Theater professional Keng Yi-wei (耿一偉) has been awarded the Goethe Medal, becoming the first Taiwanese to win the award that honors non-Germans for their promotion of German culture and language.
The prize, first awarded in 1955, is given out annually by the Goethe-Institut, a non-profit cultural association named after Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, who was a poet, playwright and statesman.
Germany has been a main source of inspiration to Keng throughout his career, particularly Goethe’s “citizen of the world” philosophy, he told reporters on Thursday.
Photo: CNA
It is easy for people around the world to overlook Taiwan, but he hopes to improve the situation by committing himself to exploring different cultures, because he believes that will ultimately help others have a more comprehensive understanding of Taiwan, Keng said.
Three recipients of the Goethe Medal were announced for this year on Wednesday: Keng, film manager Gaga Chkheidze from Georgia and the curatorial team of the OFF-Biennale from Hungary.
The winners are inspiring enablers and mediators, creating places where diverse perspectives intersect, Goethe-Institut president Carola Lentz said.
Lentz hailed Keng as one of the most important initiators of cultural exchange in Taiwan, especially in his networking with Germany’s theater scene.
Keng contributes as a curator, dramaturge and translator to help promote a lively cultural exchange in Taiwan, especially in the performing arts, the institute said.
His contribution has greatly aided the development of the Taiwanese theater scene, particularly experimental theater, children’s theater and theater for people with disabilities, it added.
Keng, who was born in 1969, began working in theater alongside his work as a writer in 1999 after returning to Taiwan from Hungary, where he studied philosophy and non-verbal theater from 1997 to 1999.
The focus of his artistic work was and still is the promotion of Taiwanese-German cultural projects, the Goethe-Institut said.
His “Axis Taipei & International Collaboration” arts festival has helped Taipei become a creative center, he is the dramaturg at the National Kaohsiung Center for the Arts, and is responsible for this year’s Tainan Arts Festival, helping expand access to German and international cultural content across the country, it said.
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