The historical site known as the Red House (紅樓) has undergone a renovation and now plays a role in the community, drawing a varied crowd of artists, tourists, moviegoers and people with alternative lifestyles.
“The goal of the team assigned to manage the historical site is to establish it as a platform for the development of a multi-cultural environment and a center for cultural and creative industries in Taipei,” said Liu Wen-ting, vice supervisor of the Red House for the Taipei Culture Foundation.
The Red House is a Western-style brick structure in Taipei’s Ximending (西門町) area, built in 1908 during the period of Japanese occupation. The location originally served as one of Taipei’s earliest public markets.
Taipei City Government’s Department of Cultural Affairs commissioned the Taipei Culture Foundation to manage the Red House in November 2007. Since that time, the area has undergone a cultural transformation, including the creation of a “Creative Boutique” marketplace for artists and designers in the Cruciform Building section of the structure, the opening of the Moonlight Movie Theater every weekend and reorganization of an outdoor cafe.
“After the renovation, we have received about 300,000 visitors every month, 40 percent of them from other countries,” Liu said, adding that most of the tourists come from Hong Kong or Japan.
The key mission of the management team now is to transition from helping young, amateur creators present their work to helping artists open their own boutiques and develop their careers, Liu said.
“Currently we have 16 boutiques inside the Red House and we have also started to hold exhibitions to present some of the artwork in the main area. The first of these showcases the works of Heidi Huang (黃海蒂) and this exhibit runs through the end of next month,” Liu said.
The foundation plans to take some of the artists to Shanghai next month to promote their works there.
Another development is centered in the south plaza behind the building, an area with many cafes and bars that became a popular hangout for the gay community.
“This area used to be called the ‘Rainbow Plaza’ because of its open and free attitude toward homosexuals … but now many people bring their families and tourists come here too. In future, I believe, the place will belong to everyone,” said the owner of Taipei Bear Bar, surnamed Lee (李).
A storeowner called Gaga agreed, saying that Ximending has traditionally been friendly to the gay community. He expressed optimism about the future development of the neighborhood.
“The area is convenient for public transportation and has many restaurants, cafes and gyms that attract people, not just the gay community, but also tourists from other countries and locals too,” he said.
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