The Australian Office in Taipei and Taiwan’s National Culture and Arts Foundation (NCAF) have signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to enhance exchanges in the fields of art and culture.
The MOU was signed at a ceremony in Taipei on Wednesday by Jenny Bloomfield, Australia’s top envoy in Taiwan, and NCAF Chairwoman Lin Mun-lee (???), the sides announced in a joint press release.
According to the statement, the MOU will establish a mechanism to support and encourage exchanges between Taiwanese and Australian artists, especially those from Indigenous backgrounds.
It will also support cooperation in a range of other areas, including the visual and performing arts, literature, culture, arts policy, and professional education.
In remarks at the signing ceremony, Bloomfield noted that Australia and Taiwan had a long history of arts and cultural cooperation.
Already this year, Taiwanese Indigenous artists have participated at the 10th Asia Pacific Triennial in Queensland, while Paiwan artist Aluaiy Kaumakan presented works at the Biennale of Sydney, she said.
“First Wave,” an upcoming Indigenous fashion exhibition scheduled to run from July to September, will also showcase the strong links between Indigenous arts, culture, and creative industries in Australia and Taiwan, Bloomfield said.
Lin, meanwhile, said the MOU was a natural next step for the NCAF, which has organized multiple exchange events with Australia since launching its Taiwan International Arts Network (Artwave) program in 2018.
A list of artists who will participate in exchanges under the MOU will be announced “in due course,” the statement said.
Source: Focus Taiwan News Channel