Indigenous artist Ciwas Tahos is featured at Hawaii’s top art exhibition, the Hawai’i Triennial 2025 (HT25), which opened over the weekend, becoming the first Taiwanese person to have her work displayed at the event, the Ministry of Culture (MOC) said.
“Ciwas’ work is an exploration of cultural and gender identity, using her body as a medium to trace linguistic and cultural experiences of displacement to seek out new queer forms of understanding,” according to the page about Ciwas on the HT25 Web site.
Ciwas is a Taiwan-born and based artist, and a member of the Atayal community.
Photo courtesy of the Taiwan Academy in Los Angeles
Her works are characterized by a “body-centered” approach, according to her Web site.
She is known for her research exploring a legendary place called Temahohoi, where queer, gender non-conforming indigenous people lived and communicated with bees, which protected them from intruders.
Combining new technology, handmade ceramics and traditional bee-chasing skills, Ciwas celebrates her indigenous culture and identity in her work.
In a recent press release, the MOC describes Ciwas’ work as a reflection on gender and ecological issues that “affirms one’s sensibilities” as a member of gender minorities in the quest for a sense of belonging.
Her work, called Pswagi Temahahoi, translates to finding the way to Temahohoi — a women’s village in Atayal legends, according to the MOC, which assisted the Taiwan Academy in Los Angeles in arranging Ciwas’ participation in the exhibition.
Jerry Chang (張詩瑞), director-general of the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Honolulu, said at the event’s opening that he hoped the participation of Taiwanese artists would foster deeper cultural exchange between Taiwan, Hawaii and the Pacific.
At the event, Ciwas led the opening performance, which featured Paiwan artist Sauljaljuy, Puyuma artist Sinkuy Katadrepan and Hawaii-based artists.
In his remarks at the opening ceremony, Chien Te-yuan (簡德源), director of the Taiwan Academy in Los Angeles, highlighted the shared origins and migration history between the people of Taiwan and Hawaii.
By exploring this period of history through contemporary art, a closer cultural and societal connection could be established between both sides, he added.
The triennial, Hawaii’s largest, thematic exhibition of local and Pacific contemporary art, runs until May 4.
For more information, visit the Hawaii Triennial Web site at https://hawaiicontemporary.org/ht25.
The manufacture of the remaining 28 M1A2T Abrams tanks Taiwan purchased from the US has recently been completed, and they are expected to be delivered within the next one to two months, a source said yesterday. The Ministry of National Defense is arranging cargo ships to transport the tanks to Taiwan as soon as possible, said the source, who is familiar with the matter. The estimated arrival time ranges from late this month to early next month, the source said. The 28 Abrams tanks make up the third and final batch of a total of 108 tanks, valued at about NT$40.5 billion
Two Taiwanese prosecutors were questioned by Chinese security personnel at their hotel during a trip to China’s Henan Province this month, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said yesterday. The officers had personal information on the prosecutors, including “when they were assigned to their posts, their work locations and job titles,” MAC Deputy Minister and spokesman Liang Wen-chieh (梁文傑) said. On top of asking about their agencies and positions, the officers also questioned the prosecutors about the Cross-Strait Joint Crime-Fighting and Judicial Mutual Assistance Agreement, a pact that serves as the framework for Taiwan-China cooperation on combating crime and providing judicial assistance, Liang
A group from the Taiwanese Designers in Australia association yesterday represented Taiwan at the Midsumma Pride March in Melbourne. The march, held in the St. Kilda suburb, is the city’s largest LGBTQIA+ parade and the flagship event of the annual Midsumma Festival. It attracted more than 45,000 spectators who supported the 400 groups and 10,000 marchers that participated this year, the association said. Taiwanese Designers said they organized a team to march for Taiwan this year, joining politicians, government agencies, professionals and community organizations in showing support for LGBTQIA+ people and diverse communities. As the first country in Asia to legalize same-sex
MOTIVES QUESTIONED The PLA considers Xi’s policies toward Taiwan to be driven by personal considerations rather than military assessment, the Epoch Times reports Chinese President Xi Jinping’s (習近平) latest purge of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) leadership might have been prompted by the military’s opposition to plans of invading Taiwan, the Epoch Times said. The Chinese military opposes waging war against Taiwan by a large consensus, putting it at odds with Xi’s vision, the Falun Gong-affiliated daily said in a report on Thursday, citing anonymous sources with insight into the PLA’s inner workings. The opposition is not the opinion of a few generals, but a widely shared view among the PLA cadre, the Epoch Times cited them as saying. “Chinese forces know full well that
RSS