The 2020 Penghu Bay International Light Festival has attracted over 60,000 visitors since it began on September 12, 2020. The festival features numerous spectacular creations from artists that accentuate Penghu's local cultural characteristics. The exhibition is divided into the Themed Light Display and Artistic Lighting Display; in particular, the Themed Light Display won the Gold Winner (Category: Event/Sub-category: Art Event) at the MUSE Creative Awards hosted by IAA (International Award Association), a prestigious organization in the global design circle. The award was announced at 09:00 on October 8 Pacific Standard Time!

According to IAA's official report, 4,918 submissions came from 57 countries around the world this year, including 4 Platinum Winners (Turkey x 1, US x 3), 7 Gold Winners (Taiwan x 1, Canada x 1, Hong Kong x 1, US x 4), and 7 Silver Winners (US x 7) in the Event category. In particular, with the global impact of COVID-19 this year, the hosting of major exhibitions has become much more difficult, therefore global winners of the award were reviewed by an international jury panel with higher standards. 

Hailed as the cultural benchmark of the international design scene, the MUSE Creative Awards aspire to discover exceptional design works that are focused on the core values of creative design and cultural linkage, as well as to commend them openly on the global stage. This year, the Penghu Bay International Light Festival's main lantern area entered the competition with the theme of Island Paradise, emphasizing the context behind the light festival including tourism, economy, local culture, and marine resource protection. As a result, the light festival has transcended other conventional art exhibitions, making Penghu the only municipality to win such honor in the category in Taiwan and earning international recognition!

For this year’s Themed Light Display area, international design awards winner and renowned artist Peng Li-Chen was appointed as the curator, who led her professional team from JFA Artwork to conduct planning and design, transforming the dilapidated old naval port into the most spectacular island paradise in Penghu this fall. Inspired by the ancient mermaid legend of Penghu, the Mermaid Main Lantern at the Themed Light Display area is complemented by the terrain of the old naval port to present the water dance at sea level. The former terrain at Jinlongtou Port has been recreated, optimized, and repurposed to capitalize on the venue’s elegant natural landscape. Moreover, various art installations have been created to depict the valuable aspects of Island Paradise. 

In addition, the Artistic Lighting Display area features a diverse array of technological interactive installations and lighting ornaments designed for Internet celebrities. In particular, the seemingly retro yet technologically advanced steamboat entitled Gaillardia Island Magical Adventure is extremely popular among adults and children alike; Octopoda is an octopus-inspired lantern that moves in response to the visitor's percussion sound; Turtle Comes, Luck Comes was designed with Penghu's local folk festival Begging Turtle in mind; The Worry-Free Garden presents a dazzling undersea garden by applying the weaving technique, where visitors can swim with marine life, feel the warmth of the garden, and forget about their worries; Yu Yu You You employs the perspective of a scuba diver to portray the undersea world as seen through his diving mask, allowing the visitors to feel what it is like to be surrounded by schools of fish. All of these installations demonstrate the ingenuity of the designers and are perfect for the entire family. 

Besides stunning night-time light shows, the 2020 Penghu Bay International Light Festival also offers Highlight of Penghu art lecture and cultural island journey activity series to let the visitors appreciate Penghu's local culture and encourage people to participate in local art activities. By joining the cultural island journey lecture, the public will be able to further understand the history, culture, and unique qualities of Penghu.