Exploring the Intersections of Art, Identity, and Indigeneity in Taiwan's Cultural Landscape

 

Taiwan’s quest for identity and diplomatic recognition has been a significant and contentious issue for over half a century, both nationally and internationally. In this presentation, Dr Sophie McIntyre examines the crucial roles that artists and museums have played in shaping, articulating and representing Taiwan's evolving identity and sense of place in the world.

 

Drawing on three decades of research in Taiwan, Dr McIntyre critically examines the ways in which identity narratives have been imagined and transmitted, both locally and globally, through the production, selection, and exhibition of Taiwan art, as a vehicle for identity formation and cultural diplomacy.

 

This presentation offers insights into how art can function as a powerful medium for negotiating identity, asserting autonomy, and fostering a sense of community. It references examples from Dr McIntyre’s two publications, Imagining Taiwan: the Role of Art in Taiwan's Quest for Identity (Brill, 2018), and Yao Jui-chung (姚瑞中) (Scheidegger & Spiess, 2023), alongside her ongoing research into Indigenous art and museums in Taiwan.

 

 

Dr. Sophie McIntyre is a Senior Lecturer at Queensland University of Technology, Australia. She is also an established curator specialising in art from the Asia-Pacific region, especially from Taiwan, Hong Kong, Australia and Aotearoa/New Zealand. She is the author of Imagining Taiwan: the Role of Art in Taiwan's Quest for Identity (Brill, 2018), and Yao Jui-chung (姚瑞中) (Scheidegger & Spiess, 2023), and regularly contributes to journals, books, anthologies and exhibition catalogues internationally. In addition, she has curated more than 30 exhibitions, including several featuring Taiwan art; and received awards and grants for her academic and curatorial projects.

 

Sophie is a Project Lead on an award-winning First Nations arts exchange program (2021-). This initiative connects artists, curators, film makers and scholars from Australia, Taiwan, and Aotearoa/New Zealand through a comprehensive program that includes a symposium, publications, field trips, artist residencies, a documentary film, and touring exhibition.