Formosa Cultures in Dialogue: Where Does Art Live?

Since 2019, the Cultural Taiwan Foundation has been organizing “Formosa Cultures in Dialogue”, a series of lectures to promote Taiwanese culture, especially that which is belittled, dismissed, and taken for granted. These lectures have helped the general public to understand and explore the cultural heritage of this country that is presented as ordinary objects or practiced as small habits everyday. In the 2021 edition of the events, the Foundation extended its focus by including Southeast Asian countries. In focusing on the theme of “living with art,” it hopes to enhance the mutual understanding between countries in the western Pacific coast.

Six lectures were given by six artists coming from different interests and practices. Held in the OR Bookstore in Hsinchu, Central Bookstore in Taichung, and Ubuntu Bookstore in Tainan, these events were attended by 115 readers and audiences.

I. Home
Where Do You Live? The Value and Imagination of Home
Shen Meng-Ying & Tsui Kuang-Yu

II. On the Move
Singing Together: Family-based Musical Interactions
Liu Jung-Chang & DaBangNi Band

III. Yearning for Home
Between Homesickness and Creation
Manini-Wei X Tsai Wan-Shuen

IV.  Believing
From Inside Out: A Discussion of Tropical Plants Based on Buddhism
Wang Jui-Min (Fat-Fat Tree)

V. Sense of Belonging
Telling Stories Through Food: Myanmar Street and the Lives of Immigrants
Analeigh Yao

VI. Novel Norms
Modeling a Sense of Home
Pindy Windy & Huang Yun-Sian