- Each account is limited to one registration.
- Recommended for ages 12+
- If you require accessible or wheelchair seating, please contact the organizer before registering.
- Video recording and photography will be conducted by Weiwuying strictly for the purposes of documentation, cultural promotion, and non-profit use. Participants are required to sign the Portrait Right Agreement to consent to the use of their likeness.
- After registration, please complete the payment within the payment deadline specified in the Weiwuying official website registration system; if payment is not made by the deadline, the system will automatically release the spot.
- Refund Policy: Participants must contact the organizer to request a refund (learning@npac-weiwuying.org). The email timestamp will be used as proof. Refund requests must be submitted no later than 11:59 p.m. on January 14, 2026. A 10% handling fee will be deducted from the registration fee. Late requests will not be accepted.
- This event is not eligible for Weiwuying membership point accumulation. Thank you for your understanding.
- National Kaohsiung Center for the Arts (Weiwuying) reserves the right to alter the program. For updated information, please check on the Weiwuying website.
- For inquiries, please contact the International Forum Team, Weiwuying Learning and Participation Department at learning@npac-weiwuying.org.
[2026 International Forum and Workshop on Creative Engagement] Forum
Community is an aesthetic of relationships; when art enters the community, it becomes a series of genuine encounters and dialogues.
For the opening session, representatives from local and international venues and organizations will explore the relationships and philosophies that shape the connections between art institutions and communities, each grounded in their own cultural context.
The forum will then unfold with three topics over two half-days, progressively examining the multiple links between art and communities. It will begin with the subtle interactions of art with everyday life's community activities and spaces, and then extend to experimental practices where art responds to specific social/community issues. Finally, it will focus on how artists, as facilitators, can inspire communities to become agents of expression, consolidating collective wisdom and emotion to co-create.
The forum will conclude with nine topical group discussions, embracing the entire spectrum of art-community connections. This closing segment will encourage in-depth exchange on the experiences, methodologies, and challenges of different artistic practices, fostering dialogue and inspiration between local and international perspectives.
Registration Information
Open to:
For artists interested in community engagement, community/teaching artists, creative engagement producers, community practitioners, and program producers or education and outreach staff at cultural centers and venues.
Fee:
NT$600 per day or NT$1,000 for two days (includes lunch, snacks, and Mandarin-English simultaneous interpreting).
Registration Period:
Monday, November 17, 2025 – Monday, December 29, 2025, 23:59
Registration process:
Register on the official website → Make payment → Check registration status on the website → Complete registration.
Panel Discussion – Topic Selection Method:
Within one week after the registration deadline (December 29, 2025), a "Group Selection Notification" email will be sent to participants.
Selection Period: January 7 (Wed.), 2026, 12:30 – January 15 (Thu.), 2026, 23:59 . Please complete the online form within this period.
Each participant may select one topic per session, and may choose the same or different topics for the two sessions.
Grouping results will be determined based on the submission time of the form. Seats for each topic are limited, so please register early.
Each participant may submit the form only once, and no changes can be made after submission.
Participants who do not complete the form within the specified period will have their topics randomly assigned by the organizer.
Evening Program:
Practice Tuckshop ── Recess Time: Kaohsiung
Fee: NT$500, including meals
Only for participants of the International Forum and Workshops
DAY 1
Monday, January 26, 2026, 10:00-18:00 Weiwuying Recital Hall
Opening Session: Our Relationship with the Community
This session aims to outline the core framework of art–community interaction from the perspectives of venue operations, urban development, and cultural transformation. Representatives from the Taipei Performing Arts Center (TPAC), the National Kaohsiung Center for the Arts (Weiwuying), the English National Ballet, the Staatsschauspiel Dresden, the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts (LCPA), and The Public Theater will share their insights.
Speakers will explore the central question of “How does art co-construct with the community?” from multiple angles, including local venue management, cross-cultural residencies, and art-driven community regeneration. Together, they will reflect on the reciprocal relationship of art and the community and the individual role of each. This session not only provides observations and inspiration through diverse case studies but also lays the groundwork for the subsequent parts, guiding the forum toward a holistic understanding of art’s integration into society.
Topic 1: Art Experience
Three groups of speakers (one from a performing arts organization, another an individual artist, and the other two artists who worked with a community) will share how art can be brought into everyday life and foster local connections.
Paper Windmill Theatre will discuss how it mobilized public fundraising to launch the Art Project for Children, making art an integral part of children's growth. Musician Lin Huan-ling will reflect on how the Kuashiami Glimmer of Life Festival evolved from an arts festival into a platform for community co-creation. Lin Hwai-min and Liang Cheng-hsien will share the experiences of Cloud Gate Dance Theatre and the Chishang Autumn Rice Harvest Arts Festival in community mobilization and co-creation.
Within these diverse contexts, the speakers will illustrate how art can bring communities together, strengthen emotional bonds, and build relationships of mutual trust and co-creation with local residents.
Topic 2: Art Engagement
Three speakers from abroad will share their practical experiences and explore how art can transcend cultural and social boundaries to foster inclusion and social support. Esplanade – Theatres on the Bay (Singapore) integrates the arts into healthcare programs, providing pathways for healing and self-expression for vulnerable youth, seniors, people with disabilities, and migrant workers. The English National Ballet advances its Dance for Health initiative to support older adults and individuals with cognitive conditions, strengthening both mind-body coordination and social connection. Through the West Initiative, the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts dismantles cultural and class barriers to rebuild open, inclusive civic spaces, demonstrating how art can serve as a driving force for social cohesion.
Day 2
Tuesday, January 27, 2026, 10:00-18:00 Weiwuying Recital Hall、Concert Hall 3F Lobby
Topic 3: Art Empowerment
Four speakers will explore "Art as a Medium for Empowerment," sharing how it is not merely a form of creation but a transformative force that changes lives, unites communities, and responds to society. The discussion will examine how art, when brought into real-life contexts, can guide individuals from passive spectatorship to active participation.
Shigang Mama Theater draws upon the lived memories of local women, amplifying their voices in the aspects of labor and emotion. Against the Wind Theater uses drama to accompany and empower at-risk youth, helping them rebuild confidence and dignity through expression and performance. Staatsschauspiel Dresden, through its Bürger:Bühne, provides platforms for marginalized and underrepresented voices, fostering social inclusion and dialogue. Sistema Europe, the European branch of the global music education movement El Sistema, teaches vulnerable youth how to listen, collaborate, and empathize by means of playing in ensembles.
Panel Discussion: Getting into Communities──Case Studies and Challenges
The way art engages with communities is highly diversified: theater productions and applied theatre practices; initiatives addressing social issues, mental and physical well-being, and education; and projects centered on local revitalization and community development. The varied strategies, purposes, and methods collectively form a rich spectrum through which art interacts with society.
The closing segment of the forum will bring together more than twenty speakers whose expertise spans venue operation, curatorial production, community practice, and local perspectives. During nine thematic sessions, they will share their experiences of action and participation within different communities and localities.
Discussions will unfold from multiple perspectives: How can art be part of society and everyday life? What are the ethics and boundaries of going into communities? How can cultural venues function as mediators and platforms for co-creation? And how might art serve as a pathway to empowerment, care, and education?
Rather than seeking definitive answers, the discussions are an open invitation to dialogue. It seeks to showcase multiple strategies and forms through which art engages with communities in a way that allows voices with diverse backgrounds, disciplines, and experiences to listen, respond, and interact, generating new understandings and relationships.
Hotel Partner
Just Sleep - Kaohsiung Zhongzheng
For reservations, please contact the booking team at
E-mail: snail.chen@justsleephotels.com / yb.sales@justsleephotels.com
TEL：(+886) 07-9723565 #8301 / #8304
Address: No. 134, Zhongzheng 1st Road, Lingya District, Kaohsiung City 802, Taiwan.
More
►2026 International Forum and Workshop on Creative Engagement
[2026 International Forum and Workshop on Creative Engagement] Forum
Community is an aesthetic of relationships; when art enters the community, it becomes a series of genuine encounters and dialogues.
For the opening session, representatives from local and international venues and organizations will explore the relationships and philosophies that shape the connections between art institutions and communities, each grounded in their own cultural context.
The forum will then unfold with three topics over two half-days, progressively examining the multiple links between art and communities. It will begin with the subtle interactions of art with everyday life's community activities and spaces, and then extend to experimental practices where art responds to specific social/community issues. Finally, it will focus on how artists, as facilitators, can inspire communities to become agents of expression, consolidating collective wisdom and emotion to co-create.
The forum will conclude with nine topical group discussions, embracing the entire spectrum of art-community connections. This closing segment will encourage in-depth exchange on the experiences, methodologies, and challenges of different artistic practices, fostering dialogue and inspiration between local and international perspectives.
Registration Information
Open to:
For artists interested in community engagement, community/teaching artists, creative engagement producers, community practitioners, and program producers or education and outreach staff at cultural centers and venues.
Fee:
NT$600 per day or NT$1,000 for two days (includes lunch, snacks, and Mandarin-English simultaneous interpreting).
Registration Period:
Monday, November 17, 2025 – Monday, December 29, 2025, 23:59
Registration process:
Register on the official website → Make payment → Check registration status on the website → Complete registration.
Panel Discussion – Topic Selection Method:
Within one week after the registration deadline (December 29, 2025), a "Group Selection Notification" email will be sent to participants.
Selection Period: January 7 (Wed.), 2026, 12:30 – January 15 (Thu.), 2026, 23:59 . Please complete the online form within this period.
Each participant may select one topic per session, and may choose the same or different topics for the two sessions.
Grouping results will be determined based on the submission time of the form. Seats for each topic are limited, so please register early.
Each participant may submit the form only once, and no changes can be made after submission.
Participants who do not complete the form within the specified period will have their topics randomly assigned by the organizer.
Evening Program:
Practice Tuckshop ── Recess Time: Kaohsiung
Fee: NT$500, including meals
Only for participants of the International Forum and Workshops
DAY 1
Monday, January 26, 2026, 10:00-18:00 Weiwuying Recital Hall
Opening Session: Our Relationship with the Community
This session aims to outline the core framework of art–community interaction from the perspectives of venue operations, urban development, and cultural transformation. Representatives from the Taipei Performing Arts Center (TPAC), the National Kaohsiung Center for the Arts (Weiwuying), the English National Ballet, the Staatsschauspiel Dresden, the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts (LCPA), and The Public Theater will share their insights.
Speakers will explore the central question of “How does art co-construct with the community?” from multiple angles, including local venue management, cross-cultural residencies, and art-driven community regeneration. Together, they will reflect on the reciprocal relationship of art and the community and the individual role of each. This session not only provides observations and inspiration through diverse case studies but also lays the groundwork for the subsequent parts, guiding the forum toward a holistic understanding of art’s integration into society.
Topic 1: Art Experience
Three groups of speakers (one from a performing arts organization, another an individual artist, and the other two artists who worked with a community) will share how art can be brought into everyday life and foster local connections.
Paper Windmill Theatre will discuss how it mobilized public fundraising to launch the Art Project for Children, making art an integral part of children's growth. Musician Lin Huan-ling will reflect on how the Kuashiami Glimmer of Life Festival evolved from an arts festival into a platform for community co-creation. Lin Hwai-min and Liang Cheng-hsien will share the experiences of Cloud Gate Dance Theatre and the Chishang Autumn Rice Harvest Arts Festival in community mobilization and co-creation.
Within these diverse contexts, the speakers will illustrate how art can bring communities together, strengthen emotional bonds, and build relationships of mutual trust and co-creation with local residents.
Topic 2: Art Engagement
Three speakers from abroad will share their practical experiences and explore how art can transcend cultural and social boundaries to foster inclusion and social support. Esplanade – Theatres on the Bay (Singapore) integrates the arts into healthcare programs, providing pathways for healing and self-expression for vulnerable youth, seniors, people with disabilities, and migrant workers. The English National Ballet advances its Dance for Health initiative to support older adults and individuals with cognitive conditions, strengthening both mind-body coordination and social connection. Through the West Initiative, the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts dismantles cultural and class barriers to rebuild open, inclusive civic spaces, demonstrating how art can serve as a driving force for social cohesion.
Day 2
Tuesday, January 27, 2026, 10:00-18:00 Weiwuying Recital Hall、Concert Hall 3F Lobby
Topic 3: Art Empowerment
Four speakers will explore "Art as a Medium for Empowerment," sharing how it is not merely a form of creation but a transformative force that changes lives, unites communities, and responds to society. The discussion will examine how art, when brought into real-life contexts, can guide individuals from passive spectatorship to active participation.
Shigang Mama Theater draws upon the lived memories of local women, amplifying their voices in the aspects of labor and emotion. Against the Wind Theater uses drama to accompany and empower at-risk youth, helping them rebuild confidence and dignity through expression and performance. Staatsschauspiel Dresden, through its Bürger:Bühne, provides platforms for marginalized and underrepresented voices, fostering social inclusion and dialogue. Sistema Europe, the European branch of the global music education movement El Sistema, teaches vulnerable youth how to listen, collaborate, and empathize by means of playing in ensembles.
Panel Discussion: Getting into Communities──Case Studies and Challenges
The way art engages with communities is highly diversified: theater productions and applied theatre practices; initiatives addressing social issues, mental and physical well-being, and education; and projects centered on local revitalization and community development. The varied strategies, purposes, and methods collectively form a rich spectrum through which art interacts with society.
The closing segment of the forum will bring together more than twenty speakers whose expertise spans venue operation, curatorial production, community practice, and local perspectives. During nine thematic sessions, they will share their experiences of action and participation within different communities and localities.
Discussions will unfold from multiple perspectives: How can art be part of society and everyday life? What are the ethics and boundaries of going into communities? How can cultural venues function as mediators and platforms for co-creation? And how might art serve as a pathway to empowerment, care, and education?
Rather than seeking definitive answers, the discussions are an open invitation to dialogue. It seeks to showcase multiple strategies and forms through which art engages with communities in a way that allows voices with diverse backgrounds, disciplines, and experiences to listen, respond, and interact, generating new understandings and relationships.
Hotel Partner
Just Sleep - Kaohsiung Zhongzheng
For reservations, please contact the booking team at
E-mail: snail.chen@justsleephotels.com / yb.sales@justsleephotels.com
TEL：(+886) 07-9723565 #8301 / #8304
Address: No. 134, Zhongzheng 1st Road, Lingya District, Kaohsiung City 802, Taiwan.
More
►2026 International Forum and Workshop on Creative Engagement
- Each account is limited to one registration.
- Recommended for ages 12+
- If you require accessible or wheelchair seating, please contact the organizer before registering.
- Video recording and photography will be conducted by Weiwuying strictly for the purposes of documentation, cultural promotion, and non-profit use. Participants are required to sign the Portrait Right Agreement to consent to the use of their likeness.
- After registration, please complete the payment within the payment deadline specified in the Weiwuying official website registration system; if payment is not made by the deadline, the system will automatically release the spot.
- Refund Policy: Participants must contact the organizer to request a refund (learning@npac-weiwuying.org). The email timestamp will be used as proof. Refund requests must be submitted no later than 11:59 p.m. on January 14, 2026. A 10% handling fee will be deducted from the registration fee. Late requests will not be accepted.
- This event is not eligible for Weiwuying membership point accumulation. Thank you for your understanding.
- National Kaohsiung Center for the Arts (Weiwuying) reserves the right to alter the program. For updated information, please check on the Weiwuying website.
- For inquiries, please contact the International Forum Team, Weiwuying Learning and Participation Department at learning@npac-weiwuying.org.
