The 18th National Award for Arts was presented to this year’s winners at a ceremony in Taipei yesterday.
The latest recipients of the award are film director Wang Hsiao-ti (王小棣), stage designer Austin Wang (王孟超), writer Wang Ting-chun (王鼎鈞), conductor Chien Wen-pin (簡文彬), architect Cheng Mei (陳邁) and abstract painter Chen Cheng-hsiung (陳正雄).
President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) and Minister of Culture Lung Ying-tai (龍應台) attended the ceremony, where Lung said the six artists have one thing in common — boldness.
Photo: Pan Shao-tang, Taipei Times
Acer founder Stan Shih (施振榮), chairman of the National Culture and Arts Foundation, which grants the award, said he hopes it not only recognizes the recipients’ artistic achievements, but passes on the spirit of their lives and creations.
Wang Ting-chun, 89, was recognized for his poetry, prose, novels and biographies that reflect his time and show his care for society, the foundation said.
It praised Wang Hsiao-ti for her achievements in film, television, animation, documentary and theater art, and for the care for society expressed in her works.
Austin Wang, best known for his work as stage designer for Cloud Gate Dance Theatre (雲門舞集), was hailed for his works that span traditional and modern theater and dance, and for his efforts in bringing Taiwanese theater to the world.
Chen was praised for his decades of dedication to abstract paintings and his in-depth study of Aboriginal artifacts in Taiwan and China.
The aesthetic value of Cheng’s architectural works was praised by the foundation, while it said that Chien won because of his multiple victories at international conducting competitions, for bringing the National Symphony Orchestra to a new artistic level and for promoting Eastern and Western music, art and cultural exchanges.
The six winners each received NT$1 million (US$33,076) and a trophy.
The National Award for Arts was established in 1997. Previous recipients include Oscar-winning director Ang Lee (李安), director Hou Hsiao-hsien (侯孝賢) and Cloud Gate’s founder and artistic director Lin Hwai-min (林懷民).
Eight restaurants in Taiwan yesterday secured a one-star rating from the Michelin Guide Taiwan for the first time, while three one-star restaurants from last year’s edition were promoted to two stars. Forty-three restaurants were awarded one star this year, including 34 in Taipei, five in Taichung and four in Kaohsiung. Hosu (好嶼), Chuan Ya (川雅), Sushi Kajin (鮨嘉仁), aMaze (心宴), La Vie by Thomas Buhner, Yuan Yi (元一) and Frassi in Taipei and Front House (方蒔) in Kaohsiung received a one-star rating for the first time. Hosu is known for innovative Taiwanese dishes, while Chuan Ya serves Sichuan cuisine and aMaze specializes
STATS: Taiwan’s average life expectancy of 80.77 years was lower than that of Japan, Singapore and South Korea, but higher than in China, Malaysia and Indonesia Taiwan’s average life expectancy last year increased to 80.77 years, but was still not back to its pre-COVID-19 pandemic peak of 81.32 years in 2020, the Ministry of the Interior said yesterday. The average life expectancy last year increased the 0.54 years from 2023, the ministry said in a statement. For men and women, the average life expectancy last year was 77.42 years and 84.30 years respectively, up 0.48 years and 0.56 years from the previous year. Taiwan’s average life expectancy peaked at 81.32 years in 2020, as the nation was relatively unaffected by the pandemic that year. The metric
Taiwan High Speed Rail Corp. (THSRC) plans to ease strained capacity during peak hours by introducing new fare rules restricting passengers traveling without reserved seats in 2026, company Chairman Shih Che (史哲) said Wednesday. THSRC needs to tackle its capacity issue because there have been several occasions where passengers holding tickets with reserved seats did not make it onto their train in stations packed with individuals traveling without a reserved seat, Shih told reporters in a joint interview in Taipei. Non-reserved seats allow travelers maximum flexibility, but it has led to issues relating to quality of service and safety concerns, especially during
A magnitude 5.1 earthquake struck Chiayi County at 4:37pm today, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The hypocenter was 36.3km southeast of Chiayi County Hall at a depth of 10.4km, CWA data showed. There were no immediate reports of damage resulting from the quake. The intensity of the quake, which gauges the actual effect of a seismic event, measured 4 in Chiayi County, Tainan and Kaohsiung on Taiwan's seven-tier intensity scale, the data showed. The quake had an intensity of 3 in Chiayi City and Yunlin County, while it was measured as 2 in Pingtung, Taitung, Hualien, Changhua, Nantou and Penghu counties, the data
RSS