Kinmen Island was once a staunch outpost of the Cold War between Taiwan and Mainland China. Many soldiers and civilians lost their lives in the famous Guningtou Battle and Artillery Battle of August 23, 1958. Because of its particular geological location, Kinmen took center stage in the military and political struggles between Taiwan and Mainland China during the Cold War, used as a trump card in each side's policies and challenges to "Reclaim Mainland" and "Liberate Taiwan." While weapons are continuously upgraded and advanced, missiles have replaced cannons; cross-strait relations and international climate have altered enormously. As time passes, the cruel history between the two sides has faded. Today, the bunkers on Kinmen are silent monuments that commemorate the events of the Cold War era.
Even during the Cold War, the artillery battles across the strait were more symbolic than military. Kinmen was an icon with immense symbolic significance. As the island gradually loses its practical military value, it gains the potential to become a place where contemporary artistic and cultural energies converge through exhibitions, activities and exchanges, where new symbols and ideas originate. These are the objectives that this exhibition hopes to achieve. Kinmen needs a new starting point for its path towards future creativity and spiritual explorations.
Many internationally renowned contemporary art exhibition sites were converted from former military installations: Venice Biennale utilizes an old naval base and arsenal to house its exhibitions. Places where different cultures and religions collide have sprung forth contemporary art: Istanbul Biennial takes place in a city where Europe and Asia meet, a historic site of conflict between Islam and Christianity. Sites of political turmoil have also lead the forefront of contemporary cultural activities: South Korea's Kwangju held an exhibition to commemorate the 1980 Kwangju incident and brought international acclaim and exposure to the exhibition and city. With its strategic location and wealth of military facilities, Kinmen can establish a long-term strategy of developing a tourist industry that showcases the island's special cultural characteristics and raises its global visibility.
The exhibition in Kinmen will give artists an opportunity to take advantage of the massive bunkers and various other military structures that are unique to Kinmen, enabling them to turn what used to be full of violence, death, fear and loneliness into spaces imbued with vigor, interaction, creativity and spirituality. The future plan for the thousands of bunkers and military facilities is to keep one-third as they are as a witness to history; with another one-third transformed into exhibition venues, concert halls and the like; the remaining one-third will be turned over to invited artists from the globe to create site-specific installations that will become a part of the island's permanent collection. Initially, participating artists will be invited from both sides of the Taiwan Strait, then subsequent exhibitions will invite artists from the rest of Asia and the world. Visual art will lead the exhibition, with strong components of architecture, film, theater, music and performing arts presented. Over a number of years and decades, Kinmen will be transformed into a unique island full of contemporary masterpieces from artists of various disciplines; it will possess unlimited potential for cultivating cultural activities; attracting crowds of visitors from all corners of the world.
The time has come for Kinmen to take its unique location, resources and opportunities to construct a better future. By hosting artistic and cultural activities on an on-going basis, the island will achieve its goal of "let both banks to know Kinmen, let Kinmen to enter the world arena."
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2. Preliminary Blueprint
A primary attraction of the exhibition is the transformation of bunkers and other military facilities into exhibition spaces. The formal qualities of bunkers demonstrate unique architectural aesthetics. Works of art in their own right, the bunkers' contours and camouflage provide limitless variations. The interiors vary from structure to structure. Staging exhibition on site will not only show respect for the past, but is also an act of looking into the future through the lens of history. The bunkers will be revived through the artists' creations. Eighteen individual or groups of artists of Taiwan or Mainland China descent are invited to conceive, create and install works for Kinmen. These exhibits will transform the bunkers and their surrounding military facilities into eighteen individual art galleries and exhibition sites. The artists will incorporate painting, photography, installation, video, sound, theater and performance into their work, collaborating with local people in the process, in and around bunkers and fortifications.
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3. Exhibition Sites
A. Nanshan Fortification and Tashan Battery
Both groups of bunkers are relatively concentrated in layout. Other military facilities that supported the functions of these sites can become centers for activities.
B. Guningtou Cihu Great Bunker
Surrounded by a moat and minefields, the Guningtou Cihu Great Bunker area overlooks the mainland city of Xiamen across the sea. More than ten thousand lives from both sides of the Strait were lost in this area, making it a site of special significance. Large-scale installations and performances can be staged inside the bunker and on the rooftop, as well as the landmine-free beaches.
C. Changliao Rezoning District
18 Children's Exhibitions
A series of special bunkers will be identified and each given to an elementary school in Kinmen. Students will be asked to propose ideas for their bunker. One proposal is selected for each school to be realized and exhibited for the entire duration of the exhibition. This project allows the local children to understand their past, and create new history at the same time. The process will lead discussions on war and peace, construction and destruction, and serve as an opportunity for the children to learn the creative process of contemporary art, and share the stage with artists of Chinese descent that come from different parts of the world. It will nurture and encourage the children's world vision, and through them further engage the adults from the local community.
In order to help visitors to learn more about Kinmen, different sections of the exhibition are to be systematically linked. Displays on local culture, history and folklore can be arranged along the planned sightseeing route.
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