Organized by the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Malaysia and curated by the INXO Arts and Culture Foundation, Tea Philo (哲學茶席) invited Malaysian poet-artist Maniniwei (馬尼尼為) to give a talk virtually on Aug. 27.
Under the theme of "Transforming stealing into creating (偷別人的東西來創作：民間故事、詩、鬼怪)," Maniniwei shared tips on taking ideas from one’s own cultural heritages and using them to build something new to the audience. She believes that drawing and writing are forms of communication built-in human instincts. However, developing writing skills from instinct to an amateur is a major challenge.
Maniniwei is a Malaysian Chinese, who has lived in Taipei for more than 20 years. Her works including poetry, prose, and picture books have won numerous literary awards. In 2022, the picture book "my sister's empty house (姐姐的空房子)" was selected for the Bologna Ragazzi Award 2022 Amazing Bookshelf Top 100 of the BolognaRagazzi Award at the Bologna Children's Book Fair.
The talk was hosted by the founder of the Ammi Art Studio (阿米創意畫坊) Leong Yoke Mee (梁玉美), who started to participate in painting exhibitions after receiving an honorable mention of the Philip Morris ASEAN Art Awards in 2000. Her separate works were previously chosen by the Malaysia Board on Books for Young People and the International Board on Books for Young People.
Tea Philo is a monthly series of sharing sessions revolving around the discussion of philosophies and humanities. It began in April 2017 with the intention of building cultural and social value through salon talks with tea. For more information, please visit Tea Philo's Facebook page.