To provide an opportunity for local communities to better understand and appreciate Taiwanese indigenous cultures, Taiwan Academy in Los Angeles will host an event titled, "A Far Corner: Art and Activism in Aboriginal Taiwan”, featuring author/musician Scott Ezell. Along with writer and graduate candidate of Austronesian studies, Garrett Lu, the talk will also feature collections of photos from Ezell’s book, “A Far Corner: Life and Art with the Open Circle Tribe", which documents the experiences and stories of his days spent with the indigenous communities of Dulan, Taiwan, as well as live music performance from Ezell himself.
Scott Ezell, an American writer and musician, took the opportunity to study Mandarin in Taiwan in 1992, and later resided in a recording studio he had built and converted from an old farmhouse with driftwood in Dulan, Taidong County, between the years of 2002 and 2004.
Since then, Ezell frequently visited Taiwan for more than a decade, which lead to collaborations with the local record labels and film scoring studios, while also releasing solo albums of his own. A Far Corner is a nonfiction, autobiographical narrative depicting Ezell and his interactions with the Open Circle Tribe, an indigenous artist community in Dulan, and its surrounding environment (published by the University of Nebraska Press in 2015). Ezell’s lasting curiosity for indigenous cultures and their immediate environment launched further pursuits in the field after his departure in 2004. His quest brought him into the regions of Yunan and Southeast Asia. In 2010, his work manifested in the form of a long-term poetry project focusing on the marginal landscapes and cultures in the China-Burma-Laos border region.
“A Far Corner: Art and Activism in Aboriginal Taiwan” will be hosted within the current exhibition on display at Taiwan Academy, titled “As Heavy as a Feather”, featuring works by En-Man Chang, a result of three years of engaging with the Fudafudak indigenous community in Shanyuan Bay on the east coast of Taiwan. Though her work, Chang continues to challenge and raise awareness of the issues that the Fudafudak struggles with on a daily basis; sustaining social and cultural continuity as it interfaces simultaneously with capitalist and outside activist interests. Anchored by a folk song and a reconstructed traditional Fudafudak kite — symbolic of mutual aid and long distance travel — the viewers will be mesmerized by the juxtapositions of several installations and video works.
Artist: Scott Ezell, En-Man Chang
Venue: Taiwan Academy in Los Angeles (1137 Westwood Blvd, Los Angeles CA 90024)
Event Prices: Free Admission
Tel: (213) 403-0168
Opening Date: July 15th, 2pm - 4pm
Press Contact: Ashley Sun, Senior Cultural Officer
Phone:(213)403-0168
Email:slc@taipei.org
