“To make a revolution, people must not only struggle against existing institutions. They must make a philosophical and spiritual leap and become more ‘human’ human beings. In order to change/transform the world, they must change/transform themselves.” —Grace Lee Boggs
I-Chia Chiu is a writer, devising theatre-maker, and educator from Taiwan.
She designs artistic processes that guide participant-collaborators to practice playfulness and critical thinking for personal growth and social change. Chiu’s art often draws inspiration from her research on diaspora, belonging, and memory. Chiu also holds an M.F.A. degree in the Playwriting program at University of Texas at Austin.
TAP Work:
“I am attending TAP from Taiwan and it’s been fun to experience TAP workshops as a start or an end of my day. Sometimes I get to see my TAP cohort twice a day! I reminds me of circadian rhythm, a biological wake / sleep cycle that repeats on each rotation of the Earth. Despite the differences of time zones, the TAP participants dream and share presence together. Within that, I get to collect voices from others’ day walks and evening wanders. Circadian rhythms are often self-sustained, but they can be adjusted, just like our teaching practices–it remains flexible.
It is always nice to have a community that models generosity. In my inclusive art group, in my affinity group, I get to hear experiences that resemble mine in some ways.
I wish the teaching artist practices / industry could be more robust in Taiwan. It is empowering to know there are so many teaching artists out there.”
Most Memorable TAP Moment:
“I remember a moment in our curriculum panel. Someone asked “As we engage students with inclusive art-making for social justice, what do you do when students have conflicting values and beliefs?” Jay Howard reminds me of the importance of co-creating definitions of concepts with our students (for example, compassion), and having students to look at each other’s definitions. Katie Rainey shared that we can invite questions instead of opinions / statements in the moment. I love that. It is a great reminder for me!”
Find out more about I-Chia here:
