TAIPEI – A Ministry of Culture grant programme has sparked intense criticism after five pop groups were awarded funding.
Many, especially those working in the cultural scene, expressed outraged following the release of the grant results.
Anger was focused on both the fact that all five recipients were contracted to either major record labels or event corporations, and also that the ministry had insisted on keeping decision process and the names of reviewers a secret.
The contentious annual programme, in its seventh round since its launch in 2011, rewarded each recipient sums falling between NT$4 million to NT$8.3 million in grants.
Most of the recipient projects were either for concert productions or theatre collaborations.
The combined sum of grants given out this year accounted for approximately NT$32.3 million.
Critics noted the amounts dwarf those awarded by similar grant programs, such as the ministry’s indie music marketing grant, which offers a maximum of only NT$2.5 million for each proposal.
This year’s recipients included the much criticised “concert/exhibition” project of local singer-songwriter Cheer Chen (陳綺貞), the Chairman Band’s (董事長樂團) collaboration with Chio-tian Folk Drums & Arts Troupe (九天民俗技藝團), pop diva AMIT (阿密特) and artist Tung-yen Chou’s (周東彥) experimental concert.
Icing on the Cake
“Firms that signed deals with these hit artists already gained plenty from all the major commercial performances they put on. Giving companies that already have abundant resources large sums of money is evidently ensuring the big fish stay big,” local radio personality DJ Book (陳立書) said in an op-ed last week.
He added:”Rather than adding more icing on the cake, it is more urgent to provide charcoal in the snow – in other words, encouraging talented budding artists.”
Local curator and chairman of the Association of the Visual Arts in Taiwan (中華民國視覺術協會) Sean Hu (胡朝聖) told The China Post that he sees “structural problems” at the Ministry of Culture as the root of the grant controversy, arguing that they had failed to comprehensively assess the budget plans of its former entities.
The ministry was established in 2012, combining the former Council for Cultural Affairs (文建會) and Information Bureau (新聞局).
“It’s disheartening for people working in art to see pop musicians easily receive grants up to NT4, 5 million dollars at a time, while artists and sculptors that are struggling to survive often receive only 50, 100 thousand for each project,” said Hu.
“Is this fair? Do these celebrities, who may be worth billions of dollars, truly need that money?” he added.
Culture Versus Commerce
The news that Cheer Chen received a grant of nearly NT$8 million drew intense criticism of her current songwriting exhibition in Taipei. The event has sparked discussions over how most exhibitions seen in major cultural parks were more commercial than they were cultural.
Hu said, on a positive note, commercial exhibitions could encourage more people to develop the habit of visiting exhibitions, allowing them to welcome art exhibitions or to be willing to spend money on culture.
“Once the market is opened, demand for professional talent will increase and a growing number of people will enter the field,” said Hu. “It will result in a positive cycle.”
However, Hu said there is still concern that some exhibitions organised under the banner of culture lack substantial content, catering only to popular tastes.
“Usually, preparation for art exhibitions could take from one to ten years, but (commercial exhibitions) only require a few months. Some charge people to take photos with large cartoon characters. Their varying ticket prices bear deeper implications for other art exhibitions in the market, it fails to boost aesthetic tastes and knowledge, and it could distort how people see exhibitions.
“What worries me is once the demand for such exhibitions go up, there could be less venues on offer, making it even more difficult for art exhibitions to prosper.”
Hu suggested that commercial, franchise exhibitions should take their displays department stores rather than cultural parks, which he said should be subject to stricter government regulations.
A certain portion of venue spaces should be reserved for emerging, young artists, urged the curator.
“Just as I’ve always emphasised, there is no cultural industry (文創) without originality (原創). And it’s better to encourage local exhibitions rather than bringing in a large number of work from overseas. “
Cultural Ministry Promises Action
The Cultural Ministry said in a statement that it is currently drafting preliminary adjustments to grant terms, with the aim of improving transparency. Officials vowed to complete and implement the revision as soon as possible.
The ministry’s Bureau of Audiovisual and Music Industry Development (影視及流行音樂產業局) said their controversial grant was aimed at encouraging local popular music companies to create cross-disciplinary music products – meaning crossing over to other fields – combining music with film, television, drama, video games, performance art, among others.
Another focus was the use of technological innovation in music production.
“Regarding the selection criteria for the grant programme, our considerations include the technology or method of cross-disciplinary collaboration with pop music as the basis, whether the project will effectively boost competitiveness for the popular music industry, development plans, budget reasonableness, and the teams’ capabilities and past performance,” the bureau said.
