Interviewed May 21

Meet Rita Chang, Director of ACC Taipei. “I’ve been working with ACC for 20 years,” she says, “maybe we should celebrate.” Taiwan, itself, has a lot to celebrate, as it has emerged as a leader in controlling the outbreak of COVID-19. In response to the pandemic’s impact on the arts community, ACC Taipei sent out a survey to assess the needs of artists, and subsequently launched ACC’s Taiwan Alumni Pandemic Response Initiative. The program supports ACC alumni in Taiwan to create alternative work plans in 2020 in light of canceled exhibitions, performances, and other engagements. “This emergency funding,” Rita says, “shows that we are there with them, and demonstrates that we are a family.”
 


This difficult time, she notes, is also a “rare and precious window of opportunity for all of us, especially for artists. They have the time to totally be with themselves and be with deep digestion of their art, their expression.” With zero confirmed cases, Group 33 (ACC Taiwan Foundation’s patron group) was able to gather in May to view the works of Idas Losin (ACC 2014) in her solo exhibition “Weaving the Blossom of Life.” Idas, an artist of Truku and Atayal heritage, creates works centered on indigenous identity. Her six-month fellowship enabled her to research contemporary art, visit Headlands Center for the Arts, and engage with Native American communities in the U.S. Following her travels, “she did beautiful paintings,” Rita smiles, “the colors, the ocean, they made everyone so moved…it demonstrated what ACC does. We support international exchange, and this exchange creates many beautiful images. We are looking to a better future.”