Navigating the recently inaugurated Taichung Art Museum in central Taiwan feels like wandering through a conceptual maze. Created by the renowned Japanese architecture firm Sanaa, the structure comprises eight unconventionally angled buildings that effortlessly combine an art museum with a public library. Encased in shimmering, mesh-like silver walls, the interior boasts vast vertical spaces and meandering pathways.
Beyond the breezy lobby—a space that defies categorization—visitors stroll along walkways and inclines, discovering they are in a library one moment and a top-tier art exhibition the next. A entry might unexpectedly lead a elevated walkway offering vistas from a rooftop garden, providing sweeping panoramas of Taichung’s Central Park, or into a cozy teenage reading nook. Steps seem to hang on building exteriors, and floor levels shift purposefully, complementing each space’s unique purpose and vibe rather than following a rigid, uniform layout.
“It is ‘a place designed for wandering’,” notes Lan Yu-hua, an associate researcher at the museum, chuckling. But she insists that’s part of the intended experience: “We say that getting lost is good.”
This municipal government-led project stands as the newest in a series of prominent museums and performance venues established across Taiwan over the past two decades.
Pritzker Laureates at Work
Led by 2010 Pritzker Prize laureates Kazuyo Sejima and Ryue Nishizawa—known for the New Museum of Contemporary Art in New York and the Sydney Modern gallery—Sanaa collaborated with the Taiwanese firm Ricky Liu & Associates Architects+Planners on the multi-year build. The Taichung city government’s original request was for an art museum and a library on a single site.
The final result has dissolved the borders between the two institutions. The design seems intended to slow down, easily picturing a day spent reading or working in the library, punctuated by leisurely walks through halls of art.
“We are so glad that we are with the library in a shared space, because I think that can really open up another layer of audiences for us,” states Yi-Hsin Lai, the museum’s director.
Launch Shows with International Flair
The museum’s opening program feature new installations by acclaimed South Korean artist Haegue Yang and Taiwanese artist Michael Lin. Yang’s major piece offers an abstract meditation on the banyan trees and fireflies ubiquitous in Taiwan and Korea. Suspended within the 27-meter-high central atrium, it incorporates her signature venetian blinds with lights and steel frames. At night, the luminous emission from her work illuminates the exterior mesh from far across the city.
The larger opening exhibition, titled A Call of All Beings, is an eclectic but coherent mix of commissioned works and newly acquired pieces 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 secured original early sketches from Antoine de Saint-Exupéry’s The Little Prince and archival photographs of Helen Keller.
The exhibition highlights Taiwanese artists, especially those from Taichung. There is also a particular effort on including artists with disabilities—a poignant initiative.
Elevating Taiwan’s Cultural Profile
For Taiwan’s art sector, this new museum represents a key moment to increase international recognition 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 boasts a respected Museum of Fine Arts and a expanding sector of private galleries. However, it has historically struggled 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, “moving the center of gravity from the north to south.”
“While Taichung and southern Taiwan have had many arts and cultural events in the past, none have reached the scale and importance of Taipei,” Chen notes.
Another arts foundation executive, Jenny Yeh, points out that Sanaa’s involvement has attracted worldwide notice and accelerated Taiwan’s existing artistic momentum. “This will motivate more international visitors to explore beyond Taipei and gain a fuller sense of Taiwan’s cultural landscape. Overall, it will be a major boost to Taiwan’s visibility on the global stage.”
The museum welcomes the general public in mid-December, preparing for a overwhelmingly domestic audience, at least initially, alongside visiting international press and museum professionals.
