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Taiwan Comic Base begins trial run in Taipei

  • Date:2018-04-16
Taiwan Comic Base begins trial run in Taipei

Taiwan's first comics headquarters based in Taipei was inaugurated by Culture Minister Cheng Li-chiun on April 16. The four-storey building is expected to complete refurbishment and equipment installation by the end of July.

 

Located in Taipei's Datong District, the Taiwan Comic Base has been renovated from an old building to serve as a foundational cornerstone for developing Taiwan's comics industry.

 

Shih Hsin University, which was commissioned for the base's operations and management, will soon launch a soft opening with four public exhibitions, six promotional events, and 24 business-matching services.

 

The first promotional event is a design competition soliciting public proposals for a corporate identity and mascot for the comics base. The open call will be held from mid-May to the end of June, and a cash prize of NT$100,000 will be awarded to the winner.

 

At the inauguration ceremony, Minister Cheng outlined the five major functions of the Taiwan Comic Base, which will combine the Ministry of Culture's cultural content policies and financing mechanisms to vitalize original Taiwanese comics:  

 

  • To offer a window into the history of Taiwan’s comics industry;
  • To provide an exclusive place for artists to create, publish, and showcase comics;
  • To encourage the creation of original content such as music, screenplays, short films, and games through comic competitions;
  • To provide a platform for exchanging ideas and experiences and stimulating creativity.

 

In addition, Minister Cheng also revealed that a special four-year budget provided by the Forward-looking Infrastructure Development Program will be allocated to cultural content creation, which enables the Ministry to provide 40 to 50 million in subsidies to support comic artists and interdisciplinary applications this year. Subsidy guidelines will be announced on April 17.

 

Shih Hsin University will also serve as an intermediary between artists and content that has interdisciplinary potential, such as the oral history and audiovisual records preserved in the National Memories Database