Murals turn a housing estate into an exhibition space.
Across the street from the massive white structure of the National Kaohsiung Center for the Arts lies a colorful community known as Weiwu Mimi Art Village. Full of brightly painted residential apartment buildings, it is one of the southern city’s most popular spots for social media check-ins.
The village, originally a neighborhood of mostly public housing units built around four decades ago, started to transform in 2016 thanks to the Wallriors Street Art Festival organized by Lingya District Office. The annual festival aims to bring art to a wider audience by taking it out of conventional galleries and embedding it in the fabric of the city.
“Welcome to My Room,” a mural created by resident Bamboo Yang (楊惟竹), greets visitors on the wall of a three-story building at the entrance to the village. A stroll through the neighborhood reveals images in a variety of styles from cartoons to detailed depictions of wildlife. To date, 80 artists from 25 countries have created nearly 200 murals, installation pieces and graffiti works there.
Weiwu Mimi Art Village prompts visitors and inhabitants alike to reconsider residential environments as places where the practical issue of housing can intersect with visual excitement and generate local pride.
—by Jim Hwang
The estate is both canvas and exhibition space for over 80 artists from 25 countries whose installations and murals transform the experience of urban living.
Fun photo opportunities abound, and visitors’ appreciation in turn inspires pride in local residents.
A sculpture tells the story of the neighborhood’s transformation.
“Lingya is a Good Place” by Taiwan illustrator Daily Aesthetics