The National Taiwan Craft Research and Development Institute, a subordinate organization of the Ministry of Culture, has launched a nationwide crafts program for students.
A total of 12 craft artistsand four educational institutes will participate in the six-month campaign titled "OSOC - One School, One Craft,” the Ministry of Culture said in a press conference at the Asia University on June 20.
The four participating schools are the National Taiwan Normal University, which will offer courses on craft skills related to pottery, glass and indigo dye; the Asia University, which will focus on crafts using bamboo, lacquer and plant dyes; the Tung Fang Design Institute, which will concentrate on metalwork, woodwork and koji pottery; and the National Taitung Junior College, which will focus on aboriginal crafts, stone carving, wood carving and embroidery.
Taiwan's crafts sector is approaching its watershed moment, warned Hsu Keng-hsiu, director of the National Taiwan Craft Research and Development Institute. To prevent the loss of such valuable heritage, the "OSOC” campaign is designed to facilitate the generational transference of traditional craft skills, he added.
The campaign, which will run between June and October, will help college students learn from the nation's finest craft mastersthrough a series of DIY courses and workshops.
The “One School, One Craft” campaign, which will run between June and October, will help college students learn from the nation’s finest craftsmen through a series of DIY courses and workshops.
National Taiwan Craft Research and Development Institute Director Hsu Keng-hsiu (center, beige tie) and Asia University President Jeffrey J. P. Tsai (seventh left, light-purple tie) are pictured with 12 craft artists and their students at a June 20 press conference launching the ‘One School, One Craft’ campaign.