Around the world, the Covid pandemic has caused an upsurge in online learning. With the virus well under control, Taiwan is one of the few nations in the world to have been holding regular classes in school classrooms without interruption. Universities have even opened new courses for students who have—at least for now—been forced to scuttle plans to study overseas. These offer them real face-to-face interactions with faculty and other students.

Art Rumah in Pingtung was founded by two individuals who wanted to inject new life into communities. One of the founders is Le Le, a Taipei girl who discovered her love for art through her work. The other is I Wayan Sadera, an artist from Indonesia who has lived in Taiwan for more than a decade, and gets involved in the community by helping to make carnival puppets.

“When sorrows come, they come not single spies, but in battalions.” These words provide an apposite description of the year 2020. Throughout this year, Covid-19 has caused econ­omies across the world to shrink. Lockdowns, social distancing rules, canceled flights, and other anti-­coronavirus measures have dealt a crushing blow to many industries, giving rise to a wave of job losses. Creative artists are bearing the brunt because of the cancellation of income-generating events and ­performances.

Over the 45 years since its founding, Taiwan Panorama has experienced many changes. Looking back, we see transformations in the landscape both physical and political, but what never changes is how Taiwan brims with warmth and humanity. From here we look out at the world, while also helping the world fall in love with our beautiful island.

“Shubh Dipawali!” Happy Festival of Lights! Taiwanese and Indians together celebrated Diwali (or Dipawali), the Indian New Year Festival of Lights, on November 13, 2020 at the Taipei Guest House. Amid the Covid-19 pandemic, rows of lamps were lit and colorful rangoli floor art was used to welcome the god of wealth and symbolize the victory of light over darkness and good over evil.

When people talk of Daxi, the first things that come to mind are dried tofu, marin­ated until it is dark and glossy, and beautiful, heavy rosewood furni­ture. However, these past few years the little town has been redefining itself with “Daxi studies,” exuding a new vitality and charm that are attracting travelers from all over.

For fiber artist Chen Shu-yen, weaving is ubiquitous. Using local materials and traditional techniques, she and her husband Tuwak Tuyaw, a bamboo and rattan artist of the Kavalan people, have created lamps by inserting light sources into traditional sanku fish traps. The lamps beautifully project light and shadows through the structure of the traps.

Taiwan Provincial Highway 26 is a coastal road that circumnavigates the Hengchun Peninsula. Cycling along it, on one side you see the bright blue sky merging into the ocean, while on the other there are towering green mountain ridges. When you ride into small towns and wander around, it feels like opening an unread page in Taiwan’s history. Mul­tiple ethnic groups have interacted in this area, leaving behind precious historical relics and stories.

Founded by artist Dondon Hounwn, Elug Art Corner seeks to reinforce the cultural heritage of Hualien’s Dowmung Community by collecting tradi­tional ballads and myths. It also strives to carve out a future for the community by inviting visit­ing artists to engage with traditional tribal craftsmanship.

The global spread of Covid-19 in 2020 has severely impacted global economic development and human security. However, in our currently tumultu­ous world, the announcement of the 4th Tang Prizes is encouraging news, especially as the Tang Prize in Rule of Law was for the first time awarded to three non-governmental organizations, based in Bangladesh, Lebanon, and Colombia.