Three international contemporary artists will arrive on November 24 to begin creating site-specific artworks at the National Museum of Marine Biology and Aquarium in Checheng, Pingtung County, Taiwan. The three artists selected for the international environmental art exhibition titled “Turning the Tide” are Karin van der Molen from the Netherlands, Thierry Godet from France now living in Germany and Ya-chu Kang from Taipei, Taiwan. The artists will stay in Pingtung and work at the NMMBA from Nov. 22 – Dec. 6, 2009, and the artworks they create will remain on view at the NMMBA through January 10, 2010. This is the first exhibition of environmental art at the NMMBA and the first time that international artists will be working there alongside scientists and marine biologists. The artists will also work with local volunteers to create their artworks during the two-week artist in residency project. The public activities with the international artists include a “Meet the Artists” symposium on Friday, November 27 at 2PM and opening weekend DIY activities with the artists from 2-4PM on Saturday, Dec. 5 and Sunday Dec. 6 at the NMMBA. The artists will be working each day at the NMMBA from Nov. 24- Dec. 4 to create their works, and the public can watch the artists at work during open hours at the NMMBA. One of the works to be created by Thierry Godet, titled “Fishing Basket” is a large structure in the shape of a fish made of bamboo and collected beach driftwood that visitors can go inside. This artwork will be constructed outdoors near one of the entrances to the NMMBA. Another work by Karin van der Molen will be a large fishing net structure, titled “The Trap.” The large scale handwoven fishing net will gradually be covered with white salt crystals during the weeks of the exhibition. The artwork by Ya-chu Kang, titled “Skeletons” will be constructed from garbage collected at local beaches and take the form of skeletons of sea animals suspended from the lobby ceiling. The artists will be collecting local materials for their works and selecting specific places for their works after they get to the NMMBA. Some artists might even change their idea to make it more related to the place after they see the sites for the artworks and the materials available. Come and see the artists at work and watch how the artworks develop over the two-week residency. This international environmental art project is supported by the Ministry of Education and organized by NMMBA. The international curator for “Turning the Tide” is Jane Ingram Allen, an American artist, curator and critic now living in Taiwan. Ms. Allen first came to Taiwan in 2004 as a Fulbright Scholar. During Allen’s Fulbright project in 2004 and 2005, she was an artist in residence at the NMMBA and made her work with handmade paper created from local plants. She exhibited her work in the local community and taught papermaking classes at the NMMBA for community people. Allen was very impressed with the NMMBA and its educational programs and environmental focus, and she is very happy to work with the NMMBA again to bring international artists there who are also concerned about the marine environment. The “Turning the Tide” international artists will be creating artworks inside and outside the NMMBA that can help to raise environmental awareness about the state of our oceans and turn the tide of environmental degradation. 2009 International Environmental Sculpture Exhibition Dates：2009/11/24~2010/1/10 Events n Sculpture Installation Period 2009/11/24(Tue)-12/3(Wed) 09:00-12:00;13:30-16:30 n Meet the Artists Symposium 2009/11/27 (Fri) 14:00-15:00 n Opening Ceremony 2009/12/4(Fri) 10:00-11:00 n Public Opening and DIY Activities with the Artists: 2009/12/5(Sat) and 2009/12/6(Sun) 10:00-12:00; 14:00-16:00 n Exhibition Dates 2009/12/5-2010/1/10 For more information please contact: Lingi Wu, PMA Associates Tel: 09-20-673-422 Email: lingiwu@pma-mp.com Hai Jiang, NMMBA Tel: 08-8825001 Ext. 5113 Email: ocean@nmmba.gov.tw Jane Ingram Allen, Curator Tel: 09-30-375-160 Email: info@janeingramallen.com or allenrebeccajanei@gmail.com