Controversy surrounded the transformation of the old Taipei Winery Building into an arts center from the word "go."
When artist Tang Huang-chen (湯皇珍) and members of the Golden Bow Theater (金枝演社) decided the abandoned site was a perfect venue for the alternative art scene in 1997, it didn't take long for the authorities to intervene. The first performance, a play called Trojans, was cut short after the local police precinct decided to raid to the center.
Outraged by these actions, large numbers of Taiwan's non-mainstream artists joined forces in an effort to turn the abandoned buildings into a public art space. Two years of demonstrations and petitions finally paid off in 1999 when the government allowed the Association of Culture and Environmental Reform in Taiwan (藝術文化環境改造協會) to manage the site.
After four years the curtain finally came crashing down on the artists' association. In June 2002, local media ran banner headlines about a drug-fueled drum party that had been held at the arts center. And in November last year The Sun Son Theater (身聲演繹社) courted controversy when it staged a play entitled Circle of Love, which included nudity.
Enough was enough, and in December last year the Council for Cultural Affairs (文建會) regained control of the winery and incorporated it into its Creative Taiwan: Creativity and Culture Industry Development Project (文化創意產業發展計畫).
Renaming it the Huashan Cultural and Creative Industry Center (
Since January this year the group has set about creating what many visitors have described as a "much more user-friendly Huashan, with a park-like environment."
Not everyone was happy, however.
While some of the predominantly "alternative" artists who once displayed often dreadful works of art screamed "foul" and alleged that the "new arrangement allows for less creative freedom," it's hard to deny that Huashan today offers visitors an environment that is much more pleasing to both the eye and the palate.
"The contract was pretty open and allowed us to put on whatever exhibitions or performances we thought fitting," said art administrator Liya Wang (王麗雅). "We do have to ensure that the people we book stick to certain guidelines and if we are holding a music event we inform the local police first. But after what happened here in the past, that is hardly surprising."
Late last year, the CCA repaired some of the damaged buildings, replacing broken windows, tore down the wall which once surrounded the area and turned what was a car park and a dump site into a pleasant, grassed public park.
"I think that because there was a wall around the place people thought that it was a private place where the artists could do whatever they liked," Wang said. "We've heard a lot of positive [feedback] and people now feel that the role of the center has changed. Families come here to walk around the park at the weekends and the coffee shop and outdoor seating is always popular. In July and August the center was the busiest I think it's ever been."
This month, the center plays host to its largest exhibition to date, the Beauty of a Thousand Years Angkor Cultural Festival, a mix of genuine artifacts and reproductions of Angkor sculpture and architecture.
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