The joint efforts of the government and the
private sector are putting Taiwan on the path
to cultural industrialization.
Among the things that Taiwanese people are most proud of, two stand out: the economic miracle they have achieved and the cultural heritage they have inherited. The economic miracle arrived through hard work and rapid modernization, while the cultural legacies and arts of Taiwan buoyed the spirit and provided a link to the past. The two arguably have little to do with each other, but an ambitious government plan, the Cultural and Creative Industry Development Plan--a key project under the government's Challenge 2008 National Development Plan--aims to combine culture and commerce in the development of cultural industries. It also provides a challenging new outlook for both businesspeople and "cultural" people to rethink their "trades."
To study the success of creative industries in other nations and how they might work in Taiwan, a delegation led by Council for Cultural Affairs Minister Tchen Yu-chiou visited London and Copenhagen in February last year. In the following month after returning from Europe, the council arranged as part of the "Creative Industry Year" activities, an international symposium on creative industries that brought together international experts and local artists to discuss the potential of this model for Taiwan.
Symposium participant Stuart Cunningham, director of Creative Industries Research and Applications Centre at the Queens land University of Technology, applauded government initiatives to search for new opportunities to transform its economic and industrial system by recognizing the values of creative industry, and noted that the attention put on creative industry is a great strategy for Taiwan since the mass-production phase of industrial development on the island is winding down. "Mass-production and export-oriented approaches that Taiwan has engaged in for the past 40 years have been successful, but they have come to the end of their useful life span," he says. "Industries derived from those approaches are something transplanted into this country, rather than growing organically from the cultural life and cultural competency of people themselves."
Unlike industrial methods that can be imported from abroad, cultural creativity must derive from local culture. Yet, methods of harnessing this native creativity into a market force can be learned by studying the strategies used in other countries.
Based on its analyses of local cultural industries and foreign experiences, the council then sorted out 13 categories of Taiwan's cultural achievements that can be industrialized, including a wide swath from performing arts to handicrafts, and arts ranging from the traditional to the modern. Although the "industrialization" of culture cannot be achieved overnight, Taiwan is already seeing success in the endeavor.
Take for example the Ju Percussion Group, Taiwan's first percussion ensemble founded by percussionist Ju Tzong-ching in 1986. In addition to staging traditional Chinese and Taiwanese folk tunes and children's songs, the group has been actively cultivating the percussion-music environment by regularly commissioning and premiering compositions written by Taiwan's own composers. A performing group can hardly be called an industry, but the affiliated Ju Percussion Foundation was later staffed with professional managers for the planning, financing, and marketing of the group. The foundation became the Ju Percussion Group, a commercially viable enterprise, which, like a car or computer company, promotes and sells its product--percussion music in this case.
Another successful example of the marketing of artistic creativity is titto, a glass-art company set up in 1994. The enterprise first started out as a workshop established by Heinrich Wang to experiment with glass creations. A successful company needs more than artistic passion and a craftsman's precision, however admirable, to generate profits. Fortunately for titto, Wang Yung-shan, Heinrich Wang's brother and titto's executive director, had 20 years of experience in business management. With Yung-shan's help the company set up different departments for design, manufacture, research, and sales. The result is that today titto functions more like a factory than a studio, keeping down production costs.
Marketing was another commercial aspect essential for the artists. The company's products are divided into two categories: fine crafts, which can be dependably produced in great numbers and account for the lion's share of the company's sales, and distinctive one-of-a-kind art pieces made from glass, which help the company build on its reputation. The marketing strategy has helped increase demand and help the company expand. The staff, for example, has swollen in recent years from 10 to 400 employees.
The financial growth of the company, despite naysayers who believe that commercialization kills the creative process, has given the glass artists at titto the freedom to create. "We're not trying to make a fortune here," says Wang Yung-shan, "but in any company you have to have a steady income to feed your staff first, and then you can support your artistic leanings after that."
Some other companies trying to employ similar techniques to earn profits from their arts include the China Art Ceramics Co., which started out imitating the imperial kilns of China, and two paper factories that, in order to preserve traditional papermaking skills, invite tourists to take part in the process, exhibit paper samples in a paper museum, and market their products through art marketing companies. In addition to granting incentives, such as tax deductions and financial assistance, the council also chooses some enterprises to act as "flagship" projects. For these projects, the government brings together designers and manufacturers, provides 70 percent of the funding for design and production, and organizes promotional activities for the products. The manufacturers and designers retain the copyrights for the products, while the government gets 10 percent of sales and reserves the right to use the designs for promotional purposes.
Porcelain production, specifically tableware and flower vases, was one of the flagship projects for last year. The council believes porcelain is a cultural product that combines art and usability, and has great market potential both locally and overseas. The Ceramics Museum and the National Taiwan Craft Research Institute were commissioned to execute the project. On the tableware side, after public bidding, several outstanding local artists and designers were selected to work with the Tai Hwa Pottery Co. Opinions from restaurant chefs, flower vendors, and even marketing people were also taken into account. Different series were to be designed to meet different demands: Western food or Chinese cuisine, daily use for small families or major banquets in a five-star restaurant.
Lu Chao-hsin, board director of Tai Hwa Pottery, admits that there were sometimes conflicts between the artistic and business sides of the project. The designers' ideal was sometimes the manufacturers' nightmare, due to technical difficulties or costs in the mass-production process. "There were some serious debates between the do-ability and the artistic concept," he says. "The designers had to compromise a little, and we had to overcome certain technical problems. But I'm glad that the final product is to the designers' satisfaction and can still be mass-produced." Last December, some of the tableware was exhibited in the Ceramics Museum. Many of the pieces can now be purchased at reasonable prices from Tai Hwa Pottery.
Hung Ching-feng, director of the National Taiwan Craft Research Institute, says that the focus has been mainly on development of the products and the manufacturing process, but creativity and culture cannot be popularized if the products do not sell. Therefore, the group has been focusing on establishing sales channels this year. The institute has contacted department stores, Internet dealers, and television shopping channels to organize a retail network.
The other flagship project for last year was fashion--fashion designed with Taiwanese style and which made use of local fabrics. Textiles have long been a staple of the local economy, and so the raw product was just waiting for designers who could turn fabrics into couture fashion. To come up with some particularly local styles, several designers attended the fashion talent innovation camp held last July. The two-day camp provided the designers a chance to "re-realize" the beauty of Taiwanese culture and to brainstorm with designers from different areas, in the hope of generating new ideas.
Pun Dai-lee, chairwoman of the Taipei Fashion Designer Association and organizer of the camp, notes that an important objective of the camp was to identify unique Taiwanese fashions. She explains that many of Taiwan's designers study overseas. When they return they are influenced by overseas fashion trends and tend to overlook the fact that clothing is a basic need that also reflects local realities. "Designers should understand global trends, but more importantly, they should work key elements of local culture into their designs," she says. "We must start by making local consumers accept Taiwanese fashions, and then we can expand into the global market."
After the seminar, the designers visited France, one of the world's fashion capitals, hoping that by experiencing French fashions and seeing how the French retained French characteristics in their work, local designers would be encouraged to develop fashion styles particular to Taiwan.
When the group returned, it staged the Taiwan Fashion Party last December. "We used Taiwanese cloth to make Taiwanese clothing," said Tchen at the opening ceremony. Tchen was dressed in a suit combining the bright colors and patterns of a Taiwan temple celebration. Four clothing design companies and six individual designers contributed to the event. Many of the designs highlighted typical Taiwanese themes, such as temple celebrations, aboriginal geometric patterns, and native plants and insects. Design elements such as the lotus-leaf fringe on skirts and collars and flared pants and wide cuffs recalled the aesthetics of rural Taiwan.
Lu Fong-chih, for example, contributed some designs that use simple geometric shapes arranged in patterns that are reminiscent of those used to decorate the wooden boats of the Tao tribesmen of Orchid Island. The designs are at once modern and traditional, rural and urban. Lu also employed time-honored decorative arts such as weaving and embroidery and cut the clothes asymmetrically to imply a blending of Western and Eastern traditions. Designer Carole Chang contributed 20 designs using a motif of several flowers, such as the chrysanthemum and the peony. Colors ranged from stark black and white to neutral grays to decorative, almost neon-like pinks. According to Chang, her designs were inspired by her native culture and strive for a sense of leisure and simplicity. Other artists found inspiration in such mundane items as tree bark and fruit.
The items from the Taipei exhibition were also featured at the international fabric show Interstoff Asia, held in Hong Kong last March, and will be exhibited at the Intertextile Shanghai show later this year. The designers hope that the interest generated by the distinctive fashions will attract local consumers to buy homemade fashions, while the designers also hope to export their products to the greater Chinese market.
Following the successes in promoting fashion and porcelain, the council has designated metalwork, jewelry, and paper arts as flagship projects for this year. Pessimists argue that interest in arts and culture are so low on the island that a market for a cultural industry is limited and that Taiwan would need a wider base for its arts and culture before combining them with the island's entrepreneurial spirit.
While it is true that the development of cultural industries is a complex issue that takes a long time to establish, it seems Taiwan is off to a good start: the government is helping to create a friendly environment for these endeavors, designers have demonstrated great creativity, and manufacturers' great skill in production. In the end, however, it is the consumers who must decide if Taiwan can market its strong creative impulses and artistic heritage, for their buying power will determine the marketability of local culture.