Taiwanese artisans Gary Lee (李基宏) and Yi Yu-an (易佑安), two up-and-coming young practitioners of lacquer arts, have been invited to hold lacquer workshops in the Russian cities of Moscow, Ulyanovsk, and Samaras from May 16 through 22.
Lee and Yi are co-founders of Aa Twenty Studio (貳拾根手指漆工坊), a workshop that seeks to bring out the playful side of lacquer arts by offering DIY courses, lifestyle products, and accessories such as jewelry. Light in weight and extremely colorful in hues and design, their waterproof artworks defy conventional stereotypes of lacquer products.
Their workshop tour of Russia will start on May 16 and 17 at the State Darwin Museum in Moscow, where the duo will donate some of their works for Russian museumgoers to remember Taiwanese lacquer arts by.
Upon the invitation of Foundation Ulyanovsk – the Capital of Culture, they will then travel to the city of Ulyanovsk on May 18. Students from the Ulyanovsk State Pedagogical University will be able to walk away with their own customized pair of chopsticks and cut down on their disposable cutlery consumption.
On the next day, May 19, Lee and Yi will greet middle school students from the Ulyanovsk region by hosting a lacquer session at the Ulyanovsk Regional Art Museum before traveling 250km to Samaras, the sixth largest city of Russia.
At Samaras, the duo will meet local lacquer artists and share the unique elements of Taiwanese lacquerware at the Samaras Oriental Cultural and Educational Center on May 21, and at the Samaras Center of Educational Development on May 22.
Aa Twenty Studio is supported by the National Taiwan Craft Research and Development Institute, the nation's premier agency for securing the inheritance of crafts arts and finding new applications for age-old traditional artistries.
More information on the upcoming lacquer workshops in Russia can be found by contacting the Cultural Division of the Taipei-Moscow Economic and Cultural Coordination Commission: russianoffice@moc.gov.tw.