Introduction

Looking back at the COVID-19 outbreak in late 2019, epidemic containment measures of 2020-2023 reshaped daily life across the globe. Museums were forced to close, while exhibitions and art fairs were postponed or canceled. The arts sector — which has always placed particular value on physical presence, emotional exchange, and human interaction — faced unprecedented challenges. Yet the pandemic also accelerated the digital transformation of art institutions. From online viewing rooms and live-streamed performances, to the digitization of collections and the open-access databases, to applications in virtual reality (VR) and virtual tours, museums turned to emerging technologies to break the limits of time and place, creating new pathways for art experiences and engaging a public eager for art.

Transitioning from "the pandemic control as warfare" to the lifting of the global health emergency in May 2023, the dawn of the "post-pandemic era" has witnessed, on the one hand, the outbreak of conflicts—the 2022 Russo-Ukrainian War, the 2023 Israel-Gaza War, the 2025 global tariff wars, and the 2026 US-Iran War. On the other hand, it marks an era defined by the debut of ChatGPT, the widespread adoption of AI tools, a new arms race among tech giants and superpowers, and a paradox where the advent of Artificial General Intelligence (AGI) is heralded alongside warnings of AI running out of control. As the contemporary French philosopher Jean-Luc Nancy wrote in his polemical response at the onset of the pandemic, “A Viral Exception” (Eccezione virale):

“…an entire civilization is in question, there is no doubt about it.
    There is a sort of viral exception— biological, computer-scientific, cultural —
    which is pandemic.”

This state of viral exception persists latently across contemporary society in an epidemic, viral, and contagious form — built into a global state of urgency within human civilization. At once destructive and generative, alternately human-centered and non-human-centric, it self-contradictorily unfolds across the "Age of War" and the "Age of AI." War acts as a pathogen, as does AI — spinning with accelerating momentum like two faces of a coin, their trajectories and double-helix structure giving shape to a new world order.

Technological development and mutation have historically driven the emergency of new artistic forms. From the classical period to the digital era, new modes of artistic expression have continuously arisen in response to technological shifts. Yet, current discussions on art and technology often place emphasis on the development of information science and digital technology. Situated today in the “age of war” and the “age of AI”, we should return to the perspectives of art history and contemporary art to reopen "the question concerning technology" (Die Frage nach der Technik). Furthermore, against this global backdrop, Taiwan is currently experiencing a "second wave of museum boom." Thus, alongside the “age of war” and the “age of AI,” we must introduce yet another temporal dimension: the “age of art museums." Amid the current boom of museum construction, we should not only examine how technology influences artistic creation, museum display and collection, and audience engagement and participation, but also reconsider "the museum as a technology" — how it integrates emerging technologies into professional practice to support ongoing artistic development.

With this in mind, Taipei Fine Arts Museum has since late 2023, published a series of themed issues in Modern Art — including "Art Museums and Advanced Technology" (Issue 210), "Contemporary Art and War" (Issue 211), "Video Games and Contemporary Art" (Issue 215), and "Contemporary Art in the AI Era" (Issue 217). Also, it launched the publication project Contemporary Texts: Technics as part of its TFAM Contemporary Texts anthology series, continuously exploring the significance of technology within contemporary art. Building upon aforementioned reflections and research, this forum takes "Theories, Intellectual Currents, and Contemporary Phenomena of Technology" and "Technological Practices in Contemporary Art" as its two guiding directions. It focuses on three core themes — "AI," "Technologies of the Virtual," and "The Art Museum as a Technology" — and brings together two keynote lectures by new media scholars and artists, alongside four panel discussions: "Pathogens, War, and Contemporary Thought," "Contemporary Art in the AI Era," "Worlds of Imitation, Virtual, and Simulation," and "Museums and Advanced Technologies." Gathering artists, critics, scholars, curators, and museum professionals from Taiwan and abroad, the forum collectively poses the question of how technology shapes the knowledge, phenomena, and practices of contemporary art.

Organizer｜Taipei Fine Arts Museum ・ Planner｜Hsuan-Chun TSENG

Special Support｜

Time: NOV 21, 2026 (Sat.) 10:25 - 17:00
         NOV 22, 2026 (Sun.) 10:30 - 17:00

Venue: Auditorium, Taipei Fine Arts Museum

* Simultaneous Interpretation in Mandarin and English Provided

Program & Topics: Please refer to the Agenda.

 △ Online pre-registration is required and begins on NOV 9 (Mon.) 10:00 AM.
 △ The registration page will automatically close when reached the maximum number of participants
 △ Check-in:

• NOV 21 (Saturday Morning Session) 10:00 - 10:15; the registration expires when exceeding the check-in timeframe
• NOV 21 (Saturday Afternoon Session) 13:00 - 13:20; the registration expires when exceeding the check-in timeframe
• NOV 22 (Sunday Morning Session) 10:00 - 10:20; the registration expires when exceeding the check-in timeframe
• NOV 22 (Sunday Afternoon Session) 13:00 - 13:20; the registration expires when exceeding the check-in timeframe

Notice   

。All backpacks and items exceeding 40 x 30 x 20 cm must be stored in a locker at the Museum Information Center located in the lobby.

。Participating in the forum is free of charge. Please purchase an ordinary TFAM visitor’s ticket when entering the museum.

。In the case of changes on the symposium schedule, information on the official website shall prevail.

。This forum will be recorded. By attending, participants consent to the Museum’s use of the recordings, free of charge, for non-commercial educational, promotional, and research purposes.

。Please refrain from recording, eating, or drinking in the auditorium without prior permission.