World-renowned Taiwanese conductor Chien Wen-pin (簡文彬) shared his perspectives and experiences under the theme "Force Awakens In Southern Taiwan: Operas at Weiwuying" through a livestream video chat on Apr. 10, as part of the "Tea Philo (哲學茶席)" e-talk program.
Co-organized by Taipei Economic & Cultural Office in Malaysia and Ministry of Culture, the latest installments were held online due to the outbreak of coronavirus around the world.
Chien, who is the executive and artistic director of the National Kaohsiung Center for the Arts (Weiwuying), kick-started the e-talk session by introducing Weiwuying and its aim of becoming an art center for everyone, as well as actively developing the performing arts environment in Southern Taiwan to become an important art base in line with the international standards. Chien introduced the unique architectural design features of Weiwuying. It is the world's largest single-roof performing arts center, and possesses Asia's largest pipe organ. The interior of the center includes performance hall, opera house, theater and concert hall.
In Chien's talk, he spoke about the biggest challenge since taking office in 2018 - that is to build Weiwuying as a "cultural living room" for the people of Kaohsiung, narrowing the distance between people and art. He also stated that the arts center will continue to cooperate with the Kaohsiung City government to organize activities to promote the value of Weiwuying to the public, and encourages music lovers to make use of the facility.
Tea Philo is a series of sharing sessions revolving the discussion of philosophies and humanities. It was presented from April 2017 with the intention of building cultural and social value through salon talks with tea. Luminaries from Taiwan are invited to Malaysia to share their experiences and to engage the local cultural communities.
For the latest announcements, please visit Tea Philo's Facebook page.