【市長的話——以藝術凝聚希望】
臺南藝術節自2012年起啟辦，並在2019年迎接了重要的變革和創新，改由獨立策展人規劃主題、揀選並委託創作，借用城市空間、歷史場景為實驗創作的基地，也藉此親近民眾、與社區對話，開創一個能引發歷史、文化、情感連結的城市藝術節。
臺南藝術節一向有別其他藝文節慶，受惠於文化古都的底蘊，在城市的各個角落都能有藝術的探索、發現與創造；今年以「為了在此相遇」為主題，也是著眼於藝術匯聚、串連的力量，邀請國內優秀的藝文團隊帶著他們的作品來到臺南與民眾相遇，或駐地展開創作，讓激發的靈感和火花，滋養作品與生活。
2020臺南藝術節策劃了13檔節目、2場創作階段性呈現、1場巡迴展覽、5場公開工作坊及講座；類型也包含漫遊劇場、特定場域、傳統經典、科技互動、社區策展等多樣的嘗試。在觀賞作品或參與活動時，將有機會游移、置身於城市空間，遙想歷史或想望未來；或是與生活在地方的居民、從他方而來的移民、遊客相遇，展開當下的對話；抑或進入劇場魔幻空間，與創作者展開一場既富想像又帶真實的思辨旅程。
2020年前半受到疫情影響，幾乎所有藝文演出活動停擺，而後半展開的2020臺南藝術節仍能帶來如此多元且優質的節目實屬難得。在動盪的2020年，我們仍相信藝術聚有凝聚人心，以創作回應現狀，在相遇中尋得希望的力量。誠摯邀請您前來，與藝術相遇，與臺南相遇!
臺南市長 黃偉哲
From the Mayor of Tainan City—Using Art to Consolidate Hope
The annual Tainan Arts Festival first launched in 2012. In 2019, the festival welcomed in a series of new changes and formats. Perhaps one of the biggest changes was the invitation of independent curators to oversee the festival’s themes, commissions, and performance groups. By using the city’s urban spaces and historical sites as the foundation for experimental art creations, the festival went on to establish a more intimate dialogue with citizens and communities, in the end creating an urban art festival that could trigger historical, cultural, and emotional connections.
The Tainan Arts Festival stands apart from other art festivals in that it benefits from being held in a cultural mecca, with artistic explorations, discoveries, and creations available on almost every city corner. The theme of 2020’s festival is Encounter—Here and Now and focuses on the power of art to assemble and connect. It invites Taiwan’s top performing art groups to bring their work and creativity to Tainan and to engage in a variety of “encounters” with the public. Similarly, artist-in-residence creations look to help inspire creativity in communities and to nourish the connection between art and public life.
Tainan Arts Festival 2020 features a total of 13 performances, two work-in-progress productions, one touring exhibition, and five open-air workshops and seminars. A wide variety of performance types are also present: promenade theatre, site-specific, classic/traditional, technology assisted, community curation, etc. While viewing these performances or participating in these events, the public will have abundant opportunities to roam and expose themselves to Tainan’s urban geography, through which they may recollect the past, or look ahead to the future; or they are free to engage in fruitful dialogues, grounded in the experience of the moment, with local inhabitants or travelers from Taiwan or abroad; or perhaps they may choose to enter the fantastical space of theatrical productions and join content creators on a journey full of imagination, yet one grounded in real-world questions.
Most of the first half of 2020 was overshadowed by the pandemic and nearly all performances in Taiwan were either postponed or cancelled. As we enter the second half of 2020, for the Tainan Arts Festival to put together such a multifaceted festival in terms of content and themes is a truly impressive feat. Among the turmoil and uncertainty of the times, we still believe that art has the power to bring people together. By using creativity to respond to our current situation, in the midst of these “encounters” we can rediscover the power of hope. I warmly invite everyone to join us at Tainan Arts Festival 2020 and find their own “encounters” with art and our city.
HUANG Wei-che, Tainan City Mayor