We were lucky to catch up with Tzu Yun Wei recently and have shared our conversation below.

Tzu Yun, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. What’s been the most meaningful project you’ve worked on?

The most meaningful project I’ve worked on is my solo exhibition, Things We’ve Done Here Make it “Here.” This exhibition presents an evolving landscape formed from my past notes and drawings. The collection traces the ongoing exploration of my body and mind, inspired by everyday moments such as lifting a dumbbell in front of a mirror or doodling characters on sticky notes that reflect stages of my life. These fragments, initially private, are now brought into a public space where the intimate act of notebook keeping—traditionally a sanctuary for self-expression and discovery—becomes a shared experience.

Through the use of familiar materials like office paper, staples, and pencils, I experiment with the presentation of drafts, notes, and unfinished thoughts that span my past, present, and future. The space invites the audience into a dialogue with these personal artifacts. Surrounding them are my drawings and notes, displayed on the walls, while at the center, an installation showcases 50 spreads from my current notebook. The front of the installation reveals scanned images of these spreads, while the back offers a “translation” of each one.

I hope to convey a sense of intimacy, honesty, and fearlessness. By transforming these private reflections into a public exhibition, I share the awkwardness and authenticity that define the experience of living, and invite others to witness and perhaps connect with this raw and unfiltered self-expression.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

I am a designer and artist, focusing on creating conditions through collaborative design and storytelling.

Tracing my creative journey back to my undergraduate studies at the National Taiwan University of Art (2016-2020), I delved into the intersection of zine culture, radical design, and identity politics, including a 1-year-exchange-study focus on transformative design at the Central Academy of Fine Arts in Beijing, and long-term involvements in zine/artbook communities in Taiwan, while working as a production designer at EducationONE—a media lab focusing on SouthEast Asian immigrants’ lives in Taiwan.

These experiences deepened my interest in design’s cultural, and material impact on life-forming, and led me to pursue a master’s degree at Taiwan Normal University in 2020. Under the guidance of Professor Daisuke Nagatomo, I co-published an essay, Research of STEM education for environmental sustainability in higher education, focusing on wood education and tangible play, and leading me toward design-based research and education.

In 2022, I’m rewarded with an acceptance Overseas Scholarship for Art and Design from Taiwan MOE, which supported my further design endeavors at Communication Design MFA in Pratt Institute, New York. Continuing personal identity studies through collective design and cultural organizing, I have coordinated cross-sector events and teaching, such as Printing for Purpose: Letterpress, Bookmaking, and Collective Design (connecting Pratt Com. D. Program and Ugly Duckling Presse) in New York, online seminar Code As Act: Processing Community Day (connecting design schools, technologists and artists from 6+ countries).

De-rating from profit-based graphic design to non-profit focused creations, my mission is to cultivate an inclusive ecosystem through collaborative acts in cultural creative fields for self/collective autonomy.

In your view, what can society to do to best support artists, creatives and a thriving creative ecosystem?

Instead of dividing society and artists/creatives/creative ecosystems into two, I’d prefer to view them as an evolving interacting process. As an artist, I like to create an environment that “seduces” society, or different communities depend on projects, to take actions that lead to supporting the creative ecosystem. For me, artists have to obtain the ability to create experiences that can not be replaced by consuming already-made objects. Once the experiences are designed and practiced-such as workshops, gatherings, or any trading, the audience is willing to support, and become a part of us, the artists, creatives, and the ecosystem.

What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?

The most rewarding aspect of being an artist/creative is that you have full autonomy in deciding what and how you manage your lifestyle, and the most satisfying thing is also that be fully responsible for your life, echoing with the purpose of living as an artist/creative.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://iamtzuyun.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bushwasroom/

Image Credits

Main photo credit: Wenyue Xu