2 0 Y E A R S OF CON T E MPO R A R Y A S I A N A R T I N A U S T R A L I A : A P E R S ON A L P E R S P E C T I V E Gene Sherman – TAASA Review December 2011

W hy has Asia’s cultural infrastructure and overall development been such a driving force in my professional journey? Why make 43 trips to Japan, some seven or eight to China and four to both Taiwan and Korea? Why include the Middle East, and what was the relevance of those cultural forays? These are some of the questions that I seek to explore here whilst paying tribute to TAASA and the magazine’s 20 year publishing history. My interest in diverse cultures was sparked in childhood.

My extended family was multilingual and geographically dispersed.

Languages spoken include Russian, Lithuanian, German, Yiddish, French, Dutch, Afrikaans, Hebrew and English...