TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Taipei City Government Department for Youth concluded a residency program for international graffiti artists with a “Dream Up, Paint Out” event at Taipei Zoo on Saturday.

The event included unveiling a mural depicting a hippo playing in water created by Spanish artist ORBITA. The artist said he was inspired by the zoo’s hippo conservation efforts and the recent arrival of a pygmy hippo, Thabo, from the Singapore Zoo, per a press release.

The residency program began in November and encouraged visiting artists to conduct field research and interact with their environment. ENOFone from Belgium, used the opportunity to collaborate with residents of Wanhua to create a mural that reflected their daily lives.

FLEKS from the Netherlands was captivated by Taiwan’s baseball culture. He used this inspiration to create a large mural near Tianmu Baseball Stadium.

Taipei City Department for Youth Commissioner Yin Wei (殷瑋) said international exchange should tackle meaningful themes to become impactful. He said collaboration with Wanhua residents has allowed them to preserve memories of their neighborhood and murals at Tianmu Baseball Stadium and Taipei Zoo helped embed international art into the city.

Yin said continued international art exchange helps Taipei become a modern metropolis bursting with creative energy. He thanked all of the artists and supporters of the residency program for making Taipei more colorful.