Prominent designers from around the globe who have gathered in Taipei to submit their ideas for the medals for the first-ever Tang Prize took time out of their schedule yesterday to tour a youth design expo in Taipei that they called “very impressive.”
Several finalists for the medal design took a half-day tour of the 2014 Young Designers’ Exhibition (YODEX), an annual event organized by the Taiwan Design Center.
“I didn’t know that design is so popular in Taiwan,” said Gunter Wermekes, a German goldsmith and designer and member of this year’s Red Dot Design jury, adding that he was surprised by the number of exhibits.
Photo: CNA
Wermekes, who was responsible for redesigning the Red Dot Design Award last year, said he saw many young people with great potential, praising the combination of contemporary design, machine processing, traditional craftsmanship and culture.
Massimo Zucchi, an Italian jewelry and accessory designer, said he saw several items that would be worth pitching to companies and commercializing.
“It was like a power-charge experience,” Zucchi said, calling the experience of seeing so many young people dedicated to their work very emotional.
Photo: CNA
“It is a pity in a way that I couldn’t stop at every booth,” he said.
English-born Australian graphic designer Harry Williamson, who has been inducted into the Design Institute of Australia Hall of Fame, also praised the exhibit, but suggested that exhibitors be broken down into smaller groups in future shows so that visitors would be able to get a clearer look at every design on display.
British jewelry artist and lecturer Lin Cheung said she found the show “overwhelming” — in a good way — as the young designers had produced “incredibly strong and creative” works.
Yesterday was the final day of YODEX, which was held at the Taipei World Trade Center.
Sixty-one designers from 15 countries entered the International Invitational Tang Prize Medal Design Competition.
The finalists are to present their designs tomorrow, one design for each of the four categories: sustainable development, biomedicine, Sinology and rule of law.
The winner — who will receive US$500,000 — is to be announced on Thursday.
The Tang Prize was established by entrepreneur Samuel Yin (尹衍樑) in December 2012 to honor top researchers in the four fields.
The first winners of the prize will be announced on June 18, and the award ceremony is scheduled for Sept. 18.
Up to three winners will share a cash prize of NT$50 million (US$1.65 million) for each category.
The Coast Guard Administration (CGA) yesterday said it had deployed patrol vessels to expel a China Coast Guard ship and a Chinese fishing boat near Pratas Island (Dongsha Island, 東沙群島) in the South China Sea. The China Coast Guard vessel was 28 nautical miles (52km) northeast of Pratas at 6:15am on Thursday, approaching the island’s restricted waters, which extend 24 nautical miles from its shoreline, the CGA’s Dongsha-Nansha Branch said in a statement. The Tainan, a 2,000-tonne cutter, was deployed by the CGA to shadow the Chinese ship, which left the area at 2:39pm on Friday, the statement said. At 6:31pm on Friday,
The Chinese People’s Liberation Army Navy’s (PLAN) third aircraft carrier, the Fujian, would pose a steep challenge to Taiwan’s ability to defend itself against a full-scale invasion, a defense expert said yesterday. Institute of National Defense and Security Research analyst Chieh Chung (揭仲) made the comment hours after the PLAN confirmed the carrier recently passed through the Taiwan Strait to conduct “scientific research tests and training missions” in the South China Sea. China has two carriers in operation — the Liaoning and the Shandong — with the Fujian undergoing sea trials. Although the PLAN needs time to train the Fujian’s air wing and
STRIKE: Some travel agencies in Taiwan said that they were aware of the situation in South Korea, and that group tours to the country were proceeding as planned A planned strike by airport personnel in South Korea has not affected group tours to the country from Taiwan, travel agencies said yesterday. They added that they were closely monitoring the situation. Personnel at 15 airports, including Seoul’s Incheon and Gimpo airports, are to go on strike. They announced at a news conference on Tuesday that the strike would begin on Friday next week and continue until the Mid-Autumn Festival next month. Some travel agencies in Taiwan, including Cola Tour, Lion Travel, SET Tour and ezTravel, said that they were aware of the situation in South Korea, and that group
Taiwanese celebrities Hank Chen (陳漢典) and Lulu Huang (黃路梓茵) announced yesterday that they are planning to marry. Huang announced and posted photos of their engagement to her social media pages yesterday morning, joking that the pair were not just doing marketing for a new show, but “really getting married.” “We’ve decided to spend all of our future happy and hilarious moments together,” she wrote. The announcement, which was later confirmed by the talent agency they share, appeared to come as a surprise even to those around them, with veteran TV host Jacky Wu (吳宗憲) saying he was “totally taken aback” by the news. Huang,
RSS