Zhongyuan Pudu Religious Arts Festival [The script of this episode] Between 1992 and 1996, the Taipei County Cultural Center organized a special event each year: the Zhongyuan Pudu Religious Arts Festival. More than just an ordinary temple gathering, it was a pioneering celebration that brought together religion, art, and pressing social issues. The planner of the first edition was Sisy Chen, who founded the Girl’s Shrine Folk Culture Studio to organize the event. In the video shown here, she recalls how the traditional rituals were reimagined to strengthen their relevance to modern society for the 1992 edition. Alongside customary pudu rites such as street parades and water lantern ceremonies, the event featured workshops where elementary schoolchildren and minority groups were invited to create their own lanterns and express their artistic visions, bridging ritual with everyday life. Sculpture workshops for county residents, as well as public dance and theater performances, further expanded community participation. The chief executive of the second edition was Ho Tian-tian, with Liu Chen-hsiang serving as the official photographer. This 1993 edition, titled Pudu of the Tamsui River, mourned the river’s lost spirit, polluted and neglected over the years, likened to Taiwan’s largest wandering ghost. Organized by Li Chi’s Folk Art Studio, the third through fifth editions continued with customary pudu rites, alongside film screenings, theater performances, and art exhibitions held in riverside containers. The 1994 edition, themed Modern Hell, evoked the emptiness and chaos of urban life, while the 1995 edition centered on humanitarian concerns, serving as a rallying cry for urgent social issues. The five editions of the Religious Arts Festival, in hindsight, were part of a trailblazing experiment. More than an arts festival, it was a cross-disciplinary collective action. Participants included artists, social activists, local temples, and the public. What remains striking is how the concept of pudu extended beyond the traditional act of relieving and redeeming wandering spirits. It was reimagined as a public action aimed at society and marginalized communities. Ultimately, it became a response to the reality of Taipei County and its migrant population, fostering a more inclusive sense of belonging. ---------- Relational Field: The Cultural Landscape of New Taipei in the 1990s 2025.08.16-12.21 ｜Curator｜ WANG Pin-hua ｜Artists｜ WANG Fujui, WU Mali, LIN Chi-wei, YAO Jui-Chung, KAO Jun-honn, HUANG Ming-chuan, LIU Chen-hsiang ｜Oral Archive Providers｜ Sisy CHEN, CHIEN Ming-hui ｜More Information｜https://ntcart.museum/EN/exhibition/H2507001