Yuan-Hsuan Liao

7.15 Cultural Sustainability and Art Education: The Tribe as a Museum for Exhibition Education and Cultural Practice (Paper)

Yuan-Hsuan Liao – National Taiwan Normal University, Taipei, Taiwan

Abstract:

Indigenous “traditional knowledge” is embedded within the local cultural environment, bridging the past, present, and future. In the wave of globalization and modernity, dominant cultures pose severe challenges to the transmission of local and ethnic traditional cultures. Indigenous societies, impacted by economic development and social changes, are witnessing the rapid disappearance of traditional knowledge and culture. The critical issue for contemporary tribal cultural continuity and sustainable development is how to maintain, consolidate, and transmit culture, and to reclaim cultural identity and cohesion. In the context of the post-museum era, museum experiences are no longer a one-way transmission of knowledge but a process of meaning-making through the participation of diverse communities.

This study takes the Paiwan tribe’s Takamimura community in Taiwan as an example, deepening the concept of the museum into the tribal living environment, practicing the idea that “the tribe is the museum.” Through art education, traditional crafts, rituals, stories, and other cultural elements of the tribe are transformed into participatory and experiential learning resources, making the tribe a living cultural learning field. This research is a practice of cultural heritage-oriented art education. Through experiential activities where elders pass on tribal memories and skills, the study delves into participants’ perceptions, identities, and value changes regarding tribal culture. The researcher employs participant observation and focus group discussions, interviewing and surveying elders preserving traditional culture, tribal youth, and non-tribal participants.

The aim is to explore new models that effectively promote the transmission of tribal culture through the practice of cultural heritage-oriented art education. The research findings will provide empirical foundations for the preservation and development of tribal cultural heritage and cultural diversity, offering experiences for educators and tribes in exhibiting education and cultural practices as living museums, thereby promoting the sustainable development of tribal culture.

Globalization and modernity threaten indigenous traditional knowledge. This study examines the Paiwan tribe's Takamimura community in Taiwan, exploring how art education can transform the tribe into a "living museum." Through participatory experiences led by elders, cultural memory and skills are transmitted, fostering cultural continuity, identity, and cohesion. This research aims to discover new models of cultural heritage-oriented art education to support the preservation and development of tribal cultural heritage.

Yuan-Hsuan Liao – Cultural Sustainability and Art Education: The Tribe as a Museum for Exhibition Education and Cultural Practice (Paper)

About author

Yuan-Hsuan Liao is currently serving at the Center for Arts, Social Practice, and Continuing Education at Taipei National University of the Arts, focusing on the revitalization and sustainable development of Taiwan’s Indigenous cultures, particularly within the Amis and Paiwan communities. Through arts education, she actively promotes the preservation of cultural memory and intergenerational transmission.

In addition to her community engagement, she is pursuing a Ph.D. in Social Education at National Taiwan Normal University, conducting research on Indigenous culture and social practice. Her work seeks to bridge academic insights with real-world applications, exploring diverse approaches to cultural preservation and tribal development.