This exhibition begins with the museum collection.

 But rather than looking back and asking, "What happened in the past?", we ask instead: “And then?”

 <And Then: Conversations with the Collection> is an exhibition inspired by the collection of the Museum of Fiber Arts, Taichung (MOFiA). It invites seven contemporary artists and interdisciplinary practitioners to engage in an open dialogue with selected works from the museum's collection through the creation of new artworks. Their responses may embrace or challenge the collection; they may be intimate, interpretive, transformative, or even deliberately depart from the spirit of the original objects. Rather than recreating the past, each artist approaches the collection from a personal perspective, treating the objects as materials, points of departure, or even as questions in themselves.

Curated by Wei-Lin Yang, the exhibition began with a selection of works from the museum's collection, from which each participating artist chose one object as the starting point for their creative dialogue. These collection objects include works by master craftspeople, everyday utensils, traditional tools, and the cultural heritage of specific communities. Together, they embody the accumulated knowledge of production, daily life, belief systems, and aesthetic traditions—traces of ideas and lived experience preserved through time.

Responding to the curatorial theme through their own creative practices, the participating artists reinterpret these objects from the aspects of technique, material, imagery, and culture. Each new work therefore becomes both a response and a new question—one that remains open and points towards the future.

Presented in stages throughout 2025 and 2026, the exhibition gradually unfolds across different areas of the museum, including the outdoor entrance, foyer, corridors, and courtyard. This evolving presentation creates an experience shaped by both time and movement through space. Rather than offering a single, static viewing experience, the exhibition invites visitors to become immersed, moved, and, at times, active participants. Several of the works have been planned as participatory projects, allowing visitors to contribute directly to the creative process rather than simply observe it.

 Behind these seven artistic questions lies an invitation for reflection:

How can contemporary artistic practice engage with traditional craftsmanship? How are the boundaries between craft, art, and interdisciplinary practice being blurred and reinterpreted today? As materials and craft techniques continue to evolve, do our values surrounding artistic creation, and the ways we experience creative work also change? And as contemporary craft increasingly embraces sensory experiences that language itself struggles to articulate, does this suggest that craft continues to respond to the passage of time?

The phrase “And Then” may refer to the time when the seven collection objects were originally created... and then? It may refer to the moment when these contemporary artworks came into being... and then? Or it may be the very moment when a visitor encounters the works... and then?

When we speak of “And Then”, we are referring neither to a conclusion nor to an afterthought following the exhibition. Rather, it is an opening deliberately left behind, it is a gap, a space where new meanings may emerge through uncertainty, transformation, and encounter.

Like an unfinished thread, “And Then” does not ask for an immediate answer or a neatly tied knot. Instead, it invites visitors to carry the question with them and allow the thread to continue unfolding beyond the exhibition itself.

Since the launch of <And Then: Conversations with the Collection>, five artists have already created and showcased their works at the museum. The project will continue with new commissions by Japanese artist Aya Yamanaka and Taiwanese artist Chen-Lin Lee. A series of workshops and public talks will happen alonside the exhibitions, and visitors are warmly invited to take part.

For more information, please visit our website:

https://mofia.taichung.gov.tw/