Who Gets to Be an Artist? Better Done Than Perfect
You may have noticed signs on street corners that read, “Help Wanted!”
They mark forms of labor that are common yet often overlooked in everyday life.
In the same way, can art-making also be considered a form of labor?
An artist’s work often feels like a temporary endeavor that requires constant time and labor amid instability, yet it is not always seen as “work.” The curatorial team, Walking Grass Agriculture, extends the idea of “Kong-Ke Museum” (2019-2021), the precursor to the CMP INSPIRATION, attempting to dissolve the lines between workers, artists, and viewers—reminding us that whether constructing, repairing, or creating, everything starts with our hands and actions.
In this exhibition, CMP INSPIRATION not only showcases results but also emphasizes the yet-to-be-named, unfinished, yet ongoing processes of creation. This space is open to participation—once you enter, you become part of the exhibition. There are no entrance barriers or fixed answers—only an invitation to join us for hands-on experiences and to reflect together, rediscovering the possibilities of art between everyday labor and creation.
What you lack might not be “getting nurtured” but “getting discovered.”
Curator
Walking Grass Agriculture is a Taiwan-based visual art, design, and curatorial collective founded in 2014 by artists Chen Han-Sheng and Liu Hsing-You. Drawing inspiration from their shared upbringing in farming families and their backgrounds in new media and art history, the collective explores the intersection of agriculture, folk knowledge, and contemporary art. Their name, referencing the Pokémon character Oddish (literally “Walking Grass” in Chinese), reflects a sensibility rooted in mobility, observation, and playful reinvention. Based in Kaohsiung—Taiwan’s largest port city, known for its industrial landscapes and complex cultural fabric—Walking Grass Agriculture grounds its practice in a methodology they describe as “art through agriculture, cultivating from the roots.” For the artists, agriculture is more than a set of techniques; it is an inherited way of life and a model for artistic thinking. Seasonal rhythms, environmental attunement, and material sensitivity form the basis of their approach.
Creative Partner
Born in Chiayi, Taiwan, TSAI Tsung-Yu holds a Ph.D. in Fine Arts (Theory and Practice) from National Taiwan Normal University and an M.F.A. from the Graduate Institute of Plastic Arts at Tainan National University of the Arts. Currently based in Tainan, his creative practice primarily focuses on painting and ink wash painting. He also occasionally publishes art criticism online.
Creative Partner
YU, Ya-Lan is currently a Ph.D. student in the School of Fine Arts at Taipei National University of the Arts and a resident artist at Banqiao 435 Art Zone. Ya-Lan Yu’s creations are inspired by records of daily life, travels, and reading experiences. Through printmaking techniques, she layers fleeting scenes and emotions to craft poetic and idealized landscapes. Her work explores the interplay of light, color, and materials, transforming printmaking into a contemporary form of artistic expression. In 2012, she was selected for the Ministry of Culture’s Made in Taiwan – Young Artist Discovery program. She has received major awards, including the Grand Prize in Printmaking at the Da Dun Fine Arts Exhibition and The Art Exhibition of New Taipei City, as well as recognition at the New Year Prints Exhibition of R.O.C. and the R.O.C. International Biennial Print Exhibition. Yu has participated in artist residencies at Zygote Press in the United States (2018), Khmessen in Norway, and Silpakorn University in Thailand (2025). Her work has been exhibited internationally across Asia, Europe, and the United States.
Creative Partner
LAI Yi-Chang, holds a M.F.A. from Department of Fine Arts and graduated from National Taiwan University of Arts. His practice focuses on the interwoven relationship between plants and civilization, exploring how plants function as mediums of connection and communication within different cultural contexts. Although originating from nature, plants carry layered emotional and symbolic meanings shaped by human history and social experience. Through processes of observation, analysis, and documentation, I deconstruct and reconfigure plants as agents of exchange, allowing them to operate as a form of communicative language. LAI Yi-Chang's work further investigates how plants can be transformed into narrative and artistic methods across diverse temporal and spatial frameworks, examining their potential to mediate meaning beyond verbal language.
Creative Partner
HSIEH Chia-Yu, born in 1998 in Taipei, Taiwan, HSIEH Chia-Yu holds a master's degree from the Department of Fine Arts at the Taipei National University of the Arts. Her practice includes sculpture, video and installation. She focuses on early Taiwanese aesthetic styles, employing methods such as appropriation, collage, and reconfiguration as narrative techniques to depict hidden heterogeneity within cultural and historical gaps, creating alternative spectacles. Her recent work emphasizes research into Taiwan’s early export ceramics industry through collecting, field research, and video documentation—an ongoing process.
Creative Partner
LI Fang-Yin works with various materials such as painting, texts, sculpture, and installation. Through personal textual narratives combined with objects and space, she brings ineffable memories and everyday experiences into public space, creating a sense of poetic resonance. Her work has been exhibited in the UK, Thailand, Singapore, and Taiwan, including at Chelsea College of Arts, University of the Arts London (2017), Taipei Artist Village (2023), Our Museum (2025), Kaohsiung Museum of Fine Arts (2025), and Art Outreach, Singapore (2025). She has also received grants from the Ministry of Culture’s Young Village Cultural Action Program (2019, 2020) and the Ministry of Culture’s Emerging Artist Development Program (2019). In 2021, she founded Carp Gallery in Taichung. The space runs as a platform for contemporary art exhibitions, a select bookshop, and art education. Her poetry collection ‘Lily’s Pearl’ will be publishing in 2026.
TIME
Exhibition Period
2026/03/20(Fri.)～2026/6/28(Sun.)
PRICE
General Admission
$350
Special Offer
$299
*CMP Lifestyle Members, CMP Midtown Residents, National Hotel guests, or residents registered in Minlong, Zhongming, or Zhongxing Li of West District, Taichung City), please present the relevant identification (such as ID card or National Health Insurance card), supporting documents, or your membership app screen at the CMP INSPIRATION info for on-site purchase.
Package
$598
*For entry of two people
*Sold on Klook only
INFO
Guidelines
- During the exhibition, the organizer will implement crowd control according to the on-site visitor flow. Visitors will enter in groups and in order as instructed on site. Actual entry time may vary depending on on-site conditions.
- For discounted ticket types, please present the required identification. If visitors fail to provide valid documents or do not meet the discount requirements upon verification, re-purchase of tickets will be required for admission. Thank you for your cooperation.
- If there are any changes to the exhibition schedule, content, or regulations, or if certain exhibits or areas are temporarily unavailable for viewing due to special circumstances, please refer to on-site announcements or official social media updates.
- For matters not mentioned above, please refer to the general visitor guidelines and photography rules of CMP INSPIRATION. For detailed ticketing information, please visit Klook.
- The organizer reserves the right to interpret and adjust any matters not covered above.
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