Taiwan started promoting total community building in 1994 and advocated cultural creative industries since 2002. By 2019, Taiwan promoted locality revitalization while craft industries are listed as one of the key projects. Intensified by the cultural creative industries, the craft industries not only focus on local management but also participate in promotional campaigns through creative expos and international expos. Consequently, Taiwan’s craft industries are shifting towards branding and many craft artists and individual studios promote the industry branding through this mode.
The long history of ceramic craft industry with the establishment of important base in Taiwan makes it difficult for individual studios to build self-branding. Hence, the local symbiotic development with communities becomes the form of branding development for individual studios. The research includes a case study in “Tian Jhong Kiln” and conducts self-fulfilling and introspection on the locality and branding of ceramic industries through participatory action research. The purpose of the research aims to comprehend the establishment process of ceramic industry branding and the opportunities for transformation. The study also analyzes the collaboration and cooperative mode between craft branding and total community building, in addition to establishing the managerial strategies and modes for craft branding locality, from the perspective of interdisciplinary cooperation.
The research results draw conclusion on the cooperative mode between craft artists and community building based on the five dimensions of people, place and industry in community building. The results concluded are explained through three aspects, including “Talent Incubation- Establishing of Skills Inheritance,” “Object Creation – Product Creation,” and “Environment Building – Environment Facilities Building.”
1. Talent Incubation – Establishing Skills Inheritance: Ceramic talents are incubated through Tian Jhong Kiln instruction, secondary and primary schools, and the skills learning courses of communities, which could develop students’ interests in ceramic arts. Moreover, the residents can develop secondary expertise and assist with the production during their spare time, which leads to the positive cycle of bringing addition income to farmers.
2. Object Creation- Product Creation: The path to Tian Jhong Kiln artworks involved the production of ceramic daily supplies in the early days. Later, firewood was used as the basis of artworks with efforts to return to the innocence of artworks. The co-development of customized products with local industries and the gift design and manufacturing in cooperation with campaigns held by public sectors further add value and exposure to the branding of Tian Jhong Kiln industries.
3. Environment Building- Environment Facilities Building: The building of the art environment of cats with Sanmin Community Development Association not only develops the awareness and cohesion in residents for co-creation but also establishes the tourism industries. The implementation of building local hollyhock festival spurs the existing ceramic experience and sales through tourism activities for flower watching. Moreover, selling local products at the park forms the opportunity for alternative strategic alliance which enriches the tourism resources for Tian Jhong Township.