Although the exhibition centers around the exchange between Taiwan and Okinawa, it does not target large themes such as “what is Taiwan” or “what is Okinawa.” Instead, it allows participating artists to present their own understandings of Taiwan and Okinawa in their own ways. Under this principle, the people of Taiwan, Okinawa, or Japanese in Okinawa, are interpreted as how they are seen by the artists. This event, which was born amid incidental circumstances, has gone on for 20 years, mellowing with the passing and changes of time and space. Here, there are no agendas, only the pure intention of self-expression and cultural interaction through art.

The “Champuru Kuroshio-2022 Taiwan Okinawa Exchange Exhibition” is the sixth event of Project Island Hopping. The exhibition was named after the Champuru Kuroshio exhibition, which started in 2010. In Okinawa language, “champuru” refers to mixing and stir-frying different ingredients, a concept that the curator Mizutani Atsushi uses to attribute the integration of different cultures. Both Okinawa and Taiwan have integrated cultures from other regions, such as China, Japan, Southeast Asia, and the US. I believe both Taiwan and Okinawa are exceedingly inclusive and continue to be so despite their many challenges. This exhibition is designed around the mindset of embracing differences and asserts that not only are we affected by the merge of different cultures but also that artists welcome complex times that lie ahead through the different cultural works, exploring the possibilities of new cultural elements.