An exhibition on the development of anthropology in Taiwan will open at the National Taiwan Museum Nov. 18, the NTM announced.
Nine institutes and museums, coordinated by the Taiwan Society for Anthropology and Ethnography, co-arranged the exhibition, “On the Tracks of Anthropologists,” providing over 250 artifacts, documents, manuscripts, images and videos from their collections.
“This exhibit teaches us about the field and the contributions of anthropologists working in Taiwan, while helping review our past and project our future,” Council for Cultural Affairs Minister Emile Chih-jen Sheng said at a Nov. 8 news conference.
“Visit the exhibit, and pause for a while to ponder over the lessons the work of anthropologists may convey,” he said.
According to the NTM, the first part of the exhibition offers a chronological retrospective on Taiwan’s anthropology featuring institutes and people, while the second focuses on anthropological fieldwork and its methods.
The third section presents the concerns and interests of an anthropologist and “shows how anthropology develops unique views on sociocultural phenomena through the material expression of culture.”
Ho Chuan-kun, chief curator, said the NTM, established in 1908, was picked for the exhibit’s opening because it was Taiwan’s first public museum, serving as a permanent home for studies in the then nascent discipline and the display of indigenous cultural artifacts.
“We hope the exhibit will also inspire people working today in the cultural and creative industry to learn from Taiwan’s rich aboriginal legacy,” he added.
The Taipei exhibition will run until March 11, 2012, followed by a 2-year tour in various museums across the nation. (PCT-THN)