The unveiling of the Taiwan Contemporary Culture Lab (C-Lab) at the Creative Expo Taiwan provides a glimpse into the cultural opportunities that the capital has to offer, Minister of Culture Shih Che (史哲) said on Thursday.
Based at the former site of the Air Force Command Headquarters, the C-Lab is a “precious piece of land located between the Presidential Office and the Taipei City Government,” Shih said at the opening ceremony of this year’s expo.
Following the success of the Huashan 1914 Creative Park and Songshan Tobacco Plant — important sites for cultural and creative industries that were transformed from idle spaces through revitalization and reutilization efforts — the C-Lab is expected to be a free cultural field that reflects the democracy and openness of Taiwan, he said.
Photo: CNA
Turning the rigid military base into a cultural stage was the biggest challenge of the Creative Expo, which features the C-Lab as one of its five main exhibition areas, he said.
Shih said he hoped the C-Lab could be the “most important cultural investment in Taipei that brings Taiwan’s culture to another level on the international stage.”
During the 10-day expo, which runs until Oct. 1, the C-Lab is to feature performances, exhibitions and installations that combine art, technology and civic participation.
At first glance, the C-Lab might look like a construction site, so the “unveiling” is a way to facilitate communication with the public about the possibilities it offers, chief curator Wu Han-chung (吳漢中) said.
He invited visitors to use the computer set up at a futuristic exhibition that utilizes artificial intelligence (AI) technology to propose suggestions for the future of the C-Lab, including its function, design and building materials.
Curating at a site where the restoration of historic buildings is ongoing presented limitations, but also stimulated creative discussions on how to incorporate the construction element into the exhibition — thus was born the Working in Progress X GPU project.
The project uses the construction site of the Old Office Building, which was designated as a municipal monument in 2015, as the “stage” for a light and music show, making scaffoldings and canvasses into a part of an art installation.
“The role scaffolding plays in construction is similar to the graphics processing unit in AI technology,” curator Feng Chien-chang (馮建彰) said.
Music related to the air force and images symbolizing the “unveiling” are hidden in the show, which begins at 5:30pm and lasts until 8pm daily.
The Formosa Circus Art has set up two circus tents and invited 30 teams of performers to bring circus shows, workshops and interactive activities to make the experimental site more appealing and approachable.
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