Exchanges Between Taiwanese and South Asian Contemporary Art
In 2007, following the rise of Brazil, Russia, India, and China (BRIC), the South Asian art market also flourished with stimulations from the booming economic development, and a wave of Indian contemporary art emerged in the international scene, for example, the Museum of Contemporary Art (MoCA), Shanghai presented India Xianzai (2009), which featured the works by twenty-one artists; the Saatchi Gallery in the UK held The empire strikes back—Indian art today (2010); and the Centre Pompidou in France launched India through the eyes of Indian and French artists (2011), etc. With the media’s introduction, the interest in South Asian contemporary art was piqued in Taiwan as well. In fact, before this international wave, the Artist magazine had published the “Special Issue of Indian and Himalayan Art” (印度．喜瑪拉雅藝術專輯) in 1977, which included artist Max Liu Chi-Wei’s field experience in South Asia, his research on local art, and related writings by Taiwanese and foreign authors. In this special issue, the research on South Asian art was still constrained by inconvenient travels caused by climatic conditions and political factors. Afterwards, introductions to South Asian artists, as well as writings about South Asian artworks, art history, and criticisms by Taiwanese artists could be found in the Artist magazine. However, it was until 2009, when the magazine published the special issue of “Contemporary Art in India” (印度當代藝術), that a more comprehensive and organized introduction to South Asian contemporary art was available: the special issue included various South Asian art exhibitions, artists and their works in the international scene at the time, and a special interview of Lin Yu-Hsi, the director of contemporary art in East Asia at the Taipei-based Indian art gallery, Sakshi Gallery. In the interview, Lin believed that exoticism did have its allure, but discussions about the contemporary art should focus on the artworks.
Sakshi Gallery was also the consultant to Finding India—Art for the New Century presented by the Museum of Contemporary Art (MoCA), Taipei in 2010. The exhibition invited twenty-nine artists and showcased sixty-three works in total, making it one of the large-scale exhibitions focusing on regional contemporary art exchange. Furthermore, the Inter-Asia School, Hanart TZ Gallery, and Asia Art Archive co-organized the project – “West Heavens,” which has facilitated inter-regional interactions and exchanges via forums, exhibitions, workshops, and publications since 2010. There have been other examples of exchanges with South Asian contemporary art: the Asian Art Biennial has included a certain proportion of South Asian artists; the Kuandu Biennial has invited artists from the South Asian region; and both the Bamboo Curtain Studio and Waley Art’s “Peripheralized People: Solastalgia Between Taiwan and Nepal” have organized art space-based exchange projects between Taiwan and art spaces in the South Asian regions and artists. There have been exchange exhibitions organized by individual art professionals, with the assistance from award and grant mechanisms and institutions, for instance, Beyond Territory (2020) at FreeS Art Space and Inside the Outsider (2020) at Zone Art, both organized by Tsai Ping-Ju. The Ministry of Culture launched the “Cultural Exchanges and Collaborative Projects between West Asia and South Asia with Taiwan” (西亞及南亞地區與臺灣文化交流合作補助), which began accepting application in 2016, and the “Guidelines for Subsidizing Cultural Groups and Individuals for Cultural Exchange” (文化部補助文化團體及個人從事文化交流活動處理要點) launched in 2021 have both poured resources into the contemporary art exchange between Taiwan and South Asia, such as the exchange program engaging West and South Asian contemporary art spaces organized by the Association of the Visual Arts in Taiwan (AVAT).
References
Sakshi Gallery was also the consultant to Finding India—Art for the New Century presented by the Museum of Contemporary Art (MoCA), Taipei in 2010. The exhibition invited twenty-nine artists and showcased sixty-three works in total, making it one of the large-scale exhibitions focusing on regional contemporary art exchange. Furthermore, the Inter-Asia School, Hanart TZ Gallery, and Asia Art Archive co-organized the project – “West Heavens,” which has facilitated inter-regional interactions and exchanges via forums, exhibitions, workshops, and publications since 2010. There have been other examples of exchanges with South Asian contemporary art: the Asian Art Biennial has included a certain proportion of South Asian artists; the Kuandu Biennial has invited artists from the South Asian region; and both the Bamboo Curtain Studio and Waley Art’s “Peripheralized People: Solastalgia Between Taiwan and Nepal” have organized art space-based exchange projects between Taiwan and art spaces in the South Asian regions and artists. There have been exchange exhibitions organized by individual art professionals, with the assistance from award and grant mechanisms and institutions, for instance, Beyond Territory (2020) at FreeS Art Space and Inside the Outsider (2020) at Zone Art, both organized by Tsai Ping-Ju. The Ministry of Culture launched the “Cultural Exchanges and Collaborative Projects between West Asia and South Asia with Taiwan” (西亞及南亞地區與臺灣文化交流合作補助), which began accepting application in 2016, and the “Guidelines for Subsidizing Cultural Groups and Individuals for Cultural Exchange” (文化部補助文化團體及個人從事文化交流活動處理要點) launched in 2021 have both poured resources into the contemporary art exchange between Taiwan and South Asia, such as the exchange program engaging West and South Asian contemporary art spaces organized by the Association of the Visual Arts in Taiwan (AVAT).
References
- Shih, Jui-Jen (ed). Finding India-Art for the New Century, November 2010.
- Liu, Chi-Wei. “Special Issue of Indian and Himalayan Art.” Artist, no. 28, September 1977, pp. 20-81.
- Laws and Regulations for Awards and Grants of the Ministry of Culture. Website of Ministry of Culture
- Project Website of “West Heavens”
臺灣與南亞當代藝術交流
（Exchanges Between Taiwanese and South Asian Contemporary Art）
2007年隨著當時金磚四國的崛起，經濟蓬勃發展的同時連帶激發了南亞藝術市場，並且在國際上形成印度當代藝術熱潮，如：上海當代藝術館舉辦的展覽「印度現在」（2009）展出了21位藝術家的作品、英國沙奇畫廊（Saatchi Gallery）的「帝國的反擊：今日印度藝術」（The empire strikes back—Indian art today，2010）與法國龐畢度中心的「巴黎—德里—孟買—印度與法國藝術家眼中的印度」（India through the eyes of Indian and French artists，2011）等，透過媒體的介紹，也引起臺灣對於討論南亞當代藝術的興趣。在此之前，雜誌《藝術家》早於1977年邀請藝術家劉其偉將其在南亞的踏查經驗、對於當地藝術的研究以及其他中外文作者的相關書寫，集結成「印度．喜瑪拉雅藝術專輯」。專輯中關於南亞藝術的研究尚受限於氣候條件以及政治因素所造成的旅行不便等。此後也有南亞藝術家介紹、臺灣藝術家關於南亞相關創作介紹、藝術史及評論散見於《藝術家》雜誌中，直到2009年的「印度當代藝術」專輯，才對南亞當代藝術有更全面的規劃與介紹，包含了當時發生於國際上的南亞相關展覽及藝術家作品的介紹，以及來自於印度的夏可喜當代藝術藝廊在台北的當代藝術東亞區總監林瑀希專訪等。在專訪中，林瑀希認為或許一開始異國情調有其吸引人的部分，但關於當代藝術的討論應該回到作品自身。
夏可喜當代藝術同時也是2010年台北當代藝術館展覽「發現印度—印度當代藝術」的顧問，該展覽共邀請了29組藝術家共63件作品，是區域性當代藝術交流中較具規模的展覽。此外，由亞際書院、漢雅軒與亞洲藝術文獻庫共同舉辦的「西天中土」計畫，自2010年開始，透過論壇、展覽、工作坊與出版物等形式，進行跨區域間的交流，其他與南亞當代藝術交流的例子還有：亞洲藝術雙年展每屆都有一定比例來自於南亞的藝術工作者參與、關渡雙年展也曾邀請南亞的藝術家參與，竹圍工作室、水谷藝術的「邊陲人：台灣與尼泊爾鄉憂系列計畫」都曾經以單位為主與南亞地區的藝術空間以及藝術工作者進行交流項目，也有個別藝術工作者透過獎補助機制及機構協助所策劃的交流展，如蔡秉儒在福利社策畫的展覽「方域之外」（2020）以及在眾藝術策畫的「內在漂逐」（2020）等。文化部在2016年開放申請的「西亞及南亞地區與臺灣文化交流合作補助」、2021年公佈的「文化部補助文化團體及個人從事文化交流活動處理要點」，也為臺灣與南亞的當代藝術交流挹注了資源，如臺灣視覺藝術協會所辦理的西亞南亞當代藝術空間交流活動等。
參考文獻
夏可喜當代藝術同時也是2010年台北當代藝術館展覽「發現印度—印度當代藝術」的顧問，該展覽共邀請了29組藝術家共63件作品，是區域性當代藝術交流中較具規模的展覽。此外，由亞際書院、漢雅軒與亞洲藝術文獻庫共同舉辦的「西天中土」計畫，自2010年開始，透過論壇、展覽、工作坊與出版物等形式，進行跨區域間的交流，其他與南亞當代藝術交流的例子還有：亞洲藝術雙年展每屆都有一定比例來自於南亞的藝術工作者參與、關渡雙年展也曾邀請南亞的藝術家參與，竹圍工作室、水谷藝術的「邊陲人：台灣與尼泊爾鄉憂系列計畫」都曾經以單位為主與南亞地區的藝術空間以及藝術工作者進行交流項目，也有個別藝術工作者透過獎補助機制及機構協助所策劃的交流展，如蔡秉儒在福利社策畫的展覽「方域之外」（2020）以及在眾藝術策畫的「內在漂逐」（2020）等。文化部在2016年開放申請的「西亞及南亞地區與臺灣文化交流合作補助」、2021年公佈的「文化部補助文化團體及個人從事文化交流活動處理要點」，也為臺灣與南亞的當代藝術交流挹注了資源，如臺灣視覺藝術協會所辦理的西亞南亞當代藝術空間交流活動等。
參考文獻
- 石瑞仁編輯，《發現印度—印度當代藝術特展》，2010.11。
- 張晴文等，〈印度當代藝術〉專輯，《藝術家》406期，頁186-189，2009.03。
- 劉其偉等，〈印度．喜馬拉雅藝術〉專輯，《藝術家》28期，頁20-81，1977.9。
- 文化部獎補助條款，文化部網站
- 西天中土計畫網站