The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) has renewed its participation in the Ministry of Culture's Spotlight Taiwan project by signing an agreement with the Taiwan Academy in Los Angeles on March 3. In its second year of partnership, UCLA will host dance performances, lectures, artist residencies, modern art exhibitions, and international conferences relating to Taiwan.
To highlight Taiwan's social transition into today's modern democracy, this year's event series will focus on Taiwanese arts and civil society. Dancers Lin Ya-ting (林雅婷) and Chen Ya-ping (陳雅萍) from Taiwan's leading Cloud Gate Dance Theatre, architect Huang Sheng-yuan (黃聲遠), sculptor Li Chen (李真), choreographer Ku Ming-shen (古名伸), professor of history Chen Jo-shui (陳弱水), and social studies professor Wu Jieh-min (吳介民) will be holding performances, workshops, and conferences at UCLA.
Ku will spend a week on campus to host student lectures, meet with local artists, and participate in the courses of associate professor Yu Cheng-chieh (余承婕), who teaches dance and choreography at UCLA. Chen and Wu, the two professors from Taiwan, will also attend a conference to discuss the issue of Taiwan's civil society with American scholars.
Under the Spotlight Taiwan project, Taiwan-based artists are invited by international institutions to interact with overseas cultural and art professionals, and to present the rich and profound aspects of Taiwan's art scene. The event series is open to the general public and more details can be found on the co-organizing Taiwan Academy's Facebook page.