Taiwan Today

Yingge Ceramics Museum facilitates exchange between Taiwan and the world.

Due to a local geology rich in clay, Yingge and its surroundings attracted pottery and ceramics manufacturers over two centuries ago, gradually becoming a center for all levels of wares. In 2000 the small town in New Taipei City cemented its association with the craft by opening a municipal museum of ceramics. For more than two decades Yingge Ceramics Museum (YCM) has not only promoted and inspired numerous local artists but has forged links with the international art scene.

  The Yingge facility has signed pacts with 14 museums and cultural institutions in Asia and Europe, with the latest inked in 2024 with Germany’s Keramikmuseum Westerwald. These partnerships have laid a solid foundation for global outreach and helped expand the museum’s international projects, notably the Taiwan Ceramics Biennale (TCB).

Recurring Event
The TCB was first conducted in 2004 and 2008 as an international competition before reaching its current form in 2010. Alternating between an art competition, with an exhibition of winning work, and a themed curation, in which international curators collaborate on exhibitions, the event has seen its overseas reach steadily grow since it began its biennial schedule. In 2020 the head of Israel’s representative office in Taiwan visited the TCB, which led to a pact between YCM and Tel Aviv-based Eretz Israel Museum two years later. The latter was one of several museums that worked with YCM on themed exhibitions at the 2022 TCB.

  The most recent TCB was the largest competition yet, attracting an unprecedented 1,216 entries from 66 countries, up from nearly 700 entries from 47 countries in 2004. Participating work was judged by seven jury members from five countries, including Taiwan. According to jury chair Torbjørn Kvasbø of Norway, who is president of the International Academy of Ceramics (IAC), competitors must be technically skilled and their submissions must show originality and character. “It’s a great pleasure to examine all the work, read the artists’ thoughts and see their unique perspectives,” he said, noting that TCB is now one of the most important ceramic biennales in the world.

Selected competition works by 74 artists from 31 countries are currently on display at the museum until April 6. YCM also invited jury members and award winners to join a day trip to National Taiwan University of Arts and two art studios in New Taipei, as well as a forum on global trends in ceramics.

The expanded scale and rising international prestige of the competition is due to a rule change in 2020 that allowed each participant to submit two pieces. TCB is now comparable to other top contests, such as the International Ceramics Festival in Mino, Japan, and Korean International Ceramic Biennale in Gyeonggi-do, South Korea. “TCB has consistently welcomed boundless creative possibilities, attracting work with unique visions and concepts,” said YCM Director Chang Chi-wen (張啟文). “Our aim is to showcase the abundant energy and diverse landscape of international ceramic art, fostering cross-cultural exchange and learning while collectively exploring the future and sustainability of art.”

Artists’ Exchange
YCM’s residency program, which started in 2009, is further testimony to the museum’s ambition to project Taiwan’s soft power worldwide and plug the country into the global art scene. Every year the museum receives 10 to 12 artists from abroad for three-month stays, including winners of the TCB competition’s grand prix, gold award and silver award beginning in 2012. By the end of last year, 132 artists from 30 countries and territories had enjoyed residencies at YCM.
  “Working outside your comfort zone and in different surroundings forces you to be more focused and creative,” said Simcha Even-Chen from Israel of her experience as a resident artist at YCM last year. “Meeting with international artists and sharing knowledge and ideas is extremely stimulating and fruitful for me,” she said, mentioning ceramists from Japan and Greece whose time overlapped with hers.

Even-Chen had her initial encounter with the Yingge museum while attending IAC’s annual general assembly in fall 2018 in Taipei. Six years later she found herself developing a new series of sculptures at the museum after being selected for its residency program from among 86 international artists. “The program gave me the opportunity to try out local clay and pigments,” she said, noting that part of her research involves experimenting with different colors. The ceramist added that she has brought some back to Israel to integrate into her work at home.

Kwon Jin-hee from South Korea, who automatically secured a spot in the residency program after winning the gold award at the 2024 TCB competition, also shared her thoughts on her residency that started in late October. “This award is an endorsement of my career as a ceramist,” she said. “I learned a lot from what I saw in Taiwan, and I’m more open to trying new things now.”

Apart from the residency program, there is also reciprocity through a memorandum of understanding signed by YCM and South Korea’s Clayarch Gimhae Museum. The facilities each selected two ceramists for residency in the other’s country in 2019 and 2023. “It’s interesting to witness different techniques used by artists from other countries,” said Indigo Hsu (徐仲葳) of her 15-day South Korean residency in 2019. Two ceramists from Taiwan, including Hsu, worked at the Korean museum alongside resident artists from Korea, France and Japan.

Hsu noted that she started testing the methods she learned from other artists at Gimhae only after returning to Taiwan, as she had so much to see and do during the residency. The visit included panel discussions, travel within the country to meet local artists and completing at least one artwork. Her overseas experience proved so rewarding that she later personally funded residencies at cultural institutions in Argentina and France.

New Momentum
YCM is continuing international outreach via exciting moves like the 2020 inaugural International Coffee Cup Competition, which celebrates creativity through one of the most commonly used items in daily life. The most recent contest, which concluded with an exhibition of winning cups at YCM, attracted 163 artists from 29 countries. “Ceramic technique aside, contestants produced work that reflected their own coffee drinking cultures,” Chang said. “It was fascinating to foster dialogue in such a manner.”

In 2022 YCM began cooperating with local organizations in Tobe, a town also known for its ceramics on Japan’s Shikoku Island. The museum launched online classes in which Japanese ceramists shared Tobe’s glazing style with enthusiasts in Taiwan. Interaction multiplied the next year when items with YCM’s Yingge Wares designation—works made by Yingge artisans—were sold in Tobe. As ties between Yingge and Tobe grew closer, the two municipal governments signed a pact to facilitate exchanges in October 2024. “After flourishing for over 20 years, YCM has turned its gaze outward,” Chang said. “In doing so, the world sees the beauty of Taiwan’s ceramics, and our artists are nourished by a wider worldview.” 
 

Write to Oscar Chung at mhchung@mofa.gov.tw