The University hosted its first Taiwanese art conference on Tuesday, marking one of the few conferences held across the nation in this field. Scholars from 12 different universities and three different continents came to partake in the discussion.

Prof. Aida Yuen Wong (FA) opened the event with welcoming remarks, introducing leading scholars from Taiwan, Europe and the United States whom she described as “cutting edge.” Wong then gave a brief summary of Taiwan. A small island off the main coast of China, according to Wong, it has gone through “a number of regime changes since the late 19th century,” which includes its colonization by Japan post-war, a dictatorial government and the democracy it maintains today. Taiwan has also just elected its first female president.

But how did art play a role in this progressive country? “Art has played a central role in shaping the political and cultural discourses on the island — and [the] upheavals have divided but have also given impetus to artists of different strides,” said Wong. The history of Taiwanese art, Wong said, was a somewhat “messy” one, which has not received much scholarly attention outside Taiwan until recently. This conference is meant to expand knowledge of the art history of Taiwan so that it can reach further than the borders of Taiwan, concluded Wong.

The conference was divided into three panels, each including three or four speakers who were well versed on the topic, presenting Taiwanese history and associated artworks.

The first panel, which included speakers Yunchiahn C. Sena from Wesleyan University, Ching-hsin Wu from Rutgers University, Su-hsing Lin from Tainan National University of the Arts and Chia-ling Yang from University of Edinburgh focused on the historical aspects of the art, looking more to the past.

The second panel focused on more modern aspects of expression, such as film and photography. Speakers included Mia Liu from Bates College, Prof. Peter R. Kalb (FA) and Shelley Drake Hawks from Middlesex Community College.

The third and final panel of the day focused not on individual artworks of certain artists but instead on the art movements that have taken place throughout Taiwanese history. Speakers for this panel included An-yi Pan from Cornell University, Hsin-tien Liao from National Taiwan University of the Arts, Kai Sheng from National United University and Andrew Shih-ming Pai from the National Taiwan Normal University.