ABOUT YIAF
Yilan International Art Festival

 Yilan City boasts culture and Yilan International art Festival (YIAF). The festival, the brainchild of Mayor Tsung-yuan Chiang was held for the first time in 2015 to build bridges of cooperation with the countries of the world and make Yilan’s dream of becoming an international cultural capital come true, all through an exchange of musical art.

  The festival meets participants at the airport and offers them a platform for cooperation and interaction with artistic groups and musicians from around the world. Participating groups got a chance not just to meet but also to get to know one another through exchange. They have subsequently taken the friendships they made to other corners of the world.

  The two missions of the festival are 1) to build bridges of world peace, 2) to bring the world to Taiwan and Taiwan to the world. In the service of these two missions, or core values, we hope that the festival can serve a platform of exchange for musicians and arts groups of different nationalities.

  The festival is planned and executed by the Formosa Melody Music Center, which invites contemporary musicians and administrative personnel to cooperate in the hopes of generating international energy for local musical groups, cultivating the professional artists, not to mention professional administrative teams, that Yilan needs for international events and sustainable development.

  The festival was founded in the hopes of integrating different cultures to advance understanding and tolerances through music and exchange and make a lasting contribution to world peace.

Touch the World with Art and Love
Tsung-Yuan Chiang

  Since its start in 2015, a total of almost a thousand artists from 25 countries have participated in the Yilan International Art Festival. The festival has become an important international art exchange platform in Taiwan. In the 2018 International Festival Directors’ Meeting Yilan, 11 representatives from eight countries were invited to participate in the meeting, which was an important step in successfully put Taiwan on the map. The meeting also launched the Art For Better World project. The project promotes the implementation of rural education in Indonesia, and constructed a platform for international social services so that the world can see Taiwan and get to know Yilan.

  This year, the COVID-19 epidemic has a significant impact on the world. To ensure the continuity of art and the vitality of local arts and cultural activities, I insist that the 2020 Yilan International Art Festival can’t be suspended. Although foreign musicians can’t come to Taiwan, eight foreign performance troupes living and performing in Taiwan and eight local teams have been invited to help making the art festival possible this year. In addition to performing in the auditorium, arrangements have also been made for them to perform in charitable organizations such as nursing homes. We hope that the message of love and mutual care can continue to be conveyed through art.

  Art and love are the most comforting powers. Due to the severity of the epidemic, most international exchanges have been suspended. Unable to return to their countries, foreign artists in Taiwan are also missing their home. Through this year's Yilan International Art Festival, artists will convey their feelings through music and art to their families and friends far away from Taiwan. We welcome everyone to participate in the activities in this year’s Yilan International Art Festival, and touch the world with art and love together.

Tsung-Yuan Chiang
Mayor of City Government of Yilan
Chairman of the Festival
Tsung-Yuan Chiang
Appreciating the Vitality of Traditional Art Through Multicultural Eyes
Vincent Li

  Six years ago, the Yilan International Art Festival kicked off with the theme that musicians are architects of the soul. It also successfully constructed a new peace platform of music. Although people are kept at distance this year because of the epidemic, the Internet has no barriers and music has no borders, allowing us to draw even closer together. With this year's theme of Touch the World with Art and Love, we are letting the world see Taiwan and the international community feel the care and warmth from Yilan.

  This year, we have invited foreign teams living in Taiwan to participate in the event. The diverse performance from various countries will serve as a platform for musicians from different countries to cooperate and learn from each other. Such a diversity can inspire us to reflect and gain insight into the core of traditional art, and help us appreciate the vitality of traditional art from a multicultural perspective. In order to show the influence of the festival, the song for this year's finale will be a composition entitled "Travel the World with the Art Festival". The art festival will link together national folk songs from countries that have participated in the festival in recent years. The work will be presented through video to showcase a full overview of memories and vision, highlight the value of multicultural integration in the international music festival, and demonstrate the efforts and contributions of Yilan as an international exchange platform.

  Culture is first of all a recognition and identification of one's own core. Yet it is through diversified international exchanges that inspires us to reflect on our personal cultural core and values. In addition, the exchanges allow us to contribute our unique culture and art to the international community so that the world can be more colorful because of Taiwan. The International Art Festival uses art and love to construct new values. We invite the public to join us in using art and love to care about the world and let the world see the new Taiwanese legend of TAIWAN IS HELPING.

Festival Director
Vincent Li
Vincent Li