A platform that began development in 2017 to archive “cultural memories” is to be trialed online from Oct. 17 to celebrate “Taiwan Culture Day,” the Ministry of Culture said on Saturday.
During the trial, people who have submitted contributions, as well as academics and cultural specialists, would be able to access the platform, the ministry said, adding that it hopes the platform will encourage more people to participate in constructing a “national memory.”
The ministry has gathered more than 2.5 million cultural items on the platform through the combined efforts of public and private contributors, it said.
Photo: CNA
The project has benefited from cross-governmental agency cooperation and promotional assistance from museums, it said.
Through the portal, the links between cultural items from the special collections of museums to the land and its people were improved through the interpretation of cultural experts, it said.
For example, the paintings Taiwan’s Folk Customs and Eight Festivals (台灣民俗八節) and Formosa Evergreen (寶島長春) were explored from the perspective of the artists and their understanding of Taiwanese festivals, it said.
Children’s comics from cartoonist Yeh Hung-chia (葉宏甲) were digitized, as were stories, photographs and other media related to Chung Hua Market — a shopping mall on Zhonghua Road in Taipei that was torn down in 1992.
Minister of Culture Cheng Li-chiun (鄭麗君) said that the platform might also help people involved in cultural productions.
“It will make it easier for Taiwan’s story to be told, to be seen,” Cheng said.
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