Drifting Feast

The name “Drifting Feast” originates from the longing for reunion among people long isolated after the pandemic. Inspired by Taiwanese hospitality and the traditional “band banquet” (办桌) culture, this project transforms this spirit into a nomadic curatorial practice that crosses different lands. The perception of movement and change forms the core of “Drifting Feast,” reflecting on the friction and tension between history and tradition, faith and loneliness, consumer desire and the myth of prosperity, while exploring how traditions, ingredients, languages, beliefs, and stories intersect and merge in continuous flow and exchange. “Drifting Feast” combines the imagery of “drifting” and “feast”; “drifting” suggests a state of movement driven by ocean currents, wind, time, and geopolitics, while “feast” evokes abundance, gathering, and ritual.

However, “feast” not only symbolizes celebration but also points to marginality and precarity, reflecting the immigrants, diaspora communities, laborers, and marginalized individuals in society who have made profound contributions to cultural and social structures, yet often remain in a state of drifting, exclusion, or neglect. This metaphor allows us to rethink the power, adaptation, and companionship embedded within. “Drifting Feast” also hints at mobility, unpredictability, and the beauty of temporary connections. Through this concept, it explores personal and collective journeys, the experience of shared celebration, and reflects on the fantasies of consumerism and current social realities, as well as the complex and entangled relationships in contemporary globalized life.

Over the past two years (2024-2025), this project has gradually collaborated with local art institutions in different cities such as Yogyakarta (Indonesia), Paris (France), and Vienna (Austria), responding to local historical and cultural contexts in each exhibition and generating new perspectives through dialogue and collaboration. Now we bring this rich exchange back to Taiwan. This exhibition features works by 26 domestic and international artists, as well as photography books related to the project, presenting multiple positions, dialogues, and trajectories of exchange to domestic and visiting audiences.