2Popular Japanese IP 'JOHN' Appears at Gaomei Wetlands Taichung ChingShui Art Festival Creates a Summer Feast of Art

In the work "SKATER JOHN", JOHN's free spirited and unpretentious personality is deeply influenced by street cultures such as skateboarding, surfing, and hip hop. The 2026 Taichung ChingShui Art Festival has opened in grand style. From June 27 to August 2, eight installation artworks are on display at Gaomei Wetlands, Gaomei Lighthouse, and the Yuliao Old House Area. Among them, "SKATER JOHN", located at the entrance to the boardwalk, is a hugely popular IP created by Japanese illustrator Masataka Shibata, whose charming design has won widespread affection. The festival held its opening ceremony last week at the entrance plaza of Gaomei Wetlands. Members of the public are warmly invited to visit Qingshui and experience a summer feast where nature and art come together.
Ching-Ping Hsiao, Chief Secretary of the Cultural Affairs Bureau of Taichung City Government, stated that the art festival is themed "Between Water and Wander". It brings together popular Japanese illustrator Masataka Shibata, Malaysian visual creator Jason Wong, and Taiwanese artists Chien-Chung Ding, Chien-Yi Wu, Chien-Chih Lin, Lin-Li Liao, and Chia-Wei Chang to create eight installation artworks. The themes span wetland ecology, the rhythm of the tides, wind shaped landscapes, and memories of coastal settlements. The festival also connects local communities, the Coastal Revitalization USR Project of Hongguang University, and Taichung Municipal Qingshui Preschool, all in the hope of offering visitors an unforgettable summer art experience.
The Cultural Affairs Bureau noted that "JOHN" comes from New York and embodies a free spirited and unpretentious soul. Carrying a surfboard, he arrives at Gaomei Wetlands to enjoy the summer coastline and sunset, and now and then playfully hides in the alleyways, hoping to cross paths unexpectedly with visitors. In addition, Hongguang University and local communities have worked together to complete the first phase of the Coastal Revitalization USR Project, taking the first step toward the revitalization of the Yuliao settlement.
The Cultural Affairs Bureau also stated that the festival invited Qingshui based artist Chien-Yi Wu to create "Sea Breeze and the Royal Ship". Through artistic intervention in the space, the work reinterprets the royal ship faith and temple motifs of Wenxing Temple, responding to local cultural memory and history while also bringing new vitality to the old house area.
Within the Gaomei Lighthouse area, artist Lin-Li Liao presents "Recurrence of Light", in which translucent blue acrylic and aluminum pieces shimmer and flicker in the sunlight, echoing Taiwan's only red and white striped lighthouse. Malaysian visual creator Jason Wong also presents the photographic work "Between Us and the Sea", which captures through close visual details the everyday moments of wetland patrol personnel, tour guides, local industry workers, and students from Ching Shui Elementary School, portraying the most genuine and moving vitality of the coastal area.
Curator Chang-Jui Lin explained that, in order to connect the different exhibition zones, the work "Finding Limbo" transforms geometric waves into the playful character Limbo, guiding visitors through the settlement's alleyways. It also turns the exterior wall of the Gaoxi Branch Campus of Taichung Municipal Qingshui Preschool into Limbo's stage, highlighting the distinctive character of the school and the spirit of the site.
In addition to the static exhibition, the festival also includes a variety of art workshops, ecological guided tours, and online point collecting activities during the event period, inviting the public to visit Gaomei Wetlands in Qingshui during the summer vacation. For more information, please visit the website of the Cultural Affairs Bureau of Taichung City Government or the official Facebook fan page of the Taichung ChingShui Art Festival at https://reurl.cc/Emamev.