This exhibit highlights journeys of cultural exchange the indigenous people of Taiwan embarked on in the distant past and more contemporary times. Through object storytelling, viewers will begin by retracing prehistoric canoe-based trade networks that once flourished between peoples of Taiwan and Southeast Asia, and how Southeast Asian artist & curator Anthonie Tumpag draws upon these cultural connections through contemporary art.

This ancient spirit for cultural exchange continues today through the ATAYAL organization’s Indigenous Bridges Youth Ambassador Program.
Over several years, indigenous delegates from Taiwan participated in the “Tribal Canoe Journeys” in the US, an annual event that also retraces traditional migration and trade routes of Pacific Northwest tribal groups. The exhibit concludes with photographs highlighting these past events from 2018-2019. They capture the partnership and camaraderie that grew between the Taiwan delegates, their Native American host canoe family from the Nisqually Tribe of Olympia, Washington, and other fellow participants.

The exhibit was curated by Anthonie Tumpag in collaboration with members and friends of ATAYAL.

Special thanks to Gerald Santos for coordinating the exhibit’s interactive and cross-cultural opening reception.