The 2011 Taipei Toy Festival, featuring works by 200 toy designers from around the world, will open at the Huashan 1914 Creative Park in July, according to event organizer Monster Taipei International Inc.
“The event is a platform for designers to showcase their works and turn their designs into products,” Huang Jen-shou, director of Monster Taipei and curator of the festival said June 30. “It is also a place for artists to interact with visitors.”
According to Huang, the theme for this year is Fantasy Zone, co-developed by Huang and renowned Hong Kong cartoonist Alfonso Wong. “The zone is about how Old Master Q and his gang save the polluted Earth,” he explained, adding that comic works by Wong will also be exhibited in the zone.
Other features of the festival include a workshop led by renowned American designers Amanda Visell, Michelle Valigura, Carlos East and The Baroness, teaching visitors how to restyle and remodel their favorite toys, Huang said.
The 2011 Gibson Art Assault, displaying hand-drawn illustrations on guitars by Pete Fowler, Long Vo and 11 other artists, will also be staged at the event, he added.
Now in its eighth year, the festival will run from July 7 to 10, with designers from Belgium, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Japan and Singapore, Huang said.
About 38,000 visitors are expected to attend the event this year, according to Huang. (HZW)
Write to Grace Kuo at morningk@mail.gio.gov.tw