Chiayi Cultural and Creative Industries Park, situated in the southern city of Taiwan in an agricultural heartland, is expanding the country’s imaginative sphere from the urban centers to the rural south.
Nine refurbished Japanese colonial era (1895-1945) structures stand on the park grounds, where a sorghum liquor—known locally as kaoliang—distillery operated from 1916 to 1999. After its closure, buildings on the 3.92-hectare site were renovated by the Ministry of Culture.
The G9 Creative Park is located on and around a former sorghum liquor distillery.
Also called G9 Creative Park, the site was designed to combine and amplify local service industry resources by serving as the nucleus of cultural and creative business growth in the region, according to Lee Liang-wen, senior executive officer at the MOC’s Department of Cultural and Creative Development.
G9’s central location among the farming communities of Chiayi County and neighboring Yunlin County and Tainan City has enabled it to augment the area’s development, Lee said. Since 2003, when the park opened, it has served as a venue for exhibitions, forums, performances and shops.
By joining with the Chiayi City Government-administered Chiayi Art Museum across the street, G9 hosts large-scale events like the 2021 edition of Taiwan Design Expo. Co-organized by CCG and the Ministry of Economic Affairs’ Industrial Development Bureau, the event attracted more than 600,000 visitors over the course of 11 days.
The mixed historical and modern structure of Chiayi Art Museum is located across the street from G9.
Now home to over 40 art- and culture-related entities, G9 provides studio space for actors, ceramists, painters, photographers, musicians and other creative professionals.
Some of these are full-time artists, many of whom are locals returning to their hometown, like Chiayi Traditional Orchestra Founder Lu Yi-yun and Our Theatre Executive Director Vivian Tsai. They both hope to see closer future collaboration between the MOC, CCG and G9-based businesses and groups to further promote the park’s cultural brand.
To this end, the MOC integrates resources and support from government units, nearby communities, educational organizations and local enterprises. Ongoing initiatives include an artist-in-residence program at the park in partnership with CAM.
These cooperative initiatives are expected to bear fruit in the form of a close-knit cultural and creative community that offers a wealth of opportunities for both locals and visitors. (E) (By Pat Gao)
G9 is home to a range of art- and culture-related entities including this café.
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(This article is adapted from “Creative Foundation” in the March/April issue of Taiwan Review. The Taiwan Review archives dating to 1951 are available online.)