Chieh-Min Chan

For Chieh-Min, art has always been a big part of her life. Her mother is a painter and her father’s career is in print and book making. She grew up understanding the importance and impact of art and culture on the larger world around her.

For her undergraduate degree, she double majored in Taiwanese literature and Foreign Languages and Literature. Through her studies, she gained a greater appreciation and understanding of these two subjects. Upon graduation, she decided to take some time to figure out where she would go next. She knew she would focus on arts and culture and wanted to find a way to impact these two fields in her country. The best route for accomplishing this she decided was to enter the government civil service. However in Taiwan, this is not an easy path as all potential candidates must take an exam to qualify. Undaunted by this task, Chieh-Min took the exam, and placed third of all qualifying candidates in her country. She was given a job in the Cultural Affairs Bureau in Tainan, Taiwan, her home city. This is where she has been working for the past three years. During her time at her Cultural Affairs Bureau, she has been a part of some very exciting and innovative projects.

In 2013, she started the “Dutch Design Post” with the cooperation of the Netherlands. Dutch designers came to Taiwan for projects and to make connections with local citizens through lectures and events. This year, she took part in organizing the 2016 Tainan Arts Festival. One of the events included singers from Europe, orchestra and ballet groups from Taiwan. The festival was held in the biggest private museum in Taiwan and was a huge success.

What drew you to the MA Arts Politics program?

Entering NYU arts politics program gives me the opportunity to discover the connections that exist between arts, politics, and the citizens of my country. How does art become a part of everyone’s daily lives and get incorporated into the world we know? This is what I want to discover during my time in this program. I want to be in an environment that is different from my current working life, and explore the questions and ideas that have been on my mind. Perhaps the answers are here in New York City.