Exhibition: April 28–June 17, 2012
Museum of Contemporary Art, Taipei
No. 39, Chang-An West Road
Taipei, Taiwan 103
The Taishin Arts Award, a contemporary Taiwanese art prize funded by Taishin Financial Holdings, has entered its 10th year. This year’s prize winners were announced on May 12 at the Taishin Tower in Taipei, Taiwan. The Annual Performing Arts Award, the Annual Visual Arts Award, and Jury’s Special Award were awarded to, respectively: On the Road by Tsung-Lung Cheng; REM Sleep by Chia-En Jao; and Republic without People, curated by Dar-Kuen Wu.
This year’s award ceremony was presided by Mr. Thomas T.L. Wu, Chairman of the Taishin Financial Holdings and also the inaugurator of the Taishin Bank Foundation for Arts and Culture. In his opening remarks, Mr. Wu proclaimed: “This year marks an important moment for the Taishin Arts Award, which has now reached its 10th year. Over the past decade, the Taishin Arts Award has profoundly witnessed the vitality and potential of Taiwanese artistic ingenuity, and therein lies the values that have been established by arts prizes.”
First, the Annual Performing Arts Award was awarded to On the Road by Tsung-Lung Cheng. The jury remarked: “On the Road is an excellent example of contemporary choreography, which demonstrates the choreographer’s mature skill. He has developed a rich and inventive movement vocabulary, blending Eastern and Western traditions, to express his artistic vision. The piece unfolds slowly with deliberate pace, continuously engaging the audience along its path. The use of paint on the dancers’ bodies, which gradually reveals itself as the piece progresses, is an example of the innovative ideas of this young artist. Fluid and eloquent movements, stunningly performed by three dancers, have not been seen before in international contemporary works. The choreographer’s use of a wide range and variety of music shows that he is not afraid of taking on a challenge. Its choreography, performance, and design are all of the highest grade. Tsung-Lung Cheng is a fresh and unique voice in the international dance scene.”
The Annual Visual Arts Award was then awarded to REM Sleep by Chia-En Jao. The jury unanimously declared: “REM Sleep by Chia-En Jao investigates the issues of livelihood faced by new migrant labor in Taiwan. He takes the poetic vocabulary of images and illustrates the heterogeneous reality of labor and rest, of the daily and the eternal, and of everyday life and livelihood. The video’s depth lies in its professionalism and thoroughness, such that it employs Chia-En Jao’s artistic practice as a method to inquire into the subject of globalization.”
The Jury’s Special Award was awarded to Republic without People, curated by Dar-Kuen Wu. The jury noted: “Dar-Kuen Wu’s exhibition Republic without People raises a new set of questions on topics from the lifting of martial law to Taiwan’s issues of national identity. It is an example of the vision of a new generation of curators, as well as the potential of independent curators in Taiwan. This year’s Jury’s Special Award also echoes Taishin Arts Award’s long-term support of curatorial exhibitions.
About the Taishin Arts Award
Taishin Arts Award was created by the Taishin Bank Foundation for Arts and Culture in 2002, Taiwan. The mission is to acknowledge and promote excellent achievements in Taiwanese contemporary arts. Structured in two categories—performing arts and visual arts—Taishin Arts Award is given to the most outstanding production and the exhibition opened in each calendar year. The “Annual Award” winner of each category is entitled to a 1,000,000 NTD prize (approximately 33,000 USD)—previously the largest ever in the nation’s art prize history. Aiming at cultivating cross-disciplinary understanding in the art world and to encourage new breeds of art, Taishin Arts Award has established a “Jury’s Special Award” for two juries to decide jointly, based on the work’s cross-over theme, adventurous artistic attempts, and high potentialities.
