled.