TAI—Transnational Artistic Intervention 2022 —— Artistic Collaboration and Research Residency Project

SEA plateaus continued its collaboration with the Thai arts organization Prayoon for Art Foundation by launching the TAI— Transnational Artistic Intervention project this year to expand mutual and regional connections. The project advances cooperation with the participating communities and networks in Loei province in the Isan region of Thailand. In addition to continuing the partnership with the Forest School program, a platform for arts education, SEA plateaus is also collaborating on the preparation of the Dan Sai Art Library, a local learning and exchange center.

“TAI” serves as an acronym for Transnational Artistic Intervention, but it also sounds phonetically similar for the English name of both Taiwan and Thailand, and is also the name of an ethnic group in Thailand, meaning “people”. TAI is an exchange and action platform established by Taiwan and Thailand, using exchange as a method and artistic collaboration as a means to respond to local environmental and social issues. In 2022, TAI was launched in Dan Sai, Loei Province, inviting four Taiwanese artists and environmentalists for a two-week short-term residency. Focusing on the planning and strategies of the Forest School, researchers Lai Yen-Ru and Chen Yen-Tzu (Heidi Chen) provided case studies and activity experiences from Taiwan, based on rivers as a theme, and formulated creative approaches to environmental sustainability in Dan Sai. Curator Cheng Cheng-Tao and artist Chin Cheng-Te examined the positioning of art libraries and potential decentering models, considering how libraries can be developed into art activities and learning sites, community archives, and environmental research centers. TAI is a long-term project that is expected to develop into an action platform for regional art exchange and social practice.