【策展人的話 — 穿越看不見的城市】

但是，這座城市並不訴說它的過去，而是像掌紋一樣維繫著過去，將過去刻畫在街角、窗花、階梯扶手、避雷針、旗竿上，在那些各自銘記了抓痕、破損、凹洞、斑點的細節裡。——卡爾維諾《看不見的城市》

過去七年來，臺南藝術節發展出具有城市特色的「城市舞臺」單元，透過環境劇場或是現地 創作(site specific)的形式，將表演藝術嵌合在城市的紋理之中。承接這個脈絡，二〇一九 年的臺南藝術節大體上是「城市舞臺」的升級版，我們打破創作類型的區分，以地圖和區域 分佈為經緯，讓來自世界各地的創作者從古都出發，帶領觀眾遊歷山線與海線，挖掘整個大 臺南城市空間裡不同層次的人文地景，企圖釋放出不同族群的公共討論能量。
 

為此，來自北國丹麥的 Kitt Johnson、南國印尼的 Jecko Siompo、花東的 TAI 身體劇場、 臺南的稻草人現代舞團和周書毅等國際與在地的藝術家，紛紛從田野調查入手，展開各自的 現地創作或是社會參與式的藝術計畫。同時，這些作品和計畫，許多都與分佈在臺南的在地 族群，產生密切的連結和合作，諸如七股的龍山國小、新營國小、億載國小漁光校區的大小 朋友們，白河的西拉雅族群，府城老街的商家或是臺南公園的民眾，都將成為計畫的參與者， 作品的一部份。
 

依演出場所的地理分佈來說，我們希望能夠跳脫觀光景點，走進那些被忽視的城市縫隙和邊 緣地帶，透過藝術創作之眼看到一座城市的過去與現在，隱密與對照，社群與未來的可能。 我們希望開啟藝術的導航系統，穿越看不見的城市。
 

卡爾維諾曾在書中寫道:「有時候不同的城市在同一片土地，依序承繼同一個名字，在不知 道彼此的情況下誕生與死亡，相互之間沒有溝通。」那麼，我們可以問:有多少個臺南在同 一個名字底下，悄悄地誕生又消逝了呢?當我們看見一座城市，哪些又是我們看不見、或不 願意看見的城市面貌呢?借小說《看不見的城市》之名，也藉由城鄉移動中的表演，這是一 次城市鄉鎮對於藝術偵察能力的測試，也是藝術對於空間變動的測量，城市與藝術將共同去 挖掘那些隱匿在我們生活周遭，千重的空間敘事。
 

策展人 周伶芝、郭亮廷

【From the Curators –– Through the Invisible Cities】
 

The city...does not tell its past, but contains it like the lines of a hand, written in the corners of the streets, the gratings of the windows, the banisters of the steps, the antennae of the lightning roads, the poles of the flags, every segment marked in turn with scratches, indentations, scrolls.’- Italo Calvino, Invisible Cities

In the past seven years, Tainan Arts Festival has consistently put forth “City Stage,” an exciting program of environmental and site-specific theatre works that cultivate a kind of performing arts embedded in the local fabric of the city. The festival this year builds upon “City Stage” by removing its original structure of genre divisions and dispersing the program within a network of venues spread throughout the city districts. Participating projects begin in Tainan City and traverse through mountainous routes and coastlines to discover the many layers of the local culture and natural landscape, as well as foster exchange amongst different social groups.

In preparation of the festival, the artists from Taiwan and abroad, including Kitt Johnson from Denmark, Jecko Siompo from Indonesia, Scarecrow Contemporary Dance Company from Tainan and Taiwanese dancer CHOU Shu-yi, began their creative process with a period of field research before proceeding into production. Along the way, many local residents became closely involved with the projects, including students from the Longshan, Xinying and Yizai Elementary Schools, the Siraya tribe in Baihe, the shops in old Tainan and the people of Tainan Park.

In terms of venue choice, we deter from obvious tourist attractions and explore the cracks and crevices of the city that have been long ignored or marginalized. Through art, we explore the past and the present of the city, the hidden and the exposed, its communities and the potential of its future. The festival offers an art navigation system for the discovery of hidden perspectives of Tainan.

Italo Calvino writes in his novel Invisible Cities, “...sometimes different cities follow one another on the same site and under the same name, born and dying without knowing one another, without communication among themselves.” Inspired by this statement, we ask the following questions. How many times has Tainan been born and died under the same name? When we see a city, what is invisible to us and which aspects are we not willing to see? This year’s Tainan Art Festival takes on the name of “Invisible Cities” and seeks to excavate the many hidden narratives around us. By staging performances throughout Tainan, the festival responds to the transformation of city space over time, and in turn, calls for the city to observe its own potential for art.
 

Curators

CHOW Ling-chih & KUO Liang-ting