Reinventing Indigenous Heritage in Taiwan

This seminar presentation discusses the recent and ongoing wave of indigenous revitalization in Taiwan, with a special focus on the revitalization of indigenous arts, crafts, and related knowledge and skills. Interestingly, most of this artistic and craft production is framed – by makers themselves, the market and museums – as ‘indigenous heritage’. But what does ‘indigenous heritage’ mean in the context of contemporary Taiwan? What are its prerogatives and significance? In this seminar I endeavour to tackle these questions through an analysis of the discourses and practices of some of the main actors involved in this process of heritage-making – indigenous artists and artisans, and to a lesser extent, local and national museums as well as public authorities. The consultant suggests that the nature of such discourses and practices legitimates that we talk of a ‘re-invention’ of indigenous heritage. In the conclusions, Marzia Varutti will try to place this discussion on indigenous heritage into the broader framework of contemporary cultural policies in Taiwan, and propose some critical reflections on the political implications of the current rise of indigenous heritage.