Category: Teaching

Exploring the Undefined Creativity in Youth Theatre Education: An Interview with Wen-Qi Yu, Artistic Director of Flying Birds Theatre Group

Written by Yi-Cheng Sun; translated by Yi-Yu Lai. Before starting the interview, during lunch, Rei-Tzu, the production coordinator of Flying Birds Theatre Group, told us about the “earliest university.” In English, “University” is derived from the word “universe.” In Latin, “universus” is composed of “unus” (one) and “versus” (towards a particular direction), giving it the literal meaning of “towards a specific direction.” According to our limited knowledge of history, the University of Bologna, established by students in 1088 in Italy, is the first university in Europe, earning it the title “mother of universities.” The “earliest university” topic quickly sparked our discussion about knowledge and the essence of education, with art being the primary focus.

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Plasticising Cultures through Art Education: An Interview with an Artist Wei-Lun Chang

Written by Yi-Cheng Sun; translated by Yi-Yu Lai. Before my interview with Wei-Lun Chang, I felt isolated and distant from her previous paintings. However, I experienced a contrasting feeling upon entering her home on the interview day. The toys in the corner and the children’s graffiti scattered around the walls made me feel the presence and interdependence of growing lives in this space. Wei-Lun’s role is not only that of an artist and educator, as I knew her to be, but also that of a mother––the mother of two children. The role of motherhood always brings significant changes, growth, and understanding in the continuous process of life, and Wei-Lun’s life journey is no exception.

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Creating Artworks with Experience: An Interview with an Artist-Teacher Shao-Gang Wang

Written by Yi-Cheng Sun; translated by Yi-Yu Lai. In 2022, at the Taipei Fine Arts Museum’s “Taipei Art Awards” exhibition, artist Shao-Gang Wang was honoured with the Excellence Award for his artwork titled “The Bird’s Still Singing.” This piece continues his collaboration with young actors that began in 2019 with the works “AppleGreen” and “DeepBlue.”

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The Director-Sensei of Shadow Puppetry: An Interview with an Artist-Teacher Yun-Hsuan Kao

Written by Yi-Cheng Sun; translated by Yi-Yu Lai. The night following the conclusion of the 2022 National Creative Drama Competition, residents of the Ciwidiyan community (Shuilian village) learned that their representative troupe had won the Modern Shadow Puppetry Excellence Award of the Elementary School Division. The community members prepared drinks and delicacies to celebrate, eagerly awaiting the return of the students and teachers from Shuilian Elementary School. The fried chicken cutlets cooked long ago turned cold, and the elders holding congratulatory red envelopes were also a bit weary. Only when the firecrackers along the way burst into loud noises did the delight in the air, with flying paper scraps both inside and outside the houses, seem to repeatedly congratulate: “Finally, it’s here!”

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Art Education for the Real World: An Interview with an Artist-Teacher Pin-Hsuan Tseng

Written by Yi-Cheng Sun; translated by Yi-Yu Lai. Pin-Hsuan Tseng taught art at Gongliao Junior High School in New Taipei City from 2012 to 2022. Besides being an art teacher, she is well-known for her 2017 initiative called the “Ordering Dishes to End Discrimination” movement. This gentle movement embedded in everyday life aimed to restore the proper name of “Fushan lettuce,” which is commonly referred to as “mainland girl”, with underlying discrimination against females from China. Regarding nationality and gender, Taiwanese media once used “mainland girl” to refer to Chinese prostitutes who arrived illegally in Taiwan, while the smooth appearance of Fushan lettuce was thought to correspond with this image.

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