In 1997, the Central Taiwan Council for Cultural Development, The Executive Yuan and the Taiwan Provincial Government joined forces to promote the arts in Central Taiwan. One of the fruits of their work is Stock 20 (
For the project, the official bodies asked Tunghai University's Department of Architecture (
PHOTO: GAVIN PHIPPS, TAIPEI TIMES
The faculty was asked to compile a report on the condition and number of disused buildings in the Taichung and Nantou areas. In the course of the investigation, the department discovered numerous abandoned railway warehouses scattered throughout the Taichung area.
PHOTO: GAVIN PHIPPS, TAIPEI TIMES
While a majority of these structures were constructed during the Japanese occupation and were already over 50 years old, many had continued to be utilized by the Taiwan Railway Administration until as recently as 1992.
Sitting adjacent to railway tracks, the deserted buildings were hardly prime real estate and plans to demolish many of them were well underway.
PHOTO: GAVIN PHIPPS, TAIPEI TIMES
One structure was the 500-ping depot next to Taichung Railway Station. Once a Taiwan Railway Administration (
"The entire building looked to be in really bad condition from the outside, but it was structurally sound so we knew it wasn't going to suddenly collapse," explains Kuo Jien-jien (
Renovation of the once derelict warehouses was completed in May last year, and a month later the freshly painted and refurbished structure opened its doors to the public.
Although the initial government-sponsored scheme was aimed at the renovation of the main warehouse the committee decided to incorporate warehouses 21 to 26 into their plans, enabling the site's final layout to include studio space for 12 artists, a mini-theater, a coffee shop and even an observation tower.
The main warehouse was transformed into a large open-plan exhibition hall that houses month-long exhibitions. The adjoining smaller warehouses are now studios where individual artists display and sell their works.
"The idea for the city to give artists a place to work on year-long tenures is a really good idea. Although few people are buying works with the economy the way it is at present, the art spaces attract a lot of people who come to look at the art and chat," says Chen Kun-chun (
Along with the colorful paint scheme given Stock 20 and a brightly painted water tower, the artists who now call the smaller warehouses home have decorated their galleries utilizing some rather odd objects and in very unique fashion.
The mannequins, tambourines and even umbrellas that have been fixed to the walls and windows of these studios make the warehouses appear rather surreal to the passerby
At present there are nine artists based in the smaller warehouses, giving visitors the opportunity to view a large array of contrasting art. There's modern computer-generated art, abstract art and installation art.
While these artists occupy warehouses 22 through 26 for up to a year, the largest of the six smaller warehouses, number 21, has become a permanent performance theater and rehearsal space for the Taichung-based Acme Physical Theatre Company.
The company recently played host to a group of students from the Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts. And while the six Aussie students and their teacher had no idea what to expect from the rehearsal space, the center proved more than adequate.
"It's a great idea to have such a place beside the train station. It's a wonderful utilization of space that normally people wouldn't want to use," said Reyes De Lara, coordinator of the Australian academy's contemporary dance troupe. "And with the addition of a performance space, where small intimate performances can be held, I think the entire concept of an arts space has been well thought out."
Stock 20 now attracts hundreds of visitors every week. And not all of them are art lovers. According to Kuo, a large number who visit the center do so to look at the trains rather than view the art, "because we're located as close to the railway as you can get and not be in danger. I'd say more than half of the visitors who come here during the weekend are trainspotters not art lovers. Dozens camp out outside the coffee shop or in the observation tower and take photos of the trains."
Stock 20 (
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