The National Taiwan Arts Education Center organized solo recitals for students learning musical instruments. It also just finished judging its annual art competition, which saw around 8,000 submissions. The center will hold an awards ceremony for the competition’s winners next year, and also showcase the winning works.
National Taiwan Arts Education Center’s Director-General Lee Bo-yan was appointed to his position in September, at a time when a COVID-19 outbreak was wreaking havoc on performance and art venues across Taiwan. On Monday, Lee spoke to Radio Taiwan International about how he navigated the pandemic and kept the education center’s mission alive.
The National Taiwan Arts Education Center is an important establishment in Taiwan for proliferating art. One of its main tasks is to foster local interest in art and help amateur artists get their start. The art education center also runs the Nanhai Theater, which performance groups can rent out.
Lee says that, when he took his post, many bookings at the Nanhai Theater had been cancelled. However, he says that setback brought an opportunity to transition. In order to adapt to the changing times, the theater held an online competition. Nanhai Theater invited schools from around Taiwan to record performances at its venue, uploaded them to the internet, and had people vote on their favorites.
Li says that, in the time of coronavirus, people can no longer approach problems with yesterday’s solutions. People have to think long-term and have a wider vision. He says no matter whether it’s art or enterprise, the public must learn to be more open-minded.