East coast festival spotlights Taiwan indigenous culture

2015/12/11

An innovative festival showcasing the living art of eastern Taiwan and offering participants the opportunity to learn more about the region’s indigenous culture is underway in Hualien County.

Featuring such events as concerts, creative market, documentary screenings, exhibition, lectures and workshops by 50 resident artists from home and abroad, the inaugural nine-day East Coast Living Art Festival combines the best elements of everyday life and culture in a celebration of the purity of art.

Lee Chi-chung, director of organizer National Taitung Living Art Center, said most of the artworks are fashioned from daily necessities and local materials. “This practical approach will spur many to reflect on their lifestyles and rethink the potential beauty in seemingly insignificant items.”

The exhibition, staged at Hualien Cultural Creative Industries Park, is divided into three sections: Central Mountain Range, Taitung Plain and East Coast.

One of the highlights of Central Mountain Range is a furniture set by Paiwan artist Saudeng Maljaljaves. Made from cast iron, Formosan michelia and local bamboos, the set comprises an exquisite wooden bed and woven screen representing the tribe’s totems.

Equally impressive is Taitung Plain’s Amis food installation by culinary guru Shulu and five potters. Lifelike models of the mouthwatering dishes are displayed in specially made ceramics, presenting visitors with a rare chance to experience the visual delights of traditional cuisine. The celebratory atmosphere surrounding the work is further heightened by photographs of Shulu and the potters enjoying a sumptuous pre-festival feast.

Not to be outdazzled, East Coast presents a lighting piece by Chen Shu-yen and Tuwak Tuyan of the Kavalan tribe. The pair attached dyed bark, feathers and pulp to a sanku, or fish trap, constructed along time-honored lines from bamboo and yellow palm.

According to custom, only straight bamboo surviving at least three typhoons can be used in a sanku, testing Chen and Tuyan’s creative nous. They toiled tirelessly to retain the original form of the sanku while producing a work worthy of their talents.

The curtain comes down on the festival Dec. 13 with a much-anticipated performance by Amis singer Ilid Kaolo, winner of Best New Artist and Best Indigenous Singer at the 2012 Golden Melody Awards. She is expected to deliver an emotive set drawing upon her indigenous roots and cultural ties to the region.

Source: Taiwan Today (http://taiwantoday.tw/ct.asp?xItem=240026&ctNode=2194&mp=9)