第十六屆台新藝術獎─視覺、表演及年度大獎揭曉

圖說:第16屆台新藝術獎頒獎典禮-三大獎得主與台新藝術基金會董事、評選委員合照

以獎勵能激發人文關注，彰顯時代精神，同時富含專業美學成就之傑出展演的台灣當代藝術大獎「台新藝術獎」，在歷經全年度的觀察、提名、評選之後，6月2日於台新金控大樓舉辦頒獎典禮，從16組入圍藝術家及團隊當中，揭曉「第16屆台新藝術獎」得主，分別是：

視覺藝術獎：《巨神連線》姚瑞中個展（獎金100萬元）

表演藝術獎：《無，或就以沈醉為名》布拉瑞揚舞團文化基金會（獎金100萬元）

年度大獎：《近未來的交陪》2017蕭壠國際當代藝術節

       ─ 龔卓軍及協同策展團隊陳伯義、陳宣誠、陳盈瑛、黃瓊瑩（獎金150萬元）

頒獎典禮由台新銀行文化藝術基金會董事長鄭家鐘先生開場致詞，鄭董事長表示今年16組入圍作品，展現了台灣豐富多元的創作力，而藝術家敏銳的批判精神，也讓入圍作品充滿對社會、環境、宗教及族群等議題直接的反省與警示。可以說從入圍作品反應出近年來藝術創作對於台灣土地與社會，甚至回望歷史視野的深度關注。

「台新藝術獎」透過公開的網站ARTalks開啟各領域對話平台，由九位提名觀察人從去年超過百件被提名展演作品中，選出16組年度入圍作品。基金會邀請國內外專業人士組成國際決選團，包括王嘉驥、林于竝、黃海鳴、劉守曜四位國內代表，以及法國龐畢度藝術中心文化事務推廣部總監凱薩琳．韋爾 (Kathryn Weir)、日本TPAM橫濱國際表演藝術會議總監丸岡廣美 (Hiromi Maruoka)、香港鄧樹榮戲劇工作室藝術總監鄧樹榮 (Tang Shu-Wing)，歷經三日的會議，選出三大獎得主，包括「年度大獎」一百五十萬元獎金、「視覺」及「表演」藝術獎各得一百萬元獎金。

第一個揭曉頒布的「視覺藝術獎」，由姚瑞中在TKG⁺的個展《巨神連線》獲獎。姚瑞中密集走訪全台二百三十多間廟宇、墓園、公園，拍攝各類神像，透過三百件攝影作品及影像紀錄，呈現台灣民間社會的文化地景與樣貌。評選團認為：

「《巨神連線》以台灣各地混雜佛、道，乃至於泛靈信仰等光怪陸離的宗教偶像奇觀，做為取景、再現的對象，也加入了新的裝置元素—尤其是結合聲音的處理，搭配採樣自美國太空總署錄製的「宇宙電波混音」，以此詰問民眾信仰「空洞化」的集體精神危機。決選團肯定姚瑞中在藝術創作上長期堅持，持續擴增實踐動能。他在個展中提供了觀者反思「神明」偶像背後的「信仰」空間及複雜動機，辯證台灣社會大眾在物質與精神追求之間的流動與斷裂。」

圖說:第16屆台新藝術獎 視覺藝術獎 《巨神連線》姚瑞中個展

圖說:第16屆台新藝術獎頒獎典禮-台新藝術基金會林曼麗董事頒發視覺藝術獎得主 姚瑞中【巨神連線】 由TKG+團隊代表領獎

第二個揭曉頒布的是「表演藝術獎」，由排灣族編舞家布拉瑞揚作品《無，或就以沈醉為名》獲獎，這是編舞家返回台東部落創辦布拉瑞揚舞團的第三個作品。評選團認為：

「《無，或就以沈醉為名》以偶發的行為破壞舞蹈動作的預設，劇場的當下性與企圖連結天地、場域的整體性，不僅鮮活了舞作，更表達原住民歌、舞、人渾然天成的根源。編舞家擺脫各種流派技巧的影響，回歸原鄉，尋找屬於自己的身體語言與律動，同時卻又創造了與當代既有舞蹈語彙之間的緊張關係，誠實暴露面對舞蹈的矛盾與掙扎。在返身自我凝視的創作中，這個作品以獨特的藝術手段回應原住民在台灣政治現實的處境。布拉瑞揚的覺醒與充滿實驗的勇氣，在今日眾聲喧嘩的表演藝術中，格外發人深省。」

圖說:第16屆台新藝術獎 表演藝術獎  《無，或就以沈醉為名》布拉瑞揚舞團文化基金會 作品圖檔

圖說:第16屆台新藝術獎表演藝術獎得主-布拉瑞揚舞團文化基金會《無，或就以沈醉為名》 舞團技術總監李建常代表領獎，與台新藝術基金會董事吳靜吉 合影

「年度大獎」由「《近未來的交陪》2017蕭壠國際當代藝術節」從十六組入圍作品中獲得桂冠。這是位於台南蕭壠文化園區的大規模展覽，由龔卓軍及協同策展團隊陳伯義、陳宣誠、陳盈瑛、黃瓊瑩共同策劃。評選團一致認為：

「《近未來的交陪》是以研究為基礎的長期合作型計畫，由策展人龔卓軍集結跨領域團隊，以「交陪」這種特殊宮廟網絡，以及「後祭祀圈」多重的政治、經濟和社會面向為靈感，發展出新的文化生產形式。策展團隊與合作參與對象形成持續擴大的群體，以台灣文化為基礎， 塑造了一個從在地展開的方法學。展演本身以關係網絡為基礎，遊走不同地點建構交流平台，產生多重事件（討論、出版、展覽）。創造當代藝術與常民信仰、民藝的美學對話空間，並從台灣攝影史的研究切入，《近未來的交陪》巧妙拆除「美術vs.工藝」的籓籬，為傳統民藝、民俗這塊文化沃土引出令人耳目一新的討論，更豐富台灣當代藝術創作的可能性。」

圖說:第16屆台新藝術獎 年度大獎  《近未來的交陪》2017蕭壠國際當代藝術節 策展

圖說:第16屆台新藝術獎 年度大獎得主 《近未來的交陪》2017蕭壠國際當代藝術節 龔卓軍與策展團隊接受領獎

圖說:第16屆台新藝術獎頒獎典禮演出-排灣族 Ivi卓秋琴現場演唱

今年頒獎典禮特別邀請「原舞者」的創始團員魯凱族 Muagai柯梅英、排灣族 Ivi卓秋琴歌手，透過生命經驗與豐沛情感的淳厚嗓音，傳遞島嶼孕育而生的多樣文化與藝術。頒獎典禮線上實況直播，歡迎上活動專網關注藝術獎最新消息及藝術家的創作記錄！

第16屆台新藝術獎專網：http://16award.taishinart.org.tw
第16屆台新藝術獎頒獎典禮實況：https://youtu.be/DPwkB6-OCmY
第16屆台新藝術獎頒獎典禮側記： http://talks.taishinart.org.tw/award/bulletin/2018060301

Announcing the Winners of the 16^th Taishin Arts Award

The establishment of the prestigious Taiwanese contemporary art award, the Taishin Arts Award, is to recognize outstanding exhibitions and performances of the year that encourage humanistic thoughts, honor contemporary spirit, and embody professional, aesthetic achievement. After a year-long process of observation, nomination and selection, the Award ceremony took place at Taishin Tower on June 2, 2018. In the ceremony, the winners of the 16^th Taishin Arts Award, selected from the sixteen finalist artists and art groups, were announced. They are:

Taishin Visual Arts Award

Incarnation — YAO Jui-Chung Solo Exhibition (NT$ 1 million monetary award)

Taishin Performing Arts Award

Stay That Way – Bulareyaung Dance and Cultural Foundation (NT$ 1 million monetary award)

Taishin Annual Grand Prize

Kau-Puê, Mutual Companionship in Near Future: 2017 Soulangh International Contemporary Art Festival – Chief curator GONG Jow-Jiun and the team of curators CHEN Po-I, Eric Chen, CHEN Yen-Ing and HUANG Chiung-Ying (NT$ 1.5 million monetary award)

The chairman of the Taishin Bank Foundation for Arts and Culture, Mr. Simon CHENG, gave an opening speech at the ceremony, stating that the sixteen finalists this year have demonstrated the vibrant and diversified creativity in Taiwan, and their keen critical spirit has provided direct reflections and cautions regarding issues about society, environment, religion and ethnic groups in their works. In other words, the finalist works have reflected the profound insights into the land and society of Taiwan and the re-examination of history in the art circle in recent years.  

With the official website, ARTalks, as an open platform, the Taishin Arts Award initiates dialogues between different fields, and invites nine nominators to select sixteen annual finalists from more than one hundred nominated exhibitions and performances throughout last year. Then, the Foundation invites Taiwanese and international professionals to form the final selection jury committee, which includes Taiwanese jurors Chia Chi Jason Wang, LIN Yu-Pin, HUANG Hai-Ming, and LIU Shou-You as well as esteemed international jurors, including the Director the Centre Pompidou's Interdisciplinary Cultural Development Department, Kathryn WEIR, the Director of TPAM (Performing Arts Meeting in Yokohama), Hiromi MARUOKA, and the Artistic Director of Tang Shu-Wing Theatre Studio from Hong Kong, TANG Shu-Wing. After three days of meetings and discussions, the final selection jurors have selected the winners of the three Awards, including the Taishin Annual Grand Prize, with NT$1.5 million (US$50,000) monetary prize, and the Taishin Visual Arts Award and Taishin Performing Arts Award, each with a NT$1 million (US$33,600) monetary prize.

In the ceremony, the first to be announced was the Visual Arts Award, which was presented to Incarnation, the solo exhibition of artist YAO Jui-Chung at TKG⁺. The exhibition featured three hundred photographs and image documentation created by the artist after visiting more than two hundred and thirty temples, graves and parks, where YAO photographed the religious statues and captured the cultural landscape and folk reality of Taiwanese society. The jury committee has given the following comment: “Incarnation contemplates and re-presents the bizarre spectacle of religious idols in Taiwan drawn variously from Buddhist, Taoist and even Animist iconography.  The large body of photographs produced by YAO Jui-Chung is complemented by a three-channel video installation that represents a new departure for the artist. In the video, the reading of the images is inflected by an eerie soundtrack made up of a “complex radio spectrum” of space recordings by NASA. The work points to a collective crisis of the “hollowing-out” of spiritual belief and a sense of living in a time of ruined hopes.  The jury recognizes the maturity of YAO Jui-chung’s approach to his art practice, and his ability to constantly renew his perspectives. Incarnation offers viewers the opportunity to reflect upon the space of “faith” and the complex motivations behind the creation and worship of these deity statues, while underlining the fluid navigation between materialism and spirituality in the Taiwanese context.”

The winner of the Performing Arts Award was announced next, which was Stay That Way created by the Paiwan choreographer Bulareyaung. This dance is the third piece by the choreographer after he returned to his tribe in Taitung and founded Bulareyaung Dance Company. The jury committee has thus described this work: “Stay That Way employs gestures and situations from daily life to undermine preconceptions about indigenous dance. Its direct theatrical qualities convey dimensions of community life and personal expression, within a cosmology linking sky, earth, and particular location. The production makes palpable the spiritual root of indigenous people’s dance and song. The choreographer’s influences from different dance traditions have fallen away in this work where he establishes his own rhythm and vocabulary, creating a tension between land, body and contemporary dance language. In this reflexive work, Bulareyaung responds to the realities that indigenous people face with a unique artistic approach. Stay That Way embodies self-awakening and courage. Bulareyuang has emerged as a unique voice within the contemporary performing arts.  ”

The Taishin Annual Grand Prize was awarded to Kau-Puê, Mutual Companionship in Near Future: 2017 Soulangh International Contemporary Art Festival, which stood out from the sixteen finalists. This large-scale exhibition that took place at Soulangh Cultural Park in Tainan was curated by the chief curator GONG Jow-Jiun and the team of curators CHEN Po-I, Eric CHEN, CHEN Yen-Ing and HUANG Chiung-Ying. The jury committee has unanimously agreed that “Kau-Puê is an innovative long-term research-based and collaborative project instigated by curator GONG Jow-Jiun together with an interdisciplinary curatorial team. The group has developed a new format for cultural production inspired by ‘kau-puê’ temple networks, with their multiple ‘post-religious’ political, economic and social dimensions. Through this project, the curators and an expanding constellation of collaborators and participants have successfully forged a home-grown methodology based on anthropological and experiential understandings of Taiwanese culture. They have created an ongoing platform for exchange and cooperation that is able to generate many different forms of event (discussions, publications, exhibitions) based on networks of relationships and able to respond to local conditions as it moves from place to place. Taking as its starting point the history of photography in Taiwan, the project constructs an aesthetic dialogue between contemporary art, ‘folk culture’ and belief, demolishing the boundaries between art and craft. It creates a fresh line of inquiry into art and vernacular culture– a topic that generates abundant discussion – and enriches the landscape of contemporary art in Taiwan.”

The founding members of the Formosa Aboriginal Song and Dance Troupe, the Rukai singer, Muagai, and the Paiwan singer, Ivi, have been invited to perform at this year’s ceremony. Their mesmerizing voices informed with life experience and rich emotions conveyed the diverse culture and arts that have been nourished and nurtured by this island. The entire Award ceremony can be viewed online now. We welcome all to visit our website to catch up on the latest news about the Award and view the documentations of the artists’ creative process!

Official website of the 16^th Taishin Arts Award: http://16award.taishinart.org.tw/en-us