Taiwan arts scene thrives in spite of Beijing isolation tactics – new venues draw more diverse audiences
- The island’s arts scene is enjoying something of a renaissance, a slew of new spaces and troupes having been established to appeal to domestic and – it’s hoped – international crowds
Weiwuying, as the centre in Taiwan’s third-largest city is known, took seven years to build, at a cost of more than NT$10 billion (US$324 million). One of the island’s first major performance venues outside Taipei, the facility was intended by then president Chen Shui-bian as a grand gesture in the rejuvenation of Taiwan’s poorer south, and to attract cultural activities away from the northern capital. It is just one of a slew of impressive venues that have been opening in what is proving to be a vibrant period for the island’s sophisticated arts scene. But it is a success story that is often drowned out by the drumbeat of nationalism heard across the Taiwan Strait: Chinese President Xi Jinping threatened, in a New Year speech, to take back the island by force if necessary after 70 years of separation.
The island’s contemporary art scene emerged in 1987, when nearly four decades of martial law ended and Taiwan diverged further politically from the mainland, embracing multi-party democracy and freedom of expression.
In the capital, the yet-to-be-completed Taipei Performing Arts Centre (TPAC) began rolling out pre-opening programmes in 2013, many of which have involved international exchanges.