The 2017 Art Truck Shows Taiwan, an overseas program launched by the Taipei-based General Association of Chinese Culture (GACC), will make its first stop in Penang, Malaysia on Sept. 22 and 23.
As Taiwan and Malaysia are deeply connected by culture, language, and traditional Chinese characters, Malaysia was chosen as the first stop of Art Truck Shows Taiwan, a program aiming to strengthen ties with Southeast Asia through cultural diplomacy.
Penang in particular, a city that has been given UNESCO historic city status, was selected by GACC for its diverse ethnicities, languages, religions, and cultures that echo the essence of the Art Truck program.
The program will introduce Taiwan's folk culture and performing arts by bringing Chio Tian Folk Drums & Art Troupe (九天民俗技藝團), Takao-Run Folk Songs Group (打狗亂歌團), indie singer Enno Cheng (鄭宜農), and singer Hsieh Ming-yu (謝銘祐), the 2017 Golden Melody Award winner for Best Taiwanese Male Singer, to Malaysia.
The art trucks program has previously visited 105 counties and towns in Taiwan, presenting a total of 133 performances for more than 170,000 audiences. It has served as a platform for Taiwan's performing art groups in making art available in every corner of Taiwan.
A press conference was held in Kuala Lumpur on Sept. 7, with GACC Deputy Secretary-General Chang Tieh-chih (張鐵志) inaugurating the overseas leg of the program.
The event was also attended by esteemed Malaysia-based Taiwanese figures such as President Hsu Chen-te (許正得) of Taipei Investors' Association in Malaysia and national committee members Jiang Wen-zhou (江文洲), Ding Zhong-chen (丁重誠), and Lee Fang-hsin (李芳信), and covered by local media such as Penang City Eye and Melody FM.
Related Content