FIRST WAVE: CONTEMPORARY AUSTRALIA AND TAIWAN INDIGENOUS FASHION EXHIBITION
TAINAN MUSEUM OF ARCHAEOLOGY
REMARKS BY AUSTRALIAN REPRESENTATIVE JENNY BLOOMFIELD
27 SEPTEMBER 2022
I am delighted to be back in Tainan, and to be able to welcome you all here at the Museum of Archaeology to celebrate Australia Taiwan Friendship and our Indigenous, business and community links, around this incredible exhibition, “First Wave: Australia-Taiwan Contemporary Indigenous Fashion Exhibition”.
And it is my great pleasure to welcome the representatives of the Taiwanese Chambers of Commerce in Oceania. I thank World Taiwanese Chambers of Commerce Honorary Chairman Jason Lin, Taiwanese Chambers of Commerce in Oceania Chairman Jerry Guo, Honorary Chair Emily Lee, Australia Taiwan Chamber Chair Erica Liu, and Melbourne Taiwan Chamber Honorary Chair Tina Yeh, and all our friends who join us today from Australia, New Zealand and around the world.
I was honoured to meet community members in Australia recently, and to see first-hand the strength of our business and community links; and last night in Taipei, we celebrated together our strong relationship. I thank you for the passion, commitment and dedication you bring to the Australia-Taiwan partnership.
The exhibition you will see shortly showcases exceptional pieces made by Australian and Taiwanese Indigenous artists and designers, who demonstrate a commitment to sustainable design, as well as connections to their own unique cultures and to global fashion.
Australia and Taiwan share rich and diverse Indigenous histories and cultures, and art and Indigenous exchanges have long been a key part of our relationship. Through this exhibition, we look forward to further strengthening links between our Indigenous cultural and creative industries, and deepening the friendship between Australia and Taiwan.
As the exhibition concludes this week, I would like to thank Director Wang and all the staff at the Museum for their partnership and their dedication. I do hope that in future it may be possible to see this exhibition also in Taipei, and in Australia, allowing more friends of Australia and Taiwan to enjoy our rich Indigenous cultures, histories and people to people links.
Once again, it is a great pleasure for me to be back in southern Taiwan. And I thank all of you for being here today.