Written by Chee-Hann Wu. This article reviews Taiwanese performance artist Tehching Hsieh’s 2025 Dia Beacon retrospective, tracing his durational performances that treat the body as a clock, from cages to time-clocking, and reflecting on the exhibition’s embodied, minimalist presentation that collapses art and life, revealing time as both medium and co-performer.
Written by Yi-Ping Wu. This article recounts Taiwan’s 2025 cultural budget cuts amid political turmoil yet highlights the resilience of Taiwan’s theatrical landscape through the Taipei Theatre Awards, the Off-Broadway debut of Don’t Cry, Dancing Girls, the 2025 Expo Osaka initiatives, and the Les Misérables tour in Taipei and Kaohsiung, revealing international ambition despite systemic discrimination against the arts.
Written by Nancy Guy. Garbage, or rather, thoughts of garbage, are part of daily life in Taiwan. This is illustrated in the practices of individuals and households as they manage the material byproducts of everyday living. It is also reflected in all manner of creative practice. This post introduces the music of garbage trucks, the ‘Maiden’s Prayer’, not only on the music, but to social context with the music and Taiwan’s ‘throwing garbage’ culture.
Written by Choesang Scholer. Despite the pressures of external forces on Indigenous land and domain, Indigenous community members utilise art as a medium for political protest to amplify their concerns when their government fails to do so. This article explores the way in which identity-building expression appears through various forms of art.
Written by Dr Carla Figueira. This article reflects on the 2024 IJTS Open Access Award-winning paper, “Indigenous Peoples as Non-State Diplomatic Actors in the Public/Cultural Diplomacy of Taiwan: A Case Study of Dispossessions: Performative Encounter(s) of Taiwanese Indigenous Contemporary Art.” It highlights the value of engaging with the personal and social contexts shaping research outputs. It celebrates the growing academic focus on Indigenous Peoples and cultural diplomacy, foregrounding Taiwan’s unique position.
Written by Adrienne Wu and Yuchen Lee. The article discusses the impact of budget cuts to Taiwan’s Ministry of Culture. These cuts, including major reductions to media promotion, threaten Taiwan’s cultural industries, limit international outreach, and undermine the country’s ability to counter Beijing’s media influence.
