WOW Kaohsiung
WOW Kaohsiung took place from 5-14 November 2021 at the spectacular National Kaohsiung Center for the Arts Weiwuying, making history as the first-ever WOW Festival in Taiwan. The event combined in-person and online programming to connect local audiences with international conversations about gender, equality and social change. The digital programming also offered global audiences the chance to tune in with English translation.
Curated around the themes of #ConnectedDialogue, #EmpathyThroughTransposition, and #CelebratoryCocreation, WOW Kaohsiung invited the public to question gender roles, celebrate women’s achievements, and reimagine equality for future generations. Through more than 30 events, including lectures, workshops, performances and participatory activities, the festival created space for exploration, empathy and transformation.
Image gallery
To link the festival to the local community, the festival hosted WOW Think Ins in the lead-up, gathering voices from across generations, professions, and identities. The resulting festival included sessions including a talk about professional women in the sports sector who have stepped past the invisible gender boundary, a workshop on how to use essential oils to massage the body and soul, a theatre performance that invited elderly women to share their stories, and a talk with one of the first female puppeteers in Taiwan. As well as the public programme, The WOW Foundation team from the UK and WOW festival leaders from around the world came together for an Academy for Creative Producers, to share learnings about using art for social change.
About the organisers
WOW Kaoshiung was produced by National Kaohsiung Center for the Arts (Weiwuying), located next to the Weiwuying Metropolitan Park in Fengshan District. Inspired by the beauty of the local banyan trees and their iconic canopies of leaves, architect Francine Houben's design is an undulating structure composed of a unique skin that can withstand the humidity and salinity in Kaohsiung – a port city – thanks to a collaborative effort with the city's shipbuilders, and a roof under which generous free spaces can flow. In consideration of southern Taiwan's tropical climate and people's love for outdoor night activities, the Center has a fence-free plaza on the grounds that is accessible 24 hours a day for strolling, relaxing and much more, creating a breezy and welcoming space in which theatre and music become part of everyday life. The Center opened on October 13th 2018 and is now operating all-year round , developing and bringing local as well as international talents to southern Taiwan.
