Museum 207, which opened yesterday in Taipei’s Dadaocheng area (大稻埕), is today launching an exhibition showcasing Taiwanese terrazzo works.
The museum’s name is derived from its address at 207 Dihua St Sec 1 in a building built in 1962.
At the opening ceremony, museum director Chen Kuo-tzu (陳國慈), who acquired the building last year, said she hopes the museum in Taipei’s oldest commercial district would inspire people to cherish the city’s historic buildings, which embody the collective memory of its residents.
The former National Performing Arts Center president also founded the Taipei Story House on Zhongshan N Road.
She said she was deeply moved by the appreciation people have shown for old buildings during her time as Story House president, which motivated her to buy the Dadaocheng building and transform it into a museum.
Historic buildings expert Lee Chian-lang (李乾朗) praised Chen’s efforts to revitalize the building and said he hopes that her example would encourage more people to follow in her footsteps.
Taiwanese history researcher Chuang Yung-ming (莊永明) said the museum would add to the area’s cultural charm.
The building formerly housed the Kuanghotang Pharmacy dating to the Qing Dynasty and was the residence of Chuang Shu-chi (莊淑旂), the nation’s first female Chinese medicine practitioner, museum volunteer Anchi Hua (華安綺) said.
The building was designated as a cultural heritage site by the city government in 2009 largely due to its terrazzo floors that portray a bee collecting nectar, a bunch of grapes and a Korean ginseng plant.
Once common in Dadaocheng, terrazzo is on the verge of extinction in Taipei, Hua said.
The exhibition showcases photographs of 185 terrazzo works collected from around the nation, as well as modern terrazzo pieces by senior artisans.
Visitors will be able to access the roof to view Minnan-style rooftops that predate the museum’s building.
The exhibition runs until Dec. 10.
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