Organized by the Taiwan Potehi Institute (台灣布袋戲傳習中心), "The World On Your Hand: An Exhibition of International Hand Puppetry" is displaying more than a hundred puppets from countries on five continents. Director Dmitri Carter of the Northwest Puppet Center and the local Yunlin band Tai-Jih Percussion Group (太日樂集) performed together to lift the curtain on the opening ceremony on Sept. 13 at the Yunlin Palm Puppet Museum (雲林布袋戲館).
Artistic director Hsu Chia-fen (許嘉芬) of the Taiwan Potehi Institute mentioned that the exhibition revolves around the theme of puppets from around the world and focuses on the styles of puppet theater, aesthetics, script, cultural significance, and development context. It is hoped that visitors would go in-depth into the cultural legacy of Taiwanese hand puppetry.
Carter said that puppetry is one of the most ancient forms of performing arts in the world, adding that puppets from different countries have similar purposes and cultural foundations. He hopes that visitors would gain a deeper understanding of puppetry from this exhibition.
According to Magistrate Chang Li-shan (張麗善) of Yunlin County, the Taiwan Potehi Institute is the first-ever venue in the country that was built under the theme of Taiwanese glove puppetry, striving to increase ties between Taiwan’s puppet culture and the international puppetry arts. Chang expects that the exhibition, curated by Dmitri Carter and curator Francisco Carter from the Seattle Art Museum, would inspire local puppet artists and performers and boost the creativity of Taiwan's hand puppetry.
Chen Pi-chun (陳璧君), director of the Cultural Affairs Department of the Yunlin County Government hopes the transnational curation would deepen the friendship between Taiwan and the U.S. as well as enhance cultural exchanges.