On June 2, at the initiative of the Israel Mission in Taiwan, an exhibition of items from the Biennale of Art and Design from the Eretz Yisrael Museum in Tel Aviv opened at the Yingge Ceramics Museum in New Taipei City.
The Biennale was a major cultural event in Tel Aviv and throughout Israel during the outbreak of the Corona epidemic.
The exhibition presents, for the first time in Taiwan, thirteen works, some consisting of several pieces, under the title “Breaking the Barriers of Material - Highlights from the Tel Aviv Biennale of Craft & Design,” including ten sculptures and representations and three video clips. The works that combine art and design, material and culture, are impressively presented in the museum’s center on the entrance floor.
This is the first collaboration between the two museums, and it has generated a great deal of interest in Taiwan. In addition, the fact that Taiwan has been closed for a long period, with no visits from artists and no accessibility for the consumption of international art, has caused great excitement.
Senior government officials, artists, designers, cultural figures and representatives of art universities attended the opening ceremony, which was widely covered in Taiwan’s traditional media and social media.
Ami Katz, CEO of the Eretz Yisrael Museum, Dr. Debby Hershman, Deputy Director and Chief Curator-at-large, and Henrietta Eliezer Brunner, Senior Curator of Craft & Curator of the Glass Pavilion and Chief Curator of the Biennale, participated online.
CEO Katz said, “The first “Tel Aviv Biennale for Crafts & Design 2020-2021” was the largest cultural event in Tel Aviv and Israel, during the most challenging times of the Covid-19 Pandemic. It became a must-visit event, and I’m certain that the same reaction will happen to its smaller sister exhibition, “Breaking the Barriers of Material,” here in Taipei.”
Galit Cohen Caspi, Cultural Attaché at the Israel Mission in Taiwan, added, “Sometimes dreams come true. There is no better way to describe the feeling of working on this impressive exhibition – to see wonderful works by Israeli artists receiving such a place of honor on the other side of the world is an expression of our mission here. It is a complex project that bridges geographical and cultural distances, but we succeeded through the joint work of professional and dedicated teams on both sides. We hope this is the beginning of a far-reaching artistic and cultural relationship that will allow artists from both sides to create and present their art.”
Ya-Ping (Abby) Lee, Taiwan’s head of mission for cultural and economic affairs, in Israel, said, “Israel is an old country and a modern state, which makes Israeli culture so diversified. We are pleased to see ISECO has introduced a variety of cultural events to Taiwanese people, spanning movies, music, pottery and sculpture. They are all well received in Taiwan. Taiwan and Israel both embrace cultural diversity, and I look forward to more cultural exchanges between both sides.”
In addition, the two museums are in the final stages of signing a cooperative agreement, and additional ideas for ongoing activity, such as masterclasses and conducting professional webinars between the two parties, have been put forward.