China withdrew from South Korea’s Gwangju Biennale on the morning of September 3, just nine days after organizers reinstated the title of “Taiwan Pavilion” for a group exhibition featuring Taiwanese artists. The decision, first reported by the Korea Times, came two days before the scheduled opening of the 16th edition of the biennale.
Tensions among Taiwan, China, and the event organizers intensified in mid-August after the biennale removed the name “Taiwan Pavilion” from its promotional materials and substituted the English acronym for the National Taiwan Museum of Fine Arts, “NTMoFA.” Taiwan’s Ministry of Culture and participating artists demanded that the original name be restored, calling the change political censorship, but organizers initially رفض the request before reversing course on August 25.
Following the reinstatement of the name, Chinese curator Ruan Yuelai announced the China Pavilion’s unanimous withdrawal during a Thursday morning press conference.
“The Gwangju Biennale’s use of an incorrect name concerning the participation of the China and Taiwan regions has brought about a situation in which political factors intervene in the domain of art,
