History
In 1976, following the central government’s decision to enhance the cultural life of the City, the Taipei Municipal Government embarked on a plan to build a high-standard museum. The construction was inaugurated in October 1980, and completed in January of 1983 during the mayoral tenure of Lee Teng-hui. Ms. Martha Su from the National Palace Museum was appointed head of the museum’s Preparatory Office. The Taipei Fine Arts Museum (TFAM) officially opened its doors on August 8, and its initial exhibition was unveiled on December 24, 1983.
On September 6, 1986, Dr. Huang Kuang-Nan was appointed TFAM’s first director by the Education Minister of Taipei City. Dr. Huang was later appointed Director of the National Museum of History on February 27,1995. His successor was Mr. Chang Chen-Yu who became director on September 7, 1995. On June 4,1996, Director Chang was replaced by Ms. Liu Pao-Kuei, Deputy Director of the Ministry of Education. The following Museum director was Dr. Lin Mun-Lee, an associate professor of the National Taipei Teachers College who served for four years until July 31, 2000. After Dr. Lin’s departure, Mr. Huang Tsai-Lang, then the Deputy Director of the City’s Department of Cultural Affairs, took up the post on September 1, 2000 and served in this position until March 26, 2007.
On August 16, 2007, Ms. Hsieh Hsiao-yun (Jean Wang), former director of the Cultural Affairs Bureau of Taoyuan County was appointed Deputy Director of the Taipei City Department of Cultural Affairs and the acting Director of TFAM. On January 1, 2009, Ms. Hsieh Hsiao-yun was appointed as the Director of the Taipei Fine Arts Museum.On March 1, 2010 , Ms. Hsieh Hsiao-yun was appointed as the Commissioner of the Department of Cultural Affairs. After Ms. Hsieh’s departure, Ms. Chen Wen-Ling , the Deputy Director of the Taipei Fine Arts Museum, took up the post.On September 15, 2010 Mr. Wu Kwang-Tyng took the position of the Director, and tenure ended on July 31, 2011. From August 1 to September 4, 2011, deputy director Munich Liu was appointed as the acting director of the museum. On September 5, 2011, Weng Chih-Tsung took up the post as the acting director of the museum. On July 2,2012, Huang Hai-Ming takes up the post as the director of the museum.
Architecture
To better meet citizens’ demands, the Museum Plan was approved in 1978 with the location of the Yuan Shan Second Municipal Park on Zhong Shan N. Road, Section 3, as its tentative base. The project was completed in January 1983 and was followed by the Museum’s official inauguration on December 24, which led the embarkation on its mission of serving the citizenry. The task of designing and construction was given over to the architect, Kao Er-Pan.
The conception and construction of TFAM’s physical structure is uniquely creative and symbolic. It combines a rather unique architectural plan with a natural courtyard, thus corresponding quite favorably with the initial aims and features of the Museum’s original blueprint. The architecture is infused with elements borrowed from traditional Chinese architecture, which are presented via the structure of piled brackets in the form of suspended corridors, that, together, form a tubular-shaped composition. This tube-shape is identical to the Chinese character for ‘fountain’, hence fostering the museum’s analogue as a live source of culture.
Symmetrical and suspended gallery spaces are spread on each floor to form a new space in which visitors can view and appreciate art. The grand windows allow visitors inside of the museum to take in the beauteous views that overlook Yuan Shan,Fine Arts Park Area and the surrounding environments. Zhong Shan N. Road, generally known as ‘national road’ and the usual route taken by foreign leaders who enter and exit the country, extends to the museum’s left. The Museum’s location is also extremely easily accessible and can be reached by either the MRT (Metro) or bus.