As a part of the annual "Tea Philo" program, an E-talk on "The Survival of the Independent Producer" was held on July 11 in which independent producer Yukio Nitta (陳汗青) brought together attendees from Malaysia and Taiwan online to discuss the experiences of arts administration in performing arts.
Organized by the Cultural Division of the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Malaysia, "Tea Philo" program is a series of salon discussions about philosophies and humanities in which participants share experiences while sipping a cup of tea.
During the two-hour talk, Nitta shared his experiences of being an independent producer working in different art forms and festivals, and crossing boundaries of traditional and contemporary, artistic and commercial backgrounds. He discussed the importance of self-investment, role positioning, and the initiatives of being an independent producer.
Nitta also talked about his experiences in integrating resources, expanding networks, and developing international collaboration to create capacity and optimize opportunities, stressing the importance of intercultural communications.
He encouraged other independent producers to participate in international platforms to develop more connections. He advised spending time to understand different cultures and build trust between different parties. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, many international platforms have shifted online, making it much easier and more available to participate in such forums.
In the Q&A session, Nitta said that he believes art has the ability to influence people and make changes to the world -- a driving force for him to have stayed in the field for so long. He also advised emerging independent producers to have patience and high stress tolerance, which are good qualities needed to work around different types of people.
A follow-up e-workshop titled "Learning by Sharing: Anatomy of Art Project Planning" was held online on July 12. With Malaysia as the center for international exchange, the workshop aimed to provide a platform for Southeast Asian artists to present an integrated art project together with guest instructor Yukio Nitta. The interactions between Nitta and participants sparked an invigorating discussion throughout the entire e-workshop.