The National Kaohsiung Center for the Arts, also known as Weiwuying, is planing a series of events later in the year to mark its five-year anniversary, Chien Wen-pin (簡文彬), the center’s general and artistic director, said on Tuesday.
Seventy performances, including 17 exclusive shows, are to be held from September to January, featuring performers from Taiwan and abroad, Chien told a news conference.
Among the highlights would be the “Jazz at Weiwuying” event from Sept. 8 to 10, with prominent jazz musicians Joey Alexander, a Grammy Award nominee for best improvised jazz solo, and Taiwanese trumpeter Stacey Wei (魏廣皓) included in the lineup.
Photo: CNA
A special four-day celebration would take place at Weiwuying from Oct. 7 to 10, with a free open-house activity on the last day of the event, at which visitors would be able to enter all four of the art center’s concert halls and experience immersive theater, as well as a game, Chien said.
Aside from the special performances and activities, the center would be using event visual design called “soaring,” which won a Red Dot Design award, Chien said.
He described the visual design as symbolizing the art center’s “unique personality” over the past five years and its ambition to continue soaring.
“Weiwuying has become an important icon of art in southern Taiwan, with local and international performers wanting to perform here,” Chien said, adding that the complex has attracted more than 10 million visitors since it was opened in 2018.
A series of workshops, lectures and lessons dedicated to engaging the public would also be taking place in the coming months, he said.
More than 85,000 people have participated in the activities since they were first held in 2019, he said.
“We have always wanted to make Weiwuying everyone’s art center, and that intention has remained the same,” he said.
Those interested in attending the special events can buy tickets from Tuesday next week for shows from September to November and from Oct. 17 for shows in December.
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