謝宇婷

From literary studies to my training in museum studies, I am particularly interested in how museums and contemporary art construct and break narratives, especially the complex and difficult histories that are relevant to identity and national identity. My master's thesis explored the reproduction and interpretation of Southeast Asian historical trauma in contemporary art exhibitions, combining exhibition analysis and visitors studies. Since then, I have continued to publish articles and research on this topic, considering how museums and other cultural institutions can engage in a dialogue with history in terms of collection and display. I believe that no matter what moment we are living in, we are always in the crack of multiple time and space, where history and the present constantly meet. Whether it is political issues, identity, daily life, or artistic creation, the debate on the past never stops.

The focus of my curatorial studies centers on historical trauma and how art can represent, respond and even rekindle our concerns towards the issues. As I grew up, exploring more and more about the meaning of being a “Taiwanese”, or a part of “Asians”, I came across the difficult past on this land. Despite being historicized or musealized, our historical trauma continues to haunt the political present. Yet, other than judicial trials or truth commissions that directly deal with stakeholders, I want to explore the possibilities of arts as a medium to trickle discussions and enlarge our imagination of our society.

• 2021

  Curator, When Islands Dream, Museum of Contemporary Art Taipei, Taipei, Taiwan

• 2021

  Curatorial Team Member, Pan-Austro-Nesian Arts Festival, Kaohsiung Museum of Fine Arts, Kaohsiung, Taiwan

• 2018

  Curatorial Assistant, Video on the Phone, Hong-gah Museum & Polymer, Taipei, Taiwan

• 2019

  Graduate Institute of Museum Studies, Taipei National University of the Arts, Master Degree

• 2016

  Department of Foreign Languages and Literatures, National Taiwan University, Bachelor Degree

• 2020/6-

  Kaohsiung Museum of Fine Arts, Research and Development Department, Assistant Researcher

• 2019/10-2020/5

  National Taiwan Museum of Fine Arts, Collection Department Project Assistant

• 2018/3-2018/9

  Hong-gah Museum, Curatorial Intern

• 2017/3-2017/11

  Venice Biennale Taiwan Pavilion, Docent Intern

• 2016/7-2017/2

  KHAM Inc., Exhibition Coordinator

• 2022

  Serendipity: Matsu Islands, Taiwan & Me, Taiwan Insight, Mar 29, 2022

• 2021

  Language, Land, Borders: How Jonathan Jones Rebuilds the Aboriginal Cultural Landscape, Art Accrediting, No. 96, pp.198-209

• 2020

  Beyond Memorization: How does contemporary art intervene in the historically conflicted zone?, The 9th International Biennial Conference of Museum Studies, Taipei, Taiwan

• 2020

  Do Thieves Have Their Code of Honor? Is Theft in the Museum a Kind of Cultural Action?, Art Accrediting, No. 94, pp.72-77

• 2020

  The Return the Skulls of 24 Algerian Ani-Colonial Fighters from Museum of Humans in France, udn Global, Aug 5, 2020

• 2020

  Heartless Director and Struggling Museum Staffs? The Era of Great Suffering of Museum Workers in US, udn Global, Jun 25, 2020

• 2019

  Uncomfortable Art Tour of UK Reveals the Dark Side of Empire in Museums, udn Global, Dec 19, 2019

• 2019

  How Do Museums Interpret War? The WWII Memories Told by National Museum of Singapore, Chinese Association of Museums “Museums Link Asia-Pacific”, Sep 27, 2019

• 2018

  co-authored with Chia-Li Chen, University Museum in Contemporary Era: A Case Study on Manchester Museum’s Exhibition Design and Community Strategy, Taiwan Natural Science, Vol 37, Issue 2 (2018/6/1), pp.62–67

• 2017

  Seeing through the Wound: The Poetics and Politics of the Exhibition “Rosa's Wound”, The Inclusive Museum Research Network 2017, Manchester, UK

• 2017

  Thread by Thread, Mending Our Lost Cultural Cell: Interviewing With Publisher Lin Hsiu-Huei from Needle Path-Calligraphy of Indigenous Culture, Evoked, vol.1: Textile, pp.6-14

• 2017

  Will Art Lead Us Home? A Visit to 2017 Mipaliw Wetland Art Festival, Evoked, vol.1: Textile, pp.46-57

• 2019/12/15

  Selected for “Curator’s Incubating Project”, Taipei, Taiwan