2025 Taiwan World Portraits Project
North America seven-city tour successfully concludes—cross-cultural dialogue continues, inviting you to follow the stories of Taiwanese worldwide.
In 2023, director Chen Hui-Ling initiated and curated the Taiwan World Portrait Project, which each year invites nearly ten Taiwanese diaspora organizations across U.S. cities to co-host touring memory-making workshops. Following last year’s six-city North America tour, the 2025 seven-city tour successfully concluded on August 26 under the cross-city coordination of Executive Director Lin Yi-Ling. This year’s workshop series was led by Chen Yu-Ho, a visual arts teacher at Wan-Fu Elementary School in Taipei.
The nearly month-long journey began on July 30, when Teacher Chen departed from Taoyuan, Taiwan. He visited Salt Lake City, San Diego, Los Angeles, Walnut Creek, Seattle, Pittsburgh, and Chicago. Through story lightbox workshops, keynote talks, and community exchanges, the program showcased the diverse faces of Taiwanese people in global contexts, sparking cross-cultural understanding and deep dialogue.
Salt Lake City (7/30–8/2)
“Family Memory Story Lightbox” Workshop Debuts in North America
Hosted by Utah State University Extension, the workshop drew six families. Children’s storytelling turned into a “parents’ roast session,” sparking laughter and closeness. Parents also shared intergenerational migration stories, resonating with the idea of “a foreign land feeling like home.” Making storyboards and story lightboxes wove together grandparents’ memories, parents’ voices, and children’s imagination—described by participants as “an intergenerational emotional miracle.”
San Diego (8/2–8/5)
Waves and Family Memories Intertwine
Co-hosted by the Taiwanese American Foundation of San Diego, Taiwanese American Community Center-UC San Diego, and UCSD Center for Taiwan Studies, participants shared memories infused with flavors of home. Stories included life in Tamsui’s “White Building,” childhood ramen as a symbol of warmth, and a mother’s postpartum month sustained by her mother’s daily home-cooked meals. With hospitality as warm as the sea breeze, the meaning of “home” lingered long after.
Los Angeles (8/5–8/9)
Intergenerational Art Classes Strengthen Community Memory
Co-hosted by the Taiwan Center Foundation of Greater Los Angeles & Taiwan School and the Taiwanese Association of Northwest Los Angeles, students transformed family stories into paper-cut and lightbox art. A child’s discovery of his grandfather’s flea market work to support the family deeply moved him. Beyond class, the delegation visited TECO Los Angeles and the local Overseas Community Affairs Center, receiving full support. The program bridged generations and reinforced that knowing one’s roots builds confidence for the future.
Walnut Creek, San Francisco Bay Area (8/9–8/12)
Family Stories Across Languages and Colors
Hosted by the East Bay Taiwanese Association, families from diverse backgrounds shared stories through art. Highlights included children declaring braised pork rice superior to pizza, grandparents’ farm work, immigrant dinner tables mixing pizza, rice, and noodles, and hidden histories about firearms for family safety. Lighting the story lightboxes revealed a mosaic of family, land, and memory.
Seattle (8/12–8/19)
“Lighting Memories” Workshop in Taiwanese
Co-hosted by the Seattle Taiwanese Language Association and the UW Taiwan Studies Arts & Culture Program, stories blended humor, nostalgia, and local traditions: making handmade soap, violin practice in a family bookstore, Tainan peanut rice dumplings, grandparents’ Harley road trip, and fishing adventures during curfew. The lamps lit up Seattle’s rainy afternoons with deep intergenerational resonance.
Pittsburgh (8/19–8/24)
Cross-Cultural Exchange Blossoms in Light and Shadow
Co-hosted by the KITA Foundation, Taiwan Center for Mandarin Learning, TCML, and Café Philo ＠ Pittsburgh, nearly 50 participants—including many non-Taiwanese Americans—gathered at Carnegie Library’s Squirrel Hill branch. With Mandarin, Taiwanese, and English interpretation, stories were transformed into paper-cut and lightbox art. Family memories became glowing bricks embedded in a wall of light at the lighting ceremony—merging scattered stories into a collective current.
Chicago (8/24–8/26)
Stories Across Generations Illuminate Community Ties
Hosted by Team Taiwan Foundation, participants shared migration stories, food memories, and market experiences. At the lighting ceremony, each memory became part of a luminous wall, reflecting cross-cultural connection and community strength.
Teacher Chen’s Reflection
After safely returning to Taiwan on August 27, Teacher Chen Yu-Ho reflected: “Your [participants’] stories let me feel the deep affection and attachment to the land, reminding me who I am, where I come from, and where my heart belongs.” He added: “Stories are the softest yet toughest carriers. They allow us, between the familiar and unfamiliar, to re-examine our land and rediscover deeper emotions.” Quoting Mvskoke Poet Laureate Joy Harjo: “All memory bends to fit. We become poems.” Chen concluded that the tour folded and unfolded participants’ memories, ultimately transforming them into poems that illuminated hearts.
Conclusion
The tour drew more than 200 participants and received wide coverage from local media and communities. Founder Director Chen Hui-Ling stated: “Thanks to the sponsorship of Ms. Jean Huang, Ms. Flora Chen, and Taiwanese United Fund, we were able to successfully carry out this year’s touring program. This tour is not only about recording Taiwanese American stories but also about starting a dialogue with the world. We hope overseas Taiwanese can be pioneers of this artistic movement, sharing experiences of collective portrait-making with other communities, and building local collective memories. We invite everyone to continue following the Taiwan World Portraits Art Movement and join this public narrative across regions and cultures.”
Founder: Director Chen Hui-Ling
2025 Executive Director: Lin Yi-Ling
Co-Organizers: Utah State University Extension; Taiwanese American Foundation of San Diego; Taiwanese American Community Center-UC San Diego; UCSD Center for Taiwan Studies, Taiwan Center Foundation of Greater Los Angeles & Taiwan School; Taiwanese Association of Northwestern Los Angeles; Taiwanese Association of Northwest Los Angeles, East Bay Taiwanese Association, Seattle Taiwanese Language Association; Taiwan Studies Arts & Culture Program (University of Washington); KITA Foundation, Team Taiwan Foundation
Collaborators: Professor Chen Wen-Chen Memorial Foundation, and Dr. Chen Wen-chen Memorial Foundation (Taiwan); T League RGT
Sponsors: Ms. Jean Huang; Ms. Flora Chen; Taiwanese United Fund
Special Thanks: Mr. Philip Wu; Mr. Ar Mwun Go; Ms. Ellen Y. Chang; Mr. Wang Chen-Chao; Mr. Samuel Hsieh; Mr. Longson Chang
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