Four French artists and scholars were honored for advancing understanding of Taiwan in Europe as recipients of the prestigious Taiwan-France Cultural Award presented by Minister of Culture Cheng Li-chiun Sept. 10 in Paris.
Cheng thanked anthropologist Veronique Arnaud, political scientist Stephane Corcuff, choreographer Christian Rizzo and filmmaker Jean-Robert Thomann for their long-term dedication to promoting the country’s culture abroad. The award strengthens ties between Taiwan and the rest of the world, she said.
Arnaud, an honorary researcher at the Paris-based Center for Southeast Asian Studies, was recognized for her work studying the Tao—one of the 16 officially recognized indigenous groups in Taiwan—in outlying Lanyu, also known as Orchid Island. Since 1971, she has made 12 visits to the islands in Taitung County in southeastern Taiwan and set up a linguistic database for the tribe in collaboration with Taipei City-based Academia Sinica.
Corcuff, an associate professor at France’s Lyon Institute of Political Studies, has been studying identity politics in Taiwan and cross-strait relations for several decades. He helped set up two academic communities: London-based European Association of Taiwan Studies and Paris-headquartered Association Francophone d’Etudes Taiwanaises.
Rizzo’s links with Taiwan can be traced back to 2006 when he joined a residency program in Taipei Artist Village. He has collaborated with many local artists and will curate the 2018 National Taichung Theater—Taiwan International Festival of Arts in the central Taiwan metropolis.
Thomann has produced 18 films on Taiwan since 2000, spanning such topics as glove puppets, indigenous culture and religious festivals. His signature work is a French-language documentary on legendary Taiwanese opera master Liao Chiung-chih, according to the Ministry of Culture.
This is the first time the award was given to four not two recipients. Also for the first time, the MOC made a short film on each of the winners—Arnaud, Corcuff, Rizzo, and Thomann.
The Taiwan-France Cultural Award was established in 1996 by the MOC and Academie des Sciences Morales et Politiques, honoring individuals or institutions raising awareness of Taiwan in Europe or bolstering cultural exchanges. (CPY-E)
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