To create an artistic vibe in rural Taiwan, an artists’ village has been founded in Taitung County’s Chihshang Township (池上) and is to have painter and author Chiang Hsun (蔣勳) as its chief adviser and first artist in residence.
The Lovely Taiwan Foundation — the sponsor of the artists’ residency program, as well as the maintenance of many old houses in Chihshang — aims to create a “town culture” characteristic of the local communities, foundation chairman Ko Wen-chang (柯文昌) said.
Artists are not simply invited to live in the town, but to absorb the rural way of life and establish a connection with the land, he said.
“[Artists] may turn their engagement with the town’s culture into creative inspiration and take their works of art to other places around the world,” he said.
Chiang said that he was curious to know what makes Chihshang’s rice superior to others, until he set foot on the town and saw it for himself.
“The townspeople’s connection with the land is profoundly motivating and persistent,” he said.
Chiang holds high hopes for the program, saying: “The famous village of Barbizon in France attracted many artists, including Jean-Francois Millet and Theodore Rousseau, and the village transformed their [urban] intellectualism into great works of art.”
Artists might find in rural life a renewed relationship with nature, he said.
“The rustic sincerity that Chihshang Artists’ Village houses guarantees artists will experience a beauty and tranquility exclusive to the countryside,” said Chiang, who moved to Chihshang late last year.
“Taking up residence in an artists’ village is itself an artistic pleasure,” he said.
A common anxiety felt among Taiwanese derives from a desperation to obtain international recognition, Chiang said, adding that to extract the uniqueness of every locality is more worthwhile than reproducing the success of other places.
“Local talent can be seen in every village and town, but what’s important is to find them out,” he said.
The residency program will be officially launched next month, after the renovation of the old houses is completed this month, the foundation said, adding that it encourages artists to participate in the creation of Taiwanese town culture.
Starlux Airlines, Taiwan’s newest international carrier, has announced it would apply to join the Oneworld global airline alliance before the end of next year. In an investor conference on Monday, Starlux Airlines chief executive officer Glenn Chai (翟健華) said joining the alliance would help it access Taiwan. Chai said that if accepted, Starlux would work with other airlines in the alliance on flight schedules, passenger transits and frequent flyer programs. The Oneworld alliance has 13 members, including American Airlines, British Airways, Cathay Pacific and Qantas, and serves more than 900 destinations in 170 territories. Joining Oneworld would also help boost
A new tropical storm formed late yesterday near Guam and is to approach closest to Taiwan on Thursday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. Tropical Storm Pulasan became the 14th named storm of the year at 9:25pm yesterday, the agency said. As of 8am today, it was near Guam traveling northwest at 21kph, it said. The storm’s structure is relatively loose and conditions for strengthening are limited, WeatherRisk analyst Wu Sheng-yu (吳聖宇) said on Facebook. Its path is likely to be similar to Typhoon Bebinca, which passed north of Taiwan over Japan’s Ryukyu Islands and made landfall in Shanghai this morning, he said. However, it
Taiwan's Gold Apollo Co (金阿波羅通信) said today that the pagers used in detonations in Lebanon the day before were not made by it, but by a company called BAC which has a license to use its brand. At least nine people were killed and nearly 3,000 wounded when pagers used by Hezbollah members detonated simultaneously across Lebanon yesterday. Images of destroyed pagers analyzed by Reuters showed a format and stickers on the back that were consistent with pagers made by Gold Apollo. A senior Lebanese security source told Reuters that Hezbollah had ordered 5,000 pagers from Taiwan-based Gold Apollo. "The product was not
COLD FACTS: ‘Snow skin’ mooncakes, made with a glutinous rice skin and kept at a low temperature, have relatively few calories compared with other mooncakes Traditional mooncakes are a typical treat for many Taiwanese in the lead-up to the Mid-Autumn Festival, but a Taipei-based dietitian has urged people not to eat more than one per day and not to have them every day due to their high fat and calorie content. As mooncakes contain a lot of oil and sugar, they can have negative health effects on older people and those with diabetes, said Lai Yu-han (賴俞含), a dietitian at Taipei Hospital of the Ministry of Health and Welfare. “The maximum you can have is one mooncake a day, and do not eat them every day,” Lai