The Pier-2 Artist-in-Residence (PAIR) program, launched in 2015, is grounded in the principles of supporting contemporary artistic creation, promoting arts education, fostering international exchange, and engaging local communities. It invites artists from around the world to undertake residencies at the Pier-2 Art Center. In 2019, PAIR initiated the “Pier-2 Waving Waves Community (Pier-2 WWC)”, which aims to connect art and cultural institutions across international harbor cities, addressing issues of urban and cultural fluidity while fostering international dialogue and collaboration. Reflecting on its trajectory, Pier-2 Waving Waves Community used the fluidity and unpredictability of "waving waves" as a starting point to connect art institutions in port cities worldwide. It prompted cross-border conversations while encouraging local spaces and creators to anchor themselves in local context—echoing Kaohsiung’s evolution and historical memory as an international harbor city. The international forum further created a platform for sharing residency experiences across global port and industrial hubs.
Partnering with the Kaohsiung International Steel & Iron Sculpture Festival, this year's forum takes Kaohsiung’s rich industrial foundation as its springboard. Amid the city’s constant dynamic growth, it seeks to reflect on and reshape its current identity. "Rigidity" represents both the physical qualities of local industry and the resilience of its culture and community. In the tide-like rhythm of day-and-night flow, artistic practices move with a balance of toughness and grace—linking technology, labor, materials, and creative networks to forge the city’s future.
The forum centers on this dynamic blend of strength and softness: spanning the firm roots of local placemaking and branding, the fluid conversations of harbor festivals and residencies, and intimate artisan profiles centered on "water" and "solidity." Through these interwoven experiences, we together chart new narrative coordinates for an ever-moving harbor city.
