One of the things true global cities have in common is the presence of world-class cultural institutions where people from different corners of the globe converge to share their stories and ideas, discuss important issues, and collaborate on various works, among other things. This, undoubtedly, benefits the locals, for they don’t need to travel far to meet some of the planet’s greatest talents. Cities like New York, London, Paris, and Tokyo have well-established arts and cultural centers that similar institutions in other countries look up to and aspire to be. Meanwhile, places like Abu Dhabi and Doha, where funding is often not an issue, have also recently caught up as they inaugurated grand and shiny museums most cities can only dream of. Others, like Bilbao, commissioned international architects to design something their residents could have never imagined before, even in their wildest dreams.
Kaohsiung seems be following what the northern Spanish city has successfully done with their Guggenheim Museum. Designed by Dutch architect Francine Houben of Mecanoo, the National Kaohsiung Center for the Arts, also known as Weiwuying, opened in 2018. Situated in the east of the southern Taiwanese city, the massive structure hosts an opera house, a concert hall, a playhouse, and a recital hall – all under one undulating roof – as well as an outdoor theater. Weiwuying’s forward-looking ultra-modern architecture also nods to its past, as local shipbuilders were involved during its construction to make the superstructure and the curving steel plates using the same technique for making ocean liners. This is an homage to the city’s roots as Taiwan’s hub for shipbuilding, an important industry which sustained the country’s rapid economic growth in the 1980s and 1990s, and also showed locals that this expensive project was built with them in mind.
An MRT station is conveniently located right at the northern entrance of Weiwuying, allowing the general public to access this 3.3-hectare arts center without having to rely on their cars. When we were at the station, a large poster emblazoned with photos of upcoming performers from different countries was hard to miss. Among them was Joey Alexander, a young Indonesian jazz pianist who is also a three-time Grammy nominee. However, that day was relatively quiet with no performances at any of the halls. We circumambulated the entire structure and walked through its cavernous Banyan Plaza – the space that connects the individual venues – and saw someone showing off his skills with the piano provided at one corner of the compound. (On a second visit a few hours later, we spotted a group of people singing around the same piano with an undeniably infectious positive energy, although the vocals were a bit off-key.)
We went inside and walked through an interactive gallery, showcasing the arts center’s history and features, on a sloping corridor to the main visitors’ hall. Enclosed within the structures are a café, a children’s playground, and an open-air chamber with stone-shaped seats for those who wish to briefly escape the air-conditioned interior – such a space in Indonesia would have been filled with people who smoke. After lingering for quite some time, we headed toward the exit, through a branch of Taiwan’s most popular bookstore whose aesthetically-pleasing interior design exuded calm and peace.
Designed by Dutch architecture firm Mecanoo, this was opened to the public in 2018
Weiwuying’s outdoor theater as viewed from the large park behind it
On the same MRT line, the train took us further east to our next destination. The Dadong Arts Center is smaller in size, but its architecture is equally intriguing. Completed in 2012, the compound consists of four major parts: a theater, an exhibition hall, an art library, and an education center. The open space between those buildings is covered with a contiguous membrane roof which provides protection from Kaohsiung’s hot climate and periodic torrential downpours. The public area was mostly deserted when we came – it was a workday – but I can imagine in the afternoon and on weekends it must be brimming with activities.
What I found most intriguing about the architecture was the wide holes in the roof that appeared as if they were inverted volcanoes. On a rainy day, these actually help collect the water, while on a particularly hot day, they allow warm air to rise which then generates a fresh draft to cool down the spaces below. When architecture not only serves a purpose of making a great impression, but also benefits the local community who will most likely use the building more than any other people, you know that it’s a job well done.
While both Weiwuying and the Dadong Arts Center have certainly helped to propel Kaohsiung as an emerging cultural destination in the region, for the city to truly flourish as a cultural hub it needs more than just big arts centers. Fortunately, smaller community-focused as well as privately-funded institutions have been opening up, including the Neiwei Arts Center. Across town at the southeastern foot of Ape Hill, a former military hostel which was built in 1967 as a transit point for Taiwanese soldiers going to the frontlines at Kinmen and the Matsu Islands – both are located just a stone’s throw away from mainland China – was purchased by its current owner in 2016. Two years later, it opened as Alien Art Centre. Don’t expect to see specimens of extra-terrestrial creatures here, though. The name was in fact inspired by Alian/Alien, a rural district of Kaohsiung where the owner grew up.
But before we went there, we took a detour a few blocks away to sample a uniquely local breakfast dish. Milkfish (Chanos chanos) is a species of saltwater fish that lives near the coast as well as in the brackish water of estuaries. Popular in maritime Southeast Asia, especially in Indonesia and the Philippines, it has also been cultivated in southern Taiwan for three centuries. In places like Kaohsiung and Tainan, the fish is very much loved by the locals who cook it in different ways. While I’ve sampled both fried and grilled milkfish, I’ve never had it in a rice congee, and that’s exactly what we were after. Run by grannies, this hole in the wall also served other dishes, including steamed milkfish with sliced pineapple and fried milkfish intestines; all came with julienned ginger. The innards were surprisingly tasty, and they complemented the soft texture of the meat really well.
With full stomachs, off we went to Alien Art Centre. Had there not been greenery in its front yard, the gray brutalist architecture would have looked even colder on this particularly cloudy morning. But behind its gloomy façade were art installations that were not only thought-provoking, but also awe-inspiring – and a bit outlandish at times. First, we went inside a darkened room where we sat on a raised platform in front of a dimly-lit long glass tube. The chamber was filled with the ambient sounds of Kaohsiung Harbor, and beneath us the minute vibrations echoed the boat journeys the soldiers took to the frontlines. Occasionally, an illuminated water droplet glided through the tube, representing a soldier leaving the harbor. Crossing, as the artwork is called, evoked a profound sense of contemplative melancholy.
The successive galleries displayed equally arresting pieces of art. James Turrell’s Corinth Canal, The Diamond teased every visitor to sit in front of a diamond on the wall with slowly changing hypnotic colors. Chou Shu-Yi’s Last Words which was presented in different forms all at once (a video, a static installation, and a light-and-shadow presentation) was very poignant, for it questioned what tangible and intangible things humans can leave behind. Meanwhile, Jiro Kamata’s artworks challenged the notion that jewelry must only be procured through extraction. Using old camera lenses, he crafted new objects that are pleasing to the eye.
We spent almost 1.5 hours exploring this arts center, one of many that have been springing up in Kaohsiung in recent years. If the city can maintain this momentum and stay on its positive trajectory, we should expect to see an urban area filled with world-class cultural presentations, big and small, taking over derelict remnants of the city’s industrial past. Everyone will be watching closely.