Cultural and arts professionals, whether they are artists, performers, or arts administrators, absorb new knowledge and improve their skills through self-study, short-term programs, or accumulation of long-term experience throughout their careers. The National Culture and Arts Foundation (NCAF) began organizing the Taiwan Top Mentorship Program since 2019, where lecturers share their personal experience to keep participants updated on the latest trends and knowledge, expanding their ideas and visions for the future. Moreover, public institutions or venues, such as National Taichung Theater's Arts Administration Talent Cultivation Project and Taiwan Museum Foundation's Museum Professional Level Up Project, hold lectures, workshops, and other activities based on their region and domains of concern to fulfill the goal of cultivating industry talents.

In addition, independent arts organizations are also organizing courses beneficial to the arts and culture ecosystem based on their own observations of trends and demands in the external environment. Since 2023, Thinker's Studio has been holding the Administration Course for Artists, catering to budding artists. Divided into a collective learning workshop and themed lectures, the course helps artists learn the basics about production and administration, as well as better understand the arts and culture ecosystem. TaTa Play House started implementing the Inside Out Ideas Academy Project in 2022, a three-year artist cultivation initiative that invites seasoned performers and artistic creators to hold short-term professional courses. It also organizes long-term practical courses to offer artists a comprehensive package of mentorship, rehearsal venues, and backstage guidance based on hands-on experience.

In addition to educational courses, A++ Idea School launched by Duck Art Studio and Lead Mentor Hong-Zheng Fu aims to craft a platform that enables artists to engage in dialogue and exchange. Conversations are developed in the three areas of directing, scriptwriting, and performance in order to break through the parochialism of different theater trades, leading students to explore creative possibilities with a more diverse mindset based on integrated learning that takes into account others' perspectives.

In contrast to the production model of traditional theater venues, Against Again Troupe leverages its ample production experience to implement the Unconventional Theater Production Cultivation Program, in hopes of starting new discourses and dialogues different from mainstream theater practices by exploring instances of shows put on in "unconventional spaces". It plans and shares a series of production workshops that are expanded into discussions on various types of unconventional productions.

Based in Chiayi, BIU Theatre has sharp awareness of the deficit in theater learning resources in central and southern Taiwan. That's why they hold the Performance Advancement and Creative Thinking—Yunlin, Chiayi and Tainan Theater Workshop, which cultivates local young artists and drives momentum in central and southern Taiwan's theater scene. Absolute Space for the Arts, a local arts and culture organization in Tainan, organizes the Southern Art Criticism Cultivation Project to help young students learn to write about art via group discussions, practice-oriented writing, and community support facilitated by platform building. Despite the gap in resources between northern and southern Taiwan, these organizations endeavor to change the current arts and culture ecosystem through education and assistance.

As the external environment shifts rapidly, continuous learning can help us grow and enrich ourselves. Learning alone is lonely, so let's "Learn Together Through Art"!

 

 

*Translator: Linguitronics