In order to encourage the development of artistic talents in Taiwan and enrich international exchanges, since 2020 the Ministry of Culture, Taiwan has been collaborating with the London-based art residency institution, Delfina Foundation, to carry out residency programs for Taiwanese artists and curators. This year, artist Lee Tzu-Tung stood out among over a hundred applicants through two rounds of professional selection by the Foundation's jury, and will embark on a summer residency in London.
As a curator and conceptual artist, Lee Tzu-Tung's works combine anthropological research with political action, exploring how people establish identities related to politics, gender, and illness, thereby reclaiming autonomy. Lee employs participatory projects that invite the audience to become co-creators, challenging various authorities in contemporary society. The artist graduated from the Department of Agricultural Economics at the National Taiwan University and received full scholarships for an MFA from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago and an MSc from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Lee has exhibited in various countries, including MOCA Taipei and C-LAB (Taiwan), Cuchifritos Gallery, Stanford University, and Tom Robbinson Gallery (United States), Lisbon University (Portugal), and ArtScape (Canada).
The Delfina Foundation expressed that Taiwan has an abundance of outstanding artistic talent, and this year's applicants were highly enthusiastic, making the selection process very challenging. In the proposed project, Lee Tzu-Tung plans to write a screenplay during the residency, using satirical methods to reconsider Taiwan's most pressing political issues in response to the potential "confrontation" the country may face. As a political artist, Lee has previously engaged in economic activism projects and produced an experimental documentary exploring various sovereignty issues.
The Ministry of Culture, Taiwan stated that following the containment of the COVID-19 situation in Taiwan, they hope to utilize this residency program to allow the selected artists and curators to engage in dialogue with the contemporary art community through the Delfina Foundation and its extensive professional network in the United Kingdom and Europe. This opportunity aims to showcase their artistic capabilities in responding to global issues through creative endeavours