The 24th Taichung Tsai-Mo Art Festival 2025 (2025第24屆臺中彩墨藝術節), an annual event that brings together the world's top Tsai-Mo art creativity while nurturing emerging Taiwanese artists, officially opened today (Sep. 27th) at the Dadun Cultural Center. This year's festival centers on two main pillars: the “International Tsai-Mo Art Exhibition” (國際彩墨藝術大展) and the “Tsai-Mo New Artists Award.” (彩墨新人賞) The International Tsai-Mo Art Exhibition, themed “Fantacy, UFO” (異想．幽浮) features 131 artists from 22 countries. The Tsai-Mo New Artists Award encourages Taiwanese youth to freely create and boldly express themselves, showcasing the innovative energy and diverse facets of Eastern Tsai-Mo art in the contemporary era through cross-cultural and intergenerational dialogue.

The Taichung Cultural Affairs Bureau stated that since its inception in 2002, the Taichung Tsai-Mo Art Festival has annually set a theme and maintained ongoing exchanges with the international Tsai-Mo art community, establishing itself as a significant cultural brand and international exchange platform for Taichung City. This year's theme, “Fantacy, UFO,” symbolizes artists breaking through reality's constraints with imagination in a rapidly changing era. The UFO metaphor represents exploration and connection with the unknown, highlighting Taichung's outstanding achievements in promoting international cultural exchange and grounding artistic education.

The Cultural Affairs Bureau noted that the “Tsai-Mo New Artists Award” provides a vital stage for emerging Taiwanese artists. It has not only uncovered numerous promising talents but also showcased the imaginative creativity and pioneering spirit of the younger generation, serving as a key force in passing on the torch of Tsai-Mo art. Their abundant creative energy and diverse artistic expressions deserve recognition.

The Cultural Affairs Bureau mentioned that this year's “Outstanding Artist Award”(新銳獎) was won by Chen Hsan-Chi (陳軒祺) for her work “Hope For.” (《盼望》) The painting depicts a delicate woman gazing into the distance, achieving precision in technique, concept, and composition. The three “New Artist Award”(新人獎) winners each possess distinctive styles: Sie Jia-Yi's (謝家苡) “Sacrifice, in Exchange for the Everyday” (《犧牲．換來日常》)captures the urban sense of time and space through crowds at a pedestrian traffic light; Chen Yi-Hao's (陳羿豪) “ Impermanence” (《無常》) highlights life's transience through the contrast of white flowers and a lizard; Wang Yi-Jia's (王逸家) “Dream of the Nine-Colored Deer” (夢見九色鹿) blends Eastern and Western mythology to celebrate justice and noble virtue.

The Cultural Affairs Bureau further noted that in addition to the two major exhibition areas, a “Tsai-Mo Lecture.” (彩墨專題講座) was also held today. Professor Emeritus of National Taiwan Normal University (國立臺灣師範大學) and President of the General Association of World Tsai-Mo Art (世界彩墨藝術總會) , Lee Chen-Ming (李振明), delivered a talk, fostering in-depth exchanges between professionals and the public. The event invites artists worldwide to create works based on an annual theme, deepening international cultural connections and establishing Taichung as a global hub for Tsai-Mo art. The “Tsai-Mo New Artists Award” focuses on discovering emerging Tsai-Mo artists, infusing the festival with continuous creative vitality.