Trend Connection Taking the International Profile of the City to New Heights - 臺北產經資訊網

The "TRENDY TAIPEI" series of activities was co-organized by various Taipei City Government (TCG) agencies including the Department of Cultural Affairs, the Department of Information and Tourism, the Department of Economic Development, the Department of Information Technology, and the Taipei Music Center. The campaign integrated arts and cultural activities, large musical performances, business matchmaking sessions, and international expert forums to provide the tourism, creative, concert and other industries with innovative performance formats and commercial perspectives that raise the international profile of Taipei City.

The "Concert Economy" series of activities emphasized the commoditization of musical content. "Building of an industry matchmaking platform" and "Organizing performances and exhibitions of varying sizes" complement each other to generate business opportunities from connected to the performance of local and international music.

For the building of an industry matchmaking platform, "Taipei Music Expo (TMEX)" brought together more than 120 international curators and led to more than 500 business matchmaking meetings.

For organizing performances and exhibitions of varying sizes, the "Taipei Super Live!" activity linked together 22 music spaces to provide a stage for emerging talent. "JAM JAM ASIA Music Festival" was expanded to gather Taiwanese musicians such as Sunset Rollercoaster together with other Asian bands from Japan, Korea, and Thailand. The TMEX 2-day activity was held over the weekend at the same time, resulting in more than 85,000 visitors to the Taipei Music Center district and highlighting the international commercial potential of Taipei City. The "Trendy Taipei Boom - Taipei Arena Collection" partnered with the private sector to invite Taiwanese, Japanese, and Korean musical groups to perform at the Taipei Arena. Overseas fans flocked to Taiwan boosted tourism and consumption to the surrounding area. The local pop music industry was also given more international exchange opportunities.

The wide variety of activities created more than just a platform form matchmaking business opportunities. The performances of different sizes provided emerging talent a chance to perform alongside mainstream performers. The linking of talent hunting, market testing, and commercial matchmaking converted concerts from just entertainment events into industry projects with well-defined business targets.

The "Industry Trends" series of activities in Trendy Taipei focused on the latest developments in the industry. "Incubation of local innovation" and "Introduction of pioneering thinking” were applied to convert international perspectives into industry stimulus in Taipei City.

First, to accelerate the commercialization of local culture & creativity and entertainment technology start-ups, "StartSphere Taipei" was held at the Nangang Bottle Cap Factory to serve as an exchange platform for international innovation. Rather than being just a forum for the sharing of innovative ideas, the activity played the matchmaker between start-ups and market capital. Audio-visual, gaming, and music start-ups served as the supply side, while international capital and accelerators from the US, Japan, and Korea served as the demand. A series of opportunities for connecting capital with creativity was created using a variety of format including forms, exhibitions, and venture capital matchmaking. The activity went beyond simply commercial marking. The promotion of interactions and exchanges between different start-up industries helped to stimulate original idea. Start-ups and financial capital could then expand their portfolios in Taipei City.

While "StartSphere Taipei" emphasized the supporting of exchanges between international start-ups and the matchmaking of business opportunities, the core function of "TRENDY Fusion | TRENDY Forum" was to introduce pioneering ideas in the industry. The forum agenda was designed to offer pioneering insights on the key trends and challenging facing the local cultural & creative and entertainment industries.

World-class speakers at the forum included the American director Todd Eckert, the Japanese artist Sebastian Masuda, Korean CEAO Cha Haley, and UK Abbey Road Studios Managing Director Sally Davies each shared their own unique mindset and experience. The topics ranged from AI applications, social inclusion, and innovative branding models in the digital ear. Local operators learned from their experiences and converted them into international marketing prowess. For the sharing of experience on technological applications, past experience with Virtual Reality (VR) production was employed to explore immersive content moved beyond technology demonstrators and were commercialized in the market. As the global cultural IP strategy, artists’ insights were introduced to analyze brands that converted their unique local aesthetics into international marketing power.

The forum was not just an information sharing session. The systematic introduction of international experience into Taipei’s cultural and creativity will also bring international experience to Taipei’s innovation industries. For local operators, this means a shorter exploration phase as well as direct access to the latest ideas in the global industry that will maintain Taipei City’s intellectual leadership.

The "Urban Action" series of activities moved musical performances out of the venue and into the everyday living spaces of city residents to make art and cultural performances more approachable to ordinary residents. The series of activities included a special retrospective exhibition on the history of pop music as well as a variety of art and cultural activities held throughout the city.

Taipei City Archives launched the "Play My Song A" special exhibition showcasing the history of pop music in Taipei City and how past compositions influences original music today.

Additionally, performances and exhibitions in a variety of formats were held at multiple cultural landmarks throughout Taipei City as part of the series to provide residents with different art and cultural experiences. The "NOW, I also want to have an exhibition in a museum" activity at the Museum of Contemporary Art, Taipei, combined markets, creativity, music, and desserts. The South Spark Art Fest" set up art installations, audio arts, performances, and interactive media throughout the city. Taipei Performing Arts Center hosted the "Shilin Fairyland Disco”, an unconventional party that was a fusion of Taiwanese puppet show, theater, parade, and musical performances. The “SongYan Summer Festival” at the Songshan Cultural and Creative Park encompassed international musical exchanges, musical performances, themed exercises, and weekend night markets to provide residents with a completely different experience at night in a historical setting.

The planning of the "Urban Action" activities all followed a common theme: Changing the way people participate in cultural activities. Artistic performances, themed markets, and cultural experiences were no longer limited to certain venues. Instead, they were made a part of everyday life to give residents more opportunities to participate in art and cultural events.

The "2025 TRENDY TAIPEI" series of activities is a combination of different aspects including everyday art and cultural experiences for city residents, international business matchmaking for the music industry, as well as trendy exchanges on local innovation. On the whole, it provided the local creativity industry with business opportunities and development direction that raised the international profile of Taipei City. It also constructed a global creative industry platform that integrates talent and business models.