On a Sunday afternoon in Pingtung County’s Linbian Township (林邊), third-grader Lin Li-cheng (林立誠) watched with excitement as an artist painted an illustration outside his elementary school.
Colorblind Turkish artist Faith Kucuk was painting a red-haired girl lying in front of the school’s entrance while reading a colorful book.
Kucuk arrived in Taiwan on a 10-hour flight from Istanbul on Nov. 19, and immediately took a High Speed Rail train to Ci Fong Elementary School to start the project.
Photo: CNA
It was his fourth illustration in Taiwan, after creating similar visual spectacles at schools in Taitung County, Chiayi County and Alishan.
He has created pieces at more than 20 schools around the world, including in Belarus, France, Georgia, Japan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Norway, Portugal, Russia, South Korea, Spain and Ukraine.
Kucuk said he travels the globe as a volunteer artist because he believes art makes the world better.
He has traveled to more than 200 schools in Turkey for the same reason, he said.
In Turkey, he founded The Cartoon Mill to teach art and animation in Kas and the Cappadocia region.
For two days in Linbian, Kucuk’s art drew the attention of the 80 students enrolled in the school.
Many students used their recess to check on the artist’s progress, asking Kucuk questions such as why the girl had red hair instead of black.
Kucuk was not shy about interacting with the children, and he sometimes passed his paint brush to students such as Lin so that they could participate in the project.
“The students all seem to be very excited today,” Kucuk said as he worked.
He said he hoped the project would inspire the students.
“I hope that they never lose the same sense of happiness and excitement... No matter what they choose to pursue as their career in the future, I hope they will always be able to convey honesty, kindness and beauty to those around them,” he said.
Ci Fong Elementary School principal Kuo Hsi-te (郭希得) said that although the school’s 65-year-old building is to be demolished and rebuilt next year, Kucuk’s work would be preserved so that it remains with the school and its students for a long time.
Kuo added that the school might also recreate the artwork as a wall mosaic on the new building.
Kucuk is also in Taiwan to receive a Fervent Global Love of Lives Award from the Chou Ta-Kuan Cultural and Educational Foundation.
He is to join other award winners early next month in traveling the country to participate in charity events.
A free exhibition aimed at teaching the public about air-raid shelters and basic emergency personal protection skills today opened on the concourse level of the Taipei MRT's Ximen Station. The event, organized by the National Police Agency, aims to raise awareness about disaster preparedness ahead of nationwide air raid drills scheduled from July 15 to 18, which are part of broader urban resilience exercises. The exhibition outlines the recommended actions people should take depending on whether they are indoors, commuting or outdoors when air-raid sirens sound. It also teaches people how to equip air-raid shelters and pack emergency "go bags," with displays
A first shipment of five tons of Taiwan tilapia was sent from Tainan to Singapore on Wednesday, following an order valued at NT$600,000 (US$20,500) placed with a company in the city. The products, including frozen whole fish and pre- cooked fish belly, were dispatched from Jiangjun Fishing Harbor, where a new aquatic processing and logistics center is under construction. At the launch, Tainan Mayor Huang Wei-che (黃偉哲) called the move a “breakthrough,” marking Taiwan’s expansion into the Singaporean tilapia market. Taiwan’s tilapia exports have traditionally focused on the United States, Canada, and the Middle East, Huang said, adding that the new foothold in
An electric bus charging facility at Taipei Metro’s Beitou Depot officially opened yesterday with 22 charging bays to serve the city’s 886 electric buses. Taipei Mayor Chiang Wan-an (蔣萬安) told a ceremony to mark the opening of the facility that the city aims to fully electrify its bus fleet by 2030. The number of electric buses has grown from about 650 last year to 886 this year and is expected to surpass 1,000 by the end of the year, Chiang said. Setting up the charging station in a metro depot optimizes land and energy use, as the metro uses power mainly during the
An exhibition demonstrating the rejuvenation of the indigenous Kuskus Village in Pingtung County’s Mudan Township (牡丹) opened at the Forestry and Nature Conservation Agency’s conservation station in Taipei on Thursday. Agency Director-General Lin Hwa-ching (林華慶) said they have been promoting the use and development of forestry resources to local indigenous residents for eight years to drive regional revitalization. While modern conservation approaches mostly stem from western scientific research, eco-friendly knowledge and skills passed down through generations of indigenous people, who have lived in Taiwan for centuries, could be more suitable for the environment, he said. The agency’s Pingtung branch Director-General Yang Jui-fen (楊瑞芬)
RSS