Can You Create Calligraphy with Your Tongue? 30 Artists Gather for a Performance Art Festival in Baihe
China Times | 3 November 2026
From 2 to 9 November, the Taiwan Image Calligraphy Museum in Baihe, Tainan, is hosting its first-ever performance art festival, A Thousand Images (意象萬千).
The festival brings together 30 participants: 14 international artists, 15 Taiwanese artists and one curator. Some use their tongues and saliva to create artworks, while others pick up a traditional Chinese calligraphy brush for the first time to depict the rice fields of Baihe. The festival brings calligraphy and performance art together, presenting artistic approaches shaped by different cultural backgrounds.
The festival is organised by calligrapher Chen Shixian and curated by Cai Qing. Preparation has taken approximately six months, bringing together artists from Estonia, Italy, South Korea, Germany and other countries.
Russian-born Finnish artist Josef Ka is collaborating with Chinese artist Bei Ling on a performance. Through the contrast between red and black and the expressive use of bodily gestures, the artists reflect on past political systems and explore transformations in contemporary feminist consciousness and gender relations.
Chen Shixian explained that the museum has traditionally focused on calligraphy and local culture. By inviting international performance artists for the first time, the organisers hope to create a space for cultural exchange in Baihe. In the future, they are also considering extending artistic collaborations to the design of local agricultural product packaging, bringing art into the development of the regional economy.
Curator Cai Qing emphasised that although the festival is rooted in the concept of calligraphy, artists are not expected to restrict themselves to traditional forms of writing.
The A Thousand Images Performance Art Festival runs until 9 November. Public performances will take place on 7 and 8 November, from 10:00 am to 10:00 pm, introducing audiences to diverse artistic approaches shaped by different cultural traditions. Visitors are also welcome to visit the museum throughout the festival.
1. Original Chinese text (as published)
China Times · 3 November 2026
用舌頭也能揮毫？台南白河台灣意象書法館11月2日至9日首度舉辦「意象萬千」行為藝術節，邀集14名外國藝術家、15名台灣藝術家及1名策展人，共30人參與。有人用舌頭、唾液作畫，也有人首次拿起毛筆描繪白河稻田，將書法與行為藝術結合。活動7、8日安排公開展演，讓民眾見識不同文化背景下的創作方式。
藝術節由書法家陳世憲主持、蔡青策展，籌備約半年，邀請來自愛沙尼亞、義大利、韓國、德國等地的藝術家參與。
俄裔芬蘭籍藝術家Josef Ka與中國藝術家貝嶺合作行為藝術演出，透過紅、黑兩色對比及身體姿態，反思過往政治體制，並探討當代女權意識與性別關係的轉變。
陳世憲表示，過去以書法及在地文化為創作主軸，這次首度邀請國際行為藝術家，希望讓不同文化在白河交流，未來甚至可能將創作延伸至農產品包裝設計，為地方產業注入藝術元素。
蔡青表示，藝術節雖以書法觀念為背景，並未要求藝術家拘泥於傳統書寫形式。
「意象萬千」行為藝術節展期至11月9日，7、8日均有行為藝術表演，上午10時至晚間10時舉行公開發表，展覽期間民眾也可入館參觀。
