Pier-2 Art Center in Kaohsiung is growing from strength to strength, with visitors up from about 890,000 in 2010 to 3.23 million last year, second only to Cijin Island’s 5 million among government-run tourist draws in the southern Taiwan port city.
“The area’s creative arts atmosphere is very attractive to young people,” Kaohsiung City Government Tourism Bureau Director-General Hsu Chuan-sheng said. The center is expected to attract a record 4 million visitors this year, he added.
“The facility’s pleasant surroundings and a variety of exhibitions also make it suitable for people of all ages,” Hsu said.
Located in disused warehouses, the harbor-side center began taking shape in 2001, when a group of Taiwan artists established the Pier-2 Artistic Development Association. It opened in February 2002, with support from local schools with design programs.
When the city’s Bureau of Cultural Affairs took over the complex in 2006, there were only three warehouses open. That number rose to 25 last year, with plans to add three more this year. The burgeoning exhibition space has allowed the annual number of shows to increase from 140 in 2012 to 160 last year, with the prospect of even more in 2014.
According to an academic who was involved in the early days of the center, the main audience at the time was students and teachers. Since the bureau took over, the center has worked to serve the city’s entire community and develop an international perspective. The bureau has employed a wide range of resources, allowing the facility to continually transform and grow into a much different, livelier place. (SDH)