“Transjourney: 2012 Future Media Festival” kicked off at the Kuandu Museum of Fine Arts (KdMoFA) on January 1 to showcase Taiwan’s achievements in digital media art.
The opening ceremony featured a live performance, “Train Fragments,” by Canadian artist Herman Kolgen, with participation by ROC first lady Chow Mei-Ching and the TNUA Percussion Group.
It is the first major new media event in Taiwan, featuring international forums, works of digital art, interactive applications, animation, workshops, multimedia art and concerts. It has invited artists and researchers from Taiwan’s media art circle to take part in an event that employs the concept of panoramic views in its presentation.
As a major powerhouse in the global IT industry, Taiwan has seen its government investing much in promoting its cultural creative industries in which the integration of technology and art has been playing a growingly important part.
Therefore, the event, a highlight of such integration, has been attracting much attention and acclaim. The opening ceremony was attended by many dignitaries, including: Mr. Ovid Tzeng, minister of the Council for Cultural Affairs; Mr. Andrew Chew, chairman of the Chew’s Culture Foundation; Mr. Stan Shih, chairman of the National Culture and Arts Foundation; and the directors of NTMOFA, TFAM, KMFA, and MOCA Taipei.
The ceremony, which was also attended by an audience of more than 1,000, also marked the start of a series of activities celebrating TNUA’s 30th anniversary.
TNUA President Prof. Ju, Tzong-Ching told the ceremony that the university, under the leadership of one of his predecessors, Prof. Ma Shui-Long, set up the Center for Art and Technology 20 years ago when it foresaw the coming of an age where integration of the two fields would become a major trend.