The 16th Gwangju Biennale is scheduled to be held from 5 September to 15 November. The National Taiwan Museum of Fine Arts submitted a proposal under the name “Taiwan Pavilion”, and the Gwangju Biennale Foundation included it in this edition’s expanded exhibition section, the “Pavilion Project”; the two sides signed an agreement. However, in promotional materials for the section released by the organiser on social media and elsewhere, the name “Taiwan Pavilion” was shown as “NTMoFA”, the English abbreviation of the National Taiwan Museum of Fine Arts, rather than “TAIWAN”, the English name of Taiwan. The Ministry of Culture of the Republic of China said on 9 August that it had asked its overseas offices and the National Taiwan Museum of Fine Arts to continue to “express a solemn protest” to the organiser. On 15 August, ten curators and artists of the “Taiwan Pavilion” issued a joint statement saying that Taiwan-related names at the Gwangju Biennale had been unilaterally removed, and “strongly protested”. The organiser responded that it would not intervene or engage in censorship, and said that interpreting “differences of opinion over administrative procedures” as an act of censorship could affect the reputations of countries and institutions participating in the project.
South Korean arts group Artists’ Solidarity Against Censorship issued a statement on its Instagram account on 18 August opposing the removal of Taiwan-related names from Gwangju Biennale promotional materials, saying that the action amounted to political censorship and calling for the name to be restored, the decision-making process to be made public and an apology to be issued.
Taiwan’s Ministry of Culture said on 26 August that the Gwangju Biennale Foundation had confirmed on 25 August that it would use the name “Taiwan Pavilion”, including inside the exhibition venue and in official documents and publicity materials. Taiwan’s Ministry of Culture also said that the Asia Culture Center, which manages the venue, had notified the National Taiwan Museum of Fine Arts on 26 August that it could enter the venue to carry out the necessary work from 27 August.
