SDG11
NCKU's "Multiverse Railway Journey": Art and Drama Integrated with AI Cross-Domain Exhibition of Taiwan's Railway Memories
National Cheng Kung University (NCKU) College of Liberal Arts hosted the "Multiverse Railway Journey" exhibition on Kuang-Fu Campus Historic Artifacts Museum today (14th). Led by Associate Professor Wei-Chien Ma from NCKU Institute of the Arts, 13 student artists from interdisciplinary programs and other schools showcased integrated virtual and real artworks centered around Taiwan's railway theme, using AI-generated technology. Starting from December 19th, the captivating content will be sequentially moved to the Tainan Prefectural Governor's Residence and Tainan Train Station, extending beyond the campus to bring rich and diverse digital humanities innovation to the citizens and visitors of Tainan through collaborations among academia, industry, and government.
The opening event on the 14th morning extended the theme of railway humanities memory through yo-yo performances and a cross-domain performance of "Father of Chianan Irrigation Canal: Yoichi Hatta." Dynamic performances combined with the exhibition's on-site artifacts provided by the Taiwan Railway Administration's Tainan Station, and the six major flat exhibition area works jointly presented by student artists, brought a cross-disciplinary feast of art, culture, and transportation infrastructure to the attendees. The aim was to lead the audience to rediscover the unique significance of Taiwan's railways through an artistic perspective, symbolized by the theme "Gathering at the Railway."
NCKU Vice President Yuh-Neu Chen stated that the Historic Artifacts Museum, originally rich in humanistic atmosphere, presented a different ambiance today as a railway-themed venue, showcasing the diverse facets of interdisciplinary teaching and research at NCKU. AI serves as an important platform for intergenerational communication, and it's gratifying to see students presenting multifaceted and interdisciplinary historical memories of Taiwan's railways through AI technology. With Tainan's 400th anniversary approaching next year, it is hoped that through more cross-domain cooperation, the city's culture, industry, and technology will become irreplaceable.
The "Multiverse Railway Journey" exhibition was organized by NCKU Liberal Arts Institute of the Arts and Drama Master's Program, as part of the 112th academic year's first-semester "Theater Curation and Arts Administration" course exhibition, and also part of the Ministry of Education's second-phase Digital Humanities Innovation Talent Cultivation and Higher Education Enhancement Program. The course aims to enable students to understand the background history of railways, resonate with it, and develop creative ideas, using technology to foster innovative thinking among students. Through learning and AI integration, students created designs including graphics, photography, publications, videos, projections, installations, AR interactions, exhibitions, and apps, providing rich outcomes and demonstrations for digital humanities innovation talent cultivation.
The 13 students participating in this exhibition come from NCKU Institute of the Arts, NCKU Drama Program, NCKU Science and Arts Institute, and Tainan University of the Arts Institute of Film and Aesthetics. Their works in the six major flat exhibition areas express concern for unmanned stations, curiosity about the railway's local industrial chain, evoke emotions across different periods from the perspective of international students, lead viewers back to scenes from their own experiences, and imagine the railway's surrounding rural tales, cuisine, literature, and opera characters, leaving a record of the rich railway life of the Taiwanese people.
Associate Professor Wei-Chien Ma, the course instructor, stated that through the theoretical and practical learning process, students combined multiple perspectives with AI practical promotion. They not only achieved independent learning and communication leadership but also completed their curatorial production through organizational comprehensive management processes. The related experiences have become important nutrients for the students, enabling them to develop caring attitudes towards societal development and cultivate a macroscopic cultural perspective in line with international trends. This also extends opportunities for students in performing arts to enter the digital technology and cultural creativity industries.
The opening event on the 14th morning extended the theme of railway humanities memory through yo-yo performances and a cross-domain performance of "Father of Chianan Irrigation Canal: Yoichi Hatta." Dynamic performances combined with the exhibition's on-site artifacts provided by the Taiwan Railway Administration's Tainan Station, and the six major flat exhibition area works jointly presented by student artists, brought a cross-disciplinary feast of art, culture, and transportation infrastructure to the attendees. The aim was to lead the audience to rediscover the unique significance of Taiwan's railways through an artistic perspective, symbolized by the theme "Gathering at the Railway."
NCKU Vice President Yuh-Neu Chen stated that the Historic Artifacts Museum, originally rich in humanistic atmosphere, presented a different ambiance today as a railway-themed venue, showcasing the diverse facets of interdisciplinary teaching and research at NCKU. AI serves as an important platform for intergenerational communication, and it's gratifying to see students presenting multifaceted and interdisciplinary historical memories of Taiwan's railways through AI technology. With Tainan's 400th anniversary approaching next year, it is hoped that through more cross-domain cooperation, the city's culture, industry, and technology will become irreplaceable.
The "Multiverse Railway Journey" exhibition was organized by NCKU Liberal Arts Institute of the Arts and Drama Master's Program, as part of the 112th academic year's first-semester "Theater Curation and Arts Administration" course exhibition, and also part of the Ministry of Education's second-phase Digital Humanities Innovation Talent Cultivation and Higher Education Enhancement Program. The course aims to enable students to understand the background history of railways, resonate with it, and develop creative ideas, using technology to foster innovative thinking among students. Through learning and AI integration, students created designs including graphics, photography, publications, videos, projections, installations, AR interactions, exhibitions, and apps, providing rich outcomes and demonstrations for digital humanities innovation talent cultivation.
The 13 students participating in this exhibition come from NCKU Institute of the Arts, NCKU Drama Program, NCKU Science and Arts Institute, and Tainan University of the Arts Institute of Film and Aesthetics. Their works in the six major flat exhibition areas express concern for unmanned stations, curiosity about the railway's local industrial chain, evoke emotions across different periods from the perspective of international students, lead viewers back to scenes from their own experiences, and imagine the railway's surrounding rural tales, cuisine, literature, and opera characters, leaving a record of the rich railway life of the Taiwanese people.
Associate Professor Wei-Chien Ma, the course instructor, stated that through the theoretical and practical learning process, students combined multiple perspectives with AI practical promotion. They not only achieved independent learning and communication leadership but also completed their curatorial production through organizational comprehensive management processes. The related experiences have become important nutrients for the students, enabling them to develop caring attitudes towards societal development and cultivate a macroscopic cultural perspective in line with international trends. This also extends opportunities for students in performing arts to enter the digital technology and cultural creativity industries.
Combining art, drama, and AI technology, NCKU's "Multiverse Railway Journey" exhibition is now on display at the Historical Artifacts Museum on the Kuang-Fu Campus from today until December 17th. Starting from December 19th, the exhibition will move successively to the Tainan Governor's Residence and Tainan Railway Station.
Extending the cultural memory of the railway, the exhibition's opening event this morning (the 14th) combined diabolo performances with traditional opera, featuring a cross-disciplinary performance of the story of "Father of the Chianan Irrigation: Yoichi Hatta".
The six main exhibition areas of NCKU's "Multiverse Railway Journey" feature a diverse range of topics, including concerns about unmanned stations and curiosity about the local industrial chain surrounding the railway.
