"You can't put works of art in a contest," said filmmaker Huang Ming-chuan (
To be fair, the Taishin Awards, awarded for the first time last week, are experimenting with new criteria for arts awards, focusing on young artists who are at their creative prime. At NT$1 million each for a performance and a visual arts category, it is the most valuable arts prize currently offered in Taiwan.
"Most arts awards in Taiwan are held like competitive events. There may be several categories based on medium and artists submit their work to compete against each other. This method is outdated. It goes back to the Japanese colonial era and we should change it," said Shih Ruei-ren (
The initial selection of nominees, another innovation, was conducted by 59 journalists covering the arts, sifting among 400 performances and 100 exhibitions -- differentiating the award from other arts prizes that tend to target individuals.
"We consider journalists best suited for making the initial nominations because they are on the frontline reporting these exhibitions and performances. Of all people, they observe the artistic environment most closely. What they have to say about art may serve as an appropriate reference for the government," Shih said, emphasizing the freer thinking of the privately-run awards.
For lack of similar examples in the country, Taishin cited the Turner Prize, the British visual art award, and the Tony Awards, the American theater award, as their inspiration. "The two awards are successful cases for us to learn from. They invite public participation and they judge the presentations of the artists in the previous year. That was what we need here because, at present, big-money awards tend to be given only to artists of advanced age when they are already widely recognized," Shih said. "We don't just want to honor established artists. We also want to encourage young artists."
Taiwan's major arts awards include the Wu San-lien Awards (
The Wu San-lien Awards is one of the oldest art awards in Taiwan, with categories in literature, art, medicine and social science. The National Culture and Arts Foundation's (
The Executive Yuan Cultural Award is equally important, although it has a lower profile. It has come under criticism in the past for including more politicians and educators than culture professionals among its winners, but this imbalance has been gradually redressed in recent years.
These big awards may mean well but fall short of helping and encouraging artists still active in their careers. "Those awards would sometimes include, for example, painters whose biggest achievement is being a teacher in their old age. However, what artists need while they are still creative is a little `timely rain,'" said Shih, referring to the recognition as well as the money that the award brings in.
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