Taishin Bank Foundation for Arts and Culture

About 2002-1st Annual Taishin Arts Awards

The Taishin Arts Awards and associated activities were initiated last spring and is now at the climax with the announcement of the finalists and the exhibition of their outstanding works at the Eslite Bookstore, which opened in early March. The award ceremony was held on March 23rd, where the winners of the 2002 grand prizes will be announced, will mark a perfect ending to the first Taishin Arts Awards with a new index of the cultural and artistic achievements in Taiwan.

Without the enormous support from Chairman Wu and the Board of Directors, the first Taishin Arts Awards could not have run so smoothly. I would like to thank China Times and Art Today for their great assistance, as well as the press in Taiwan for its enthusiastic reports which have made our goals and activities so highly visible. Credits should also go to the 50 or so art journalists and regional representatives who served as voluntary nominators, and the 19 art critics and experts who worked as our observers and relay writers all year round. They've devoted their time and professional knowledge to the awards and to the investigation of our art ecology, and have seen more than 400 performances and over 100 exhibitions nationwide. In fact, what they've embarked upon is a historical mission, demanding a total year of wholehearted dedication, from weekly discourse, monthly nomination and seasonal discussions to the semifinal and final selections!

All 8 finalists of visual arts and 10 of performing arts, excelling among hundreds of artistic creations last year in Taiwan, have received comprehensive affirmation from the nominators and jury. As a public display of their outstanding accomplishments, a special exhibition of all the finalists' is being hosted at the art center and gallery of Eslite Bookstore to show that all the finalists, as well as the prize-recipients, deserve our congratulations.

As Taishin Arts Awards' brilliant debut draws to a close, we are already preparing for the second. On behalf of the staff of Taishin Bank Foundation for Arts and Culture, I would like to express our sincerest appreciation to all of you for your support and encouragement throughout the year, and looking forward to more of your advice and assistance this year. Combining the efforts of scholars and experts with the unselfish support of enterprise, we will keep intensifying our care for the development of Taiwan Art and energizing it to a further degree; Through such collective endeavors, the laurel of arts will shine bright and strong.

J. J. Shih

Artistic Director

Taishin Bank Foundation for Arts and Culture