Indonesian singer-songwriter Leshia (right) performs at the opening of the Southeast Asia Aesthetics Living Exhibition May 17 at NTLAC in southern Taiwan’s Tainan City. (Courtesy of MOC)

An exhibition highlighting Southeast Asian crafts kicked off May 17 at the National Tainan Living Art Center in southern Taiwan, underscoring government efforts to deepen cultural and people-to-people exchanges with the region.
 
Sponsored by the Ministry of Culture, the Southeast Asia Aesthetics Living Exhibition spotlights bamboo weaving, fabric dyeing and traditional musical instruments from nations including Indonesia, the Philippines, Vietnam and Thailand.
 
Running through July 31, the show is organized under a NTLAC program aimed at fostering awareness of history and heritage from the native countries of Taiwan’s new immigrant residents. Launched in 2016, the initiative is helping boost understanding and promote a friendlier society for people from diverse ethnic and cultural backgrounds, according to the MOC.
 
Several activities are set to be held on the sidelines of the exhibition, including workshops in fabric weaving techniques from Thailand and wax-resistant dyeing methods from Indonesia.
 
Taiwan troupe Puppet and Its Double will stage complimentary performances of its show “Homecoming” May 31 and June 1 at NTLAC. The production centers on the relationship between a Vietnamese caregiver and the family employing her in Taiwan.
 
NTLAC is also organizing concerts by jazz outfit The Lights Band from Indonesia and folk rock band Young Man and the Sea from Thailand. The groups will perform in western Taiwan’s Yunlin County May 21 and central Taiwan’s Taichung City May 24.
 
Established in 1955 as a facility promoting cultural and educational development in southern Taiwan’s Tainan City, NTLAC was reconstituted as an arts center in 2008 and came under Taichung-based National Taiwan Museum of Fine Arts in 2012. NTMFA also administers living arts centers in Hsinchu City, Changhua County and Taitung County in northern, central and southeastern Taiwan, respectively. (CPY-E)