The book entitled “The Food is good, the weather is nice, what have you been up to?”  (shorted for 食時事 Shishishi) is the result of a co-working process of fifteen artists from Taiwan, Germany and Austria. Our approach is interdisciplinary and intercultural, using traditional and modern means of communication to bridge different cultures, practices and issues.

This project has left many traces between Taiwan and Germany for nearly four years with the coordination of SUAVEART. Through physical meetings, postal mails and online collaborations, exchanges and discussions have been established to conceptualize the book. It also formulated trust and friendship. What is the definition of an art book? What will happen to the established division of labor when the artists are playing the main roles in the book production?

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Publisher
ISLANDSET, established in 2013, has been cultivating the publishing industry for over a decade. It serves as a publishing laboratory that utilizes various forms as media to assist creators in disseminating their ideas to the public. The books published by ISLANDSET have received accolades such as being selected for the “Ministry of Culture’s Recommended Reading for Elementary and Middle School Students” (2023-2022), being nominated for the Taiwan Publishing Design Awards “Golden Butterfly Award” (2017), and achieving the top position in the “National Central Library’s Taiwan Publishing TOP1” (2014).

Organizer
SUAVEART, a research-based curatorial institution which takes care of the cultural value and life, and focuses on environment, nonhuman perspectives and nonplaces issues in islands, art and life. Established in Taiwan in 2015, it creates experimental and interdisciplinary artistic practices and possibilities. Artistic research, art residency, curation, and transnational exchanges are carried out with support from industry networks, consultants, and communities. SUAVEART currently is a member of Climate Heritage Network. The recent project “Wagiwagi”, has been invited to documenta 15 in Kassel, Germany, and “Asia NOW” public project at Monnaie de Paris.

Supported by: NCAF, Taipei Artist Village, Kaohsiung Public Library, Kunsthaus NRW Kornelimünster, and Kunststiftung NRW

Activities:

Nov 8-16, 2025｜Exhibition Book Book Beyond Berlin
@Common Imprint Berlin (柏林獨立書店)

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Sep 9-10, 2023｜Literacy Citizen Book Exhibition (讀字公民書展)
@Taipei Film Park Art Plaza (台北電影公園 藝術廣場)

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Oct 18-22, 2023｜Frankfurter Buchmesse (法蘭克福書展)
@Messe Frankfurt (法蘭克福會議中心)

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Nov 3-5, 2023｜Taipeiartbookfair (草率季)
@Huashan 1914 Cultural and Creative Industries Park, Taipei, Taiwan (1914華山文創園區)

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Nov 9–12, 2023｜Between Book
@Kunsthalle Düsseldorf, Germany (德國 杜塞道夫美術館)

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Nov 11-12, 2023｜Kaohsiung Reading Festival (高雄城市書展)
@Kaohsiung Public Library (高雄市立圖書館)

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Dec 2, 2023｜*Book Launch “Shishishi” at Heterotopia Library (異托邦圖書館新書分享)
@Singapore Art Museum (新加坡美術館)

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Dec 8-10, 2023｜KL Art Book Fair (吉隆坡藝術書展)
@KLSCAH (吉隆坡暨雪蘭莪中華大會堂)

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Dec 16-17, 2023｜Guling Street Books & Creative Bazaar (牯嶺街書香創意市集)
@Guling Street (台北市牯嶺街)

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Feb 20-25, 2024｜Taipei International Book Exhibition (台北國際書展)
@TAIPEI WORLD TRADE CENTER (台北國際會議中心)

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