Come Along!

Today, December 11, is a day of global strike for solidarity with the people of Gaza, of Palestine and to pressure government officials, especially ones of the US, to call for a permanent ceasefire. This global strike was started by 2 journalists from Gaza, Bisan and Motaz. I’ve been following their work for some time now, and have deep respect for their work, and what they’ve demonstrated for our...

On today’s Come Along, we are diving into the world of European early music (once again!) with our 2 guests, harpsichordist Alice Sheu from Taiwan and mezzo-soprano Iris Bouman from the Netherlands. I highly recommend you to also check out previous episodes on Come Along with Dutch harpsichordist Pieter-Jan Belder , and the one with the Gleam Ensemble , to get to know more of the European early mu...

Today, we will continue our chat with the powerful, wonderful, Palestinian artist Samia Halaby , who was here in Taipei for the 2023 Taipei Biennial. At the end of the previous episode , we touched on the Nakba in 1948. Today we will follow Samia’s memories of the effects of the Nakba on Palestinians, and more. In this episode we will talk about Samia’s documentary drawings of the 1956 Kafr Qasim...

On today’s Come Along, I’m joined by the legend, the one and only,  Samia Halaby , who is turning 87 very soon! Halaby is a pioneer of abstract art, and seriously, just go look her up. She’s from Palestine and is currently based in New York City. You can find Halaby’s work in museums and galleries all around the world including the Guggenheim Museum (New York City), the Institut du Monde Arabe (Pa...

Hey you, welcome back to my show, Come Along. Today we’re bringing you part 2 of my interview with 2 curators of this year’s Taipei Biennial, Reem Shadid and Brian Kuan Wood. Make sure to check out the previous episode if you haven’t! This year, the Taipei Biennial will be from November 18, 2023-March 24, 2024 at the Taipei Fine Arts Museum. Make sure to check out the 2023 Taipei Biennial official...

Hello there, it’s your host Sharon Lin and welcome back to Come Along. Today’s show is super exciting as you’ll hear from 2 of the curators of this year’s 2023 Taipei Biennial, Reem Shadid and Brian Kuan Wood. This year, the Taipei Biennial will be from November 18, 2023-March 24, 2024 at the Taipei Fine Arts Museum. This is one of the biggest, if not the biggest art event happening in Taipei in 2...

Hey there, it’s Sharon and welcome back to Come Along. For today’s show, I sat down with Alejandra Sánchez Mack, chief curator of the art exhibit, Our Second Home. The exhibit took place at the first floor gallery at Chiang Kai-Shek Memorial Hall in September of 2023. Go follow @oursecondhome.taiwan on Instagram to learn more! It showcased artworks from 15 artists from Guatemala, Belize, Mexico, P...

A place hits different when you’re a resident living there vs being a visitor. Today I sat down with Mick, who was born in Taiwan and had spent several years in Thailand during his childhood, about his experience. What is it like growing up in Thailand as a Taiwanese kid? What curriculum did the international school Mick went to offer? What was it like picking up Thai as a foreigner? Mick recently...

Hello there, it’s your host Sharon Lin. Today, we’re heading together to the National Human Rights Museum. Currently, there are 2 branches of the Museum open to the public: the Jingmei White Terror Memorial Park, in New Taipei City, Taiwan, and the other branch, the Green Island White Terror Memorial Park, located on Green Island, one of Taiwan’s outlying islands. You can head to a previous episod...

Hey you, today we’re picking up where we left off with jazz musician, Roger Lin. Make sure to listen to part 1 if you haven’t. In this episode, we’ll talk more about improvisation in jazz, Roger’s recording his first album“Whisper of the Isolated Ones”in 2020, which was nominated for The Best Jazz Album and The Best Jazz Composition for the 12th Golden Indie Music Award in 2021, the highest award...

Roger Lin is a jazz guitarist, composer, and improviser from Taiwan. He’s currently based in Brooklyn, NY, in the U.S. Roger has performed in many venues in and around Brooklyn, Massuthusetts, Japan, and of course, Taiwan. He's played with musicians Simone Wilson, Moshe Elmakias, and Phil Grenadier. Today, he’ll share with us his time at Berklee College of Music, jazz composition, his debut al...

Hey there, if one of your childhood dreams is becoming a marine biologist, this episode is for you. On today’s Come Along, we will be talking to marine biologist, Dr. Aziz J. Mulla, who’s been working in Taiwan for nearly 10 years. What was the spark for him to step into this field? Furthermore, Dr. Mulla is a coral reef ecologist. How is it like doing research on corals? How much time does he spe...

Hi there, it’s your host Sharon Lin. On September 8, I went to the opening of a wonderful exhibit, Our Second Home, an exhibition of Guatemalan and Latin American Artists in Taiwan. It will be on till September 19, 2023, at the first floor gallery of Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall. The exhibit showcases artworks from 15 artists from Guatemala, Belize, Mexico, Paraguay, and Taiwan. The exhibit is or...

Hey you, it’s your host Sharon Lin. Welcome to part 2 of my interview with curator Huang Yulun (黃郁倫) of the National Museum of Prehistory in Taitung. Make sure to listen to part 1 of our chat in case you missed it. We’ll have a closer look at the Museum’s Austronesian Hall, curated by Yulun, and learn about the stories behind several powerful displays visitors could see. We also touched on Taiw...

Hey you, it’s your host Sharon Lin. Today, we’re heading to the National Museum of Prehistory in Taitung (on the east coast of Taiwan). I’m joined by one of the Museum’s curator Huang Yulun (黃郁倫), who’s here to tell us more about the new look of the Museum after their major renovation earlier this year. What’s the significance of the Museum's current location? (Hint: It’s related to importa...

Have you ever been to a live drag show? Have you ever met a drag queen? If you’re thinking, “Who are drag queens? What do they do?” This episode is for you! Today, we have an up-and-coming drag queen Beauxba Tea in the studio. Beauxba Tea has performed in several venues including Café Dalida, 23 Comedy, and Ganymede in Taipei and more to come. What inspired Beauxba Tea to do drag? From creating yo...

What do you know of the country, Tuvalu? What images come to your mind? Maybe you’d think of Tuvalu’s diplomatic relations with Taiwan (It’s been over 40 years!). Yet, what is daily life in Tuvalu like? Today, I’m honored to have the Ambassador of Tuvalu to Taiwan, Bikenibeu Paeniu, here on Come Along. We would also get to know more of the exciting career of Ambassador Bikeni, who has served as Tu...

Have you wondered what it is like being a theater actor? Imagine being on stage, lights up, everything is live, and you only have one shot. What is it like? Today, I’m joined by Ruei-Siang Chen, who’s been in many theater productions since his university days, to learn more about what the path is like. After finishing a BA in English, Ruei-Siang went on to study theater in graduate school. How was...

Hey you, it’s your host Sharon. Today, we’re continuing our chat with Taipei 101 COO of Tower Management, Michael Liu, about all things Taipei 101 and more. Make sure to check out part 1 if you haven’t. On today’s show, we’ll learn more about many ingenious designs that make Taipei 101 safe, efficient, and green. Michael will also touch on several events unique to Taipei 101, and tease us a bit ab...

This building needs no introduction, it used to be the tallest building in the world, it’s an iconic landmark of Taiwan, of East Asia, and there is so much more to learn about! It’s Taipei 101! Joining me in the studio is Taipei 101’s very own Chief Operating Officer of Tower Management, Michael Liu! What was it like planning and building such a skyscraper? What’s it like visiting the observatory...

Hey you, it’s your host Sharon. Today, we’re heading to an iconic National Park in Taiwan. It’s the Taroko National Park, located in Hualien, Taiwan! If you search for images online, you’ll find pictures with breath-taking gorges, hiking trails, winding rivers. How did the park get its name “Taroko?” What natural forces created such a landscape of Taroko National Park? Could you get here without a...

Have you ever been to any outlying island of Taiwan? Today, Sharon is taking you to one– Green Island. Green Island is a volcanic island, and well-known for its vibrant underwater wildlife. If you’re a nature lover, Green Island is a great destination for you! This island is also an important landmark for Taiwan’s history, as it used to be where the KMT government sent political dissidents for imp...

Today on Come Along, I’m joined by an old friend of mine, Eric Wang. Eric and I met during our elementary school years. Not long after elementary school, he himself moved away from Taiwan to Brinbane, Australia. What was it like to leave Taiwan at such a young age? Being so far away from family and old friends, how to handle vulnerable moments when you miss them so much? What was building a new li...

Hey there, it’s your host, Sharon Lin. On today’s Come Along, I got to chat with Crescens Dupuis, French interior designer and artist who’s been working and living in Italy for around 20 years, about his land art project: Corpo Geologico, which he has been doing for the past 10 years. Corpo Geologico involves stones and photo-taking, and it is still an ongoing project. Corpo Geologico was showcase...

Hello there, it’s your host, Sharon. Have you wondered what university life is like in Taiwan, especially that of an English major? How are disciplines in the Arts perceived by the Taiwanese society in general? Also, when you decided you wanted to switch to another path that’s seemingly unrelated to your university major, what was the transition like? Today, I invited my friend, Emily, who ended u...