Navigating the brand new Taichung Art Museum in the heart of Taiwan feels like exploring an abstract concept. Created by the prestigious Japanese architecture firm Sanaa, the campus comprises eight deliberately askew buildings that seamlessly merge an art museum with a public library. Encased in shimmering, mesh-like silver walls, the interior boasts vast vertical spaces and winding routes.
Beyond the breezy lobby—a space that defies categorization—visitors stroll along walkways and inclines, finding themselves in a library one moment and a internationally significant art exhibition the next. A portal might open up to a elevated walkway crossing over a rooftop garden, revealing sweeping panoramas of Taichung’s Central Park, or into a intimate teenage reading nook. Staircases appear to float on building exteriors, and floor levels vary intentionally, enhancing each space’s unique role and energy rather than following a rigid, uniform layout.
“It is ‘simple to lose your way within’,” remarks Lan Yu-hua, an associate researcher at the museum, with a laugh. But she maintains that’s a feature to celebrate: “We say that disorientation is beneficial.”
This city-funded initiative stands as the newest in a succession of prominent museums and performance venues opened across Taiwan over the past two decades.
Pritzker Laureates at Work
Led by 2010 Pritzker Prize laureates Kazuyo Sejima and Ryue Nishizawa—the duo behind the New Museum of Contemporary Art in New York and the Sydney Modern gallery—Sanaa worked alongside the Taiwanese firm Ricky Liu & Associates Architects+Planners on the lengthy development. The Taichung city government’s original request was for an art museum and a library on a single site.
The completed project has blurred the distinctions between the two institutions. The design prompts one to slow down, easily picturing a day spent studying or creating in the library, interspersed with leisurely walks through gallery spaces.
“We are so glad that we are with the library all together, because I think that can truly attract another layer of audiences for us,” states Yi-Hsin Lai, the museum’s director.
Opening Displays Spanning Cultures
The museum’s opening program feature new installations by acclaimed South Korean artist Haegue Yang and Taiwanese artist Michael Lin. Yang’s large-scale installation offers an abstract meditation on the banyan trees and fireflies found throughout Taiwan and Korea. Dangling in the 27-meter-high central atrium, it incorporates her signature venetian blinds with lights and steel frames. At night, the glowing light from her work is visible through the exterior mesh from far across the city.
The larger opening exhibition, titled A Call of All Beings, is an diverse yet unified mix of new installations and recent acquisitions by artists from 20 countries. Put together by an international team, it juxtaposes master painters from mid-20th century Taiwan alongside postmodern video works. In a significant achievement, the curators also sourced original early sketches from Antoine de Saint-Exupéry’s The Little Prince and archival photographs of Helen Keller.
The exhibition places a strong emphasis on Taiwanese artists, with a focus on those from Taichung. There is also a conscious emphasis on including artists with disabilities—a relevant initiative.
Elevating Taiwan’s Cultural Profile
For Taiwan’s art sector, this new museum represents a major chance to enhance the island’s profile in the global art scene and further “decentralize” cultural focus from the capital, Taipei. Taichung, the island’s biggest metropolitan area outside Taipei, is a brief commute from Taipei and already hosts a respected Museum of Fine Arts and a growing sector of private galleries. However, it has found it challenging to attract international art tourists.
“It’s quite dynamic and vibrant now. We hope that in a few years Taichung can be an recognized Asian cultural destination,” expresses Director Lai.
Claudia Chen, chair of a major Taiwanese art association, describes the new museum as a potential “gamechanger” for the country, “redirecting attention from the north to south.”
“While Taichung and southern Taiwan have had many arts and cultural events in the past, none have reached the prestige and impact of Taipei,” Chen notes.
Another arts foundation executive, Jenny Yeh, highlights that Sanaa’s involvement has garnered global interest and accelerated Taiwan’s existing artistic momentum. “This will encourage more international visitors to explore beyond Taipei and develop a more complete understanding of Taiwan’s cultural landscape. Overall, it will be a tremendous help to Taiwan’s visibility on the global stage.”
The museum commences public operations in mid-December, preparing for a mostly regional audience, at least initially, alongside visiting international press and museum professionals.
