On November 2, the 29th Da Dun Fine Arts Exhibition of Taichung City award ceremony was held at the assembly hall of the Taichung City Government. This year’s exhibition saw a strong turnout with 1,681 entries, leading to intense competition. After a thorough judging process, 176 pieces were selected. Each of these award-winning works represented a considerable accomplishment, particularly for the highest accolade, the Da Dun Prize. At the award ceremony, Deputy Mayor Mark K. Huang (黃國榮) announced the recipients of this prestigious prize: Fang Li-Chuan for “New Thunder by ZHANG Wei-Ping in Qing Dynasty”(方立權〈清人張維屏 新雷〉) in calligraphy, Wu Pei-Qi for “Toward the Light”(吳珮綺〈光的彼處〉) in glue color painting, Hsieh Ming-Chi for “Think()”(謝明機〈Think()〉) in oil painting, Huang Chun-Chieh for “Rest”(黃俊傑〈休憩〉) in watercolor painting, and Tsai Bing-Hua for LOST(蔡秉樺〈LOST〉) in digital art.

Fang Li-Chuan, the winner of the Da Dun Prize in calligraphy, created “New Thunder by ZHANG Wei-Ping in Qing Dynasty” by using Han clerical script as a base and integrating it with the layout of traditional running-cursive script, presenting a grand magnificence. In the glue color painting category, Wu Pei-Qi's work “Toward the Light” portrays a white unicorn in front of classical architecture through a phantasmagorical style, giving it a surreal and enchanting quality. Hsieh Ming-Chi’s oil painting “Think()” combines various media in a collage to depict the conflict between time and life, reflecting an internal battle between destruction and reconstruction. Huang Chun-Chieh's watercolor piece “Rest” features remarkable realism, capturing the serene and cozy moment of a person resting with a dog. Tsai Bing-Hua's digital artwork “LOST” employs fingerprints as identifiers to create a digitized landscape, demonstrating the process of existence from birth to extinction in the virtual realm.

Deputy Mayor Huang recounted that in 2005, the exhibition joined an arts forum in Shanghai under the theme “Da Dun Fine Arts Exhibition: 10 Years of Success(大墩美展10年有成).” Nearly 20 years later, he sees the continuous emergence of new generations of artists, thanks to the promotion of the Da Dun Fine Arts Exhibition of Taichung City, with fresh and innovative works each year. “This is the kind of outcome we are excited to witness,” he said. He also mentioned that during the award ceremony two years ago, he suggested increasing the prize money for the exhibition, and this year, the Cultural Affairs Bureau has raised the total prize amount to NT$5.69 million, making it the highest prize pool for any public art exhibition in the country.

The Cultural Affairs Bureau noted that this year's list of winners shows a notable rise of young talent among the awardees. For example, 23-year-old Wu Tsai-Ting(吳采庭) received first prize in ink wash painting category for “When the Moon Forgot”(〈月亮忘記了〉), a piece that intertwines psychology with a picture book to depict nuanced human mental states. Additionally, Tsai Yu(蔡瑜), just 24, showcased significant ability by winning first place in the sculpture category with “Back Home?”(〈抵家〉) This work, resembling the stairs of an old apartment, symbolizes the necessary path home, serving as a metaphor for the feelings of nostalgia experienced by young people who have relocated for work from their hometowns.

Furthermore, several past winners of the Da Dun Fine Arts Exhibition have received accolades once again. For example, Mo Hsuan-Lin(莫昍霖), who won first place in the seal engraving category, also previously received the Da Dun Prize in 2014. His award-winning work this year, titled “Practice Makes Perfect”(〈駑馬十駕〉), is an uncommon large screen of chops that reflects his distinct artistic style.

The Cultural Affairs Bureau noted that the award-winning pieces will be exhibited at the Taichung City Dadun Cultural Center from November 2 to November 20, encouraging the public to enjoy the variety of artworks from both local and international artists. For more information about the event, visitors can check the official website (https://www.dadunfae.taichung.gov.tw/) or the Facebook fan page (https://m.facebook.com/dadunfineart/).