'In the Making: An Australia-Taiwan Indigenous Art Exchange': screening and discussion

The Centre of Taiwan Studies is delighted to welcome Dr Sophie McIntyre to screen and discuss In the Making: An Australia–Taiwan Indigenous Art Exchange, a bilingual documentary exploring cross-cultural collaboration and knowledge-sharing between Indigenous artists from Australia and Taiwan.

In the Making (生成之間: 澳洲與台灣原住民族藝術交流) is a bilingual documentary film examining the processes and significance of cross-cultural collaboration between Indigenous artists from Australia and Taiwan participating in a five-year exchange program. Through interviews, creative collaborations, and moments of shared discovery, the film traces how artists build sustained relationships across linguistic, cultural, and geographic contexts.

It features prominent artists Judy Watson and Yuma Taru (尤瑪•達陸), alongside Robert Andrew and Akac Orat (陳豪毅), as they exchange stories, artistic methods, and cultural knowledge, culminating in new collaborative works. The film also follows Leah King-Smithduring a research residency at the National Museum of Prehistory, where archival photographs inspire digital works reflecting on intertwined histories of Australia and Taiwan.

Positioning artistic collaboration as a research method, the film explores how Indigenous knowledge, cultural protocols, and creative practices are negotiated across distinct contexts. By foregrounding dialogue and relational exchange, it reveals the possibilities and complexities of intercultural artistic production. It also highlights how sustained engagement cultivates new forms of knowledge-sharing, collaborative authorship, and strongerIndigenous connections across the Asia-Pacific.