Wu Mali
Wu Mali (b. 1957, Taipei) is a Taiwanese artist-curator of socially engaged and ecological art. Trained at Kunstakademie Düsseldorf, she integrates research, education, and long-term collaboration with communities to address environmental justice and urban/ecological governance. Over the past three decades, Wu has become a pioneering figure in Taiwan’s contemporary art, moving artistic practice beyond the white cube to focus on real-world concerns of community, environment, and social transformation.
Her projects are often participatory, turning art into a platform for dialogue, activism, and collective care. In Art as Environment: A Cultural Action at Plum Tree Creek (2009–2012) , she collaborated with residents, schools, artists, and professionals in Zhuwei, New Taipei City, to address the pollution of Plum Tree Creek through creative strategies that raised ecological awareness and encouraged civic engagement.
At the 2008 Taipei Biennial, she presented Taipei Tomorrow As a Lake Again, a project addressing climate change and flooding, which invited the public to reimagine urban futures through art and ecological thinking. A decade later, she co-curated the 2018 Taipei Biennial Post-Nature: A Museum as an Ecosystem, where she emphasized the interconnections between art, science, and environmental activism.
Wu’s practice is interdisciplinary, drawing on sociology, history, and ecology as much as art. She emphasizes process rather than product, and her projects often develop through years of sustained engagement with particular communities. This long-term approach allows her to address pressing issues such as waste management, urban development, and food systems, while at the same time exploring shared responsibility and new forms of governance.
Beyond her artistic practice, Wu is an influential educator and writer. She has taught at major Taiwanese art institutions, including the Graduate Institute of Interdisciplinary Art at National Kaohsiung Normal University, Tainan National University of the Arts, and Taipei National University of the Arts, inspiring younger generations of artists to adopt socially engaged methods. Her curatorial work frequently blurs boundaries between art and activism, challenging audiences to rethink the role of art in society. Through this commitment, Wu Mali has established herself as a key voice in Asian and global discussions on socially engaged and ecological art.
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This artist page was written by Tung Yin Yuan, edited by Angela Ricasio Hoten. This piece was written as part of 'Spaces of Curatorial' 2024, led by Professor Ute Meta Bauer under the Master of Arts in Museum Studies and Curatorial Practice, Nanyang Technological University.
