Following on from a successful partnership with ZOO TV in 2021, Taiwan Season Symposium 2022: Connecting with Taiwan is back for a third consecutive time. This year's partnering organizations are Dance Base and, in tandem with the Danish Arts Foundation showcase #Danish, Fringe Central.
The symposium aims to forge new links with members of the global art industry, while also addressing issues of potential interest to anyone keen to follow developments in the arts in Taiwan and abroad.
Three 90-minute discussions – the first two online and live, and the last primarily in-person – focus by turns on a handful of culturally and socio-politically relevant topics, and feature as guest speakers a gallery of presenters and producers, curators and directors, researchers and educators, dancers and choreographers, independent artists and activists from Taiwan, the UK and Denmark.
The first session "Experimentation and Innovation: Crossing Boundaries in Digital and Performing Arts" examines how touring and international collaborations have changed post-pandemic. Among the scheduled speakers are the artistic directors of Digital Arts Foundation and Anarchy Dance Theatre, a consultant at New Taipei City Art Museum, and Barbican Theatre Plymouth's highly tech-savvy CEO.
The second session "Loud and Clear and In Sight: Female Visibility and Creative Voices in the Performing Arts" revolves around the topic of cultural diversity, equality and increasing opportunities for women artists in Taiwan and abroad. Panelists include key staff from the global theatre practitioners network OISTAT and National Kaohsiung Centre for the Arts - Weiwuying, WOW founder Jude Kelly, and independent artists.
The third topic "Knowledge in Action: How Performance-Makers Address Climate Change" is a brainstorming session on issues and practicalities surrounding the climate crisis. The speakers hail from Creative Carbon Scotland, the Danish performance group Sisters Hope and the National Theatre and Concert Hall in Taipei.