by Siraya Pai
Bert Determann first joined in OISTAT (the International Organisation of Scenographers, Theatre Architects and Technicians) in 2004, when asked by the then Netherlands delegation to take part in its Technology Commission. Everyone told him, “OISTAT travels a lot for visits and meetings in different places,” yet his first meeting took place in Antwerp – only 35 minutes away from his base in Rotterdam.
Soon, the 35-minute drive evolved into cross-continental overnight flights. The following year, OISTAT relocated its headquarters – then known as the Secretariat – from Amsterdam to Taipei. Since then, Determann’s involvement with the organization has deepened. As a member of the Technology Commission, he witnessed the signing ceremony between OISTAT and Taiwan’s Ministry of Culture (then the Council for Cultural Affairs) at the National Theater in Taipei. In 2009, he was elected to the Executive Committee during the Seoul meeting, and subsequently served two terms as elected President from 2017 to 2024.
During his 15 years in leadership, Determann has attended every signing ceremony for the renewal of the five-year contract with Taiwan, albeit in different official capacities. He jokingly nicknamed himself the “Corona President” due to the unfortunate fact that a significant portion of his presidency was defined by the impact of Covid-19. “For what OISTAT does, it is vital to travel and meet people in person; during that time, we had to rely on online meetings,” Determann reflects.
OISTAT was founded in Prague in 1968, with the core mission of breaking through the Iron Curtain to serve as a bridge between theatre professionals, mainly those working behind the scenes, in Eastern and Western Europe during the Cold War. “Economically, there was not a good balance between the countries there, so OISTAT conceived an approach where the wealthier Western countries provided financial support, while those in the East – often operating under adverse conditions – returned with their artistic values,” Determann explains. Following the end of the Cold War, OISTAT moved its Secretariat to the Netherlands and maintained a close collaboration with the Prague Quadrennial (PQ) to expand its international exchange network – although the term “international” here, during that period, remained largely confined to Europe and North America.
As Determann recalls, when he first joined OISTAT, the organization was looking for a new city to host the Secretariat. At that time, Taiwan’s Ministry of Culture provided the necessary financial backing and invited OISTAT to relocate its headquarters to Taiwan. Once the arrangement was settled, this cross-continental journey began.
Moving from Europe to Asia, everything had to start from scratch – though this time, with adequate funding. “There was no precedent in the same way for us to follow, so we were actually pioneering,” Determann shares, “It was not easy, and we began with a lot of placemaking, but over time, under the leadership of successive executive directors (from Wei-Wen Chang, Kathy Hong to Wan-Jung WEI, who is currently in office), the team has become stabilized and evolved.”
The benefit of relocating the headquarters to Taipei was not merely financial, but also geographical. As mentioned previously, in its early days, OISTAT’s reach was mainly confined within Europe and North America. Despite its ambition to open up to the world, it was not easy for Asian countries to get involved. Now, with the administrative team based in Taipei, the organization has become far more accessible to neighboring Asian countries. “For the past 20 years, our connection with Asia has deepened,” Determann says. The 2017 World Stage Design (WSD), one of OISTAT's flagship events, co-organized with Taipei National University of the Arts (TNUA) and the Taiwan Association of Theatre Technology (TATT), stood as a remarkable example of an international event for Taiwan’s theatre community.
Determann is fully aware that Taiwan initially decided to support OISTAT out of a political purpose: “we understand that Taiwan’s Ministry of Culture made the decision in 2005 to host our office because it would become the first international NGO with its headquarters based in Taiwan. This, in itself, was already a strong political statement regarding the long-term pressure Taiwan had been under.” However, over the past two decades, both parties have cultivated a healthy, mutual partnership that extends far beyond mere financial backing or political statements.
Since 2010, Taiwan has seen the construction and inauguration of several major performing arts venues in a modern, Western style, including the National Taichung Theater, the National Kaohsiung Center for the Arts (Weiwuying), and the Taipei Performing Arts Center (TPAC) – with the latter two designed by Dutch architects. From their architectural structure to theater interiors, or even their operational models, there has been a growing demand for advanced theatre technology. Consequently, this has made the contributions of technical professionals more visible and has fostered greater mutual respect among disciplines, both onstage and behind the scenes. “We hoped to contribute by sharing modern, Western expertise in the building and operation of new theaters, that could help develop these venues on a technical scale, so we introduced professionals from abroad to offer their advice, and I myself have given workshops to technicians about rigging, load bearing, and fly bar system,” Determann recalls.
Among them, Kathy Hong, former Executive Director of OISTAT’s headquarters, and Austin Wang, former Chair of OISTAT Publication and Communication commission, played crucial roles in the preparation stages of Weiwuying and TPAC respectively. In other words, during this era of transformation – marked by the shift from the singular dominance of Taiwan’s National Theater to the emergence of multiple major performing arts centers – the change was not merely in the number of venues, but in the elevated importance of theatre technology, as shown in the aspects of professional recruitment, application of modern Western techniques, and cross-disciplinary collaboration. The close relationship between OISTAT and Taiwanese professionals in theatre technology has undoubtedly had a profound impact on it.
Now, the global political situation is starkly different from the Cold-War context where OISTAT was founded, yet its commitment to international exchange has remained unswerving. Determann has noticed a worldwide shrinkage in arts and culture budgets, which poses a significant challenge to OISTAT – an organization the former president describes as “analog,” given its fundamental reliance on physical presence and face-to-face encounters.
“In the early days, our invitations for member countries’ representatives would be full invitations to cover local expenses, including food and accommodation, but it is getting increasingly difficult. As a result, representatives from economically disadvantaged countries might not be able to join the meetings unless it is held somewhere close by,” Determann explains.
In an effort to expand the existing Asia-Europe-North America network to include countries in Africa and South America, OISTAT’s Executive Committee has proactively invited new countries to join OISTAT, and visited newly joined member countries to empower them. This serves as a vital gesture to show that “OISTAT is genuinely interested in what is going on there.” Determann further notes, “Taiwan was step one compared to the old situation, and we try to build out stepping stones all over the world.” For instance, the 2025 World Stage Design took place in Sharjah, UAE, which finally allowed for participation of several Arabic countries, apart from the existing members such as Morocco and Egypt.
OISTAT was founded out of a political purpose, and Taiwan’s initial decision to host its headquarters was also a political one. However, the shared journey between OISTAT and Taiwan reaches far beyond a political narrative. Today, as the global political landscape becomes increasingly volatile and polarized, Determann still keeps the faith, with a self-aware optimism, that “despite the outspoken politic rhetoric that overshadows those who get things done, and despite the vulnerability of arts and culture which always react first when there is something wrong in the world, we stay true to the essence of theatre technology – it does not speak or make itself visible on stage, but it keeps the theater going.”
Having been connected to this land for two decades and forging its own unique presence here, OISTAT Headquarters, as how Determann puts it, “is no longer an office to be easily moved to another country, but has evolved into a kind of institute that can contribute to Taiwan’s theatre scenes significantly.” On the other hand, Determann was deeply impressed by the “drive and urgency to achieve something” from his experiences in Taiwan, perhaps motivated by the fusion of its indigenous culture, Chinese heritage, and Western democracy—“a drive that you feel a little bit lost in our tired society,” Determann says.
The bond between OISTAT and Taiwan may not last forever, but the mutual impact they have on one another will certainly endure.
>> Read the interview in Mandarin
