TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — The Mekong Cultural Hub (MCH) and Taiwan-Asia Exchange Foundation (TAEF) held a forum examining how cultural exchanges have been restricted by the pandemic in partnership with Taiwan’s Ministry of Culture, the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, Asia Center of Japan Foundation, and Asia Arts Management in Japan.

The online dialogue titled, “The Future of Art and Social Action in Post-Pandemic Asia,” was held on Thursday (May 20) and had over 100 participants discussing the challenges, prospects, and basis of art and cultural development in Asia during and after the coronavirus pandemic, according to a TAEF press release.

The dialogue was the first session of a three-day international conference, “Revealing Contexts: Art and Social Action in Asia,” which will conclude Saturday (May 22). The conference includes more than 20 sessions and features a diverse panel of art and cultural experts in Asia devoted to issues such as artistic action in the Mekong region, peace poetry in Myanmar, and talent cultivation in the Laotian film industry.

In his opening remarks, Richard C. Helfer, MCH president, acknowledged the importance of MOC’s support for establishing a branch office of Living Arts International in Taiwan to foster art and cultural connections in Asia.

TAEF Chairman Dr. Hsin-Huang Michael Hsiao (蕭新煌) said the two keys to promoting art and cultural exchanges between Taiwan and New Southbound countries are building Asian partnerships and promoting people-centered values.

The dialogue invited Dr. Lawrence Zi-Qiao Yang (楊子樵), assistant professor at the Institute for Social Research and Cultural Studies at Taiwan’s National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University; Marco Kusumawijaya, co-founder of Rujak Center for Urban Studies; Katrina Santiago, founder of Pagasa People for Accountable Governance and Sustainable Action; Nobuo Takamori, an independent curator in Taiwan; and Rina B. Tsuo (鄒隆娜), a Taiwanese-Filipina film director based in Taipei.