Taiwanese printed cloth represents a simple everyday aesthetic that arises from the people’s affection for the land and their home villages. For many Taiwanese, printed cloth embodies memories of their daily life while growing up in a simple culture. Not only is this material an important element of Taiwanese local history and culture, but its designs have a unique cultural significance. In recent years, artists and creative designers have injected a new cultural spirit and appearance into printed cloth by interpreting and transforming it in their own ways. They have created contemporary works using printed cloth, yet related them to the familiar past. Printed cloth has never gone “out of fashion” from when farming was the primary way of life until today’s technological age.
We hope that the “new thinking” presented in the cultural and creative elements of this educational exhibition using printed cloth will encourage dialogues between a traditional aesthetic and new interpretations of it. We also hope that the exhibition will enable the public to rediscover Taiwan’s cultural and historic richness, and continue to build a uniquely Taiwanese cultural aesthetic, extending and enriching local culture while related to daily life.
This exhibition is unique because it displays many kinds of printed cloth in a fabric store setting. It introduces the manufacture, use, and development of these fabrics in daily life. It also explores the aesthetic and cultural significance of printed cloth with interactive multimedia installations, online learning, and a dress-up area for visitors to role play. We have tried to show the nostalgic history of printed cloth as well as its creative and cultural value in today’s society.
The exhibition is divided into five sections:
1. “Printed Cloth in History” explores the everyday aesthetic of printed cloth and its history.
2. “Floral Fortunes” presents the symbolic meaning of flowers and their cultural significance.
3. “Grandma’s Fabric Store” reproduces a traditional Taiwanese fabric store.
5. “Floral Dream Room” is a cultural and creative learning and dress-up area.
The organizers hope that this educational exhibition will serve as an extracurricular activity for schools and promote school programs related to the arts and humanities. They also hope to provide a space for parents and children to learn together to increase intergenerational education and bonding between parents and children. The main design concept behind this exhibition was self-guided learning to increase the motivation and effectiveness of active learning among exhibition goers. The hope would be that exhibition goers can experience self-learning and discovery, and pass on the beauty of Taiwanese culture to others.
