Tainan Municipal Cultural Center

With its construction initiated in Tune 1980, Tainan Municipal Cultural Center was officially inaugurated on October 6, 1984. It was renamed Tainan Municipal Arts Center in 2000 in the wake of the establishment of the Municipal Cultural Bureau. On May 20, 2004, the center was ordered to operate under its original name—Tainan Municipal Cultural Center, an event profoundly signifying a turning point at which the government began to place greater emphasis on cultural development.

The center is located in the eastern district of Tainan city. Its main complex comprises antiquity-abundant red-bricked buildings, delicate mini-sized fountains, and extensive stretch of green grassy fields and gardens. Flock with Barclay Memorial Park across the street, the center has come as the most comprehensive community of cultures, arts and leisure in the city. The main form of the center consists of three major parts. Viewing from the entrance on Chunghua East Road, the Cultural Artifacts Exhibition Hall is on the left, the International Conference Hall is on the right, and the Performing Hall is in the middle. They are all cubic-shaped, connected by one long hallway, and decorated with Chinese character. A symmetrical structure can be found in the Performance Hall with a wide variety of designs on the shapes and windows on both sides of the center. The whole picture of the building appears simple, concise and powerful. In this grand architecture, the Performance Hall distinguishes itself from the International Conference Hall and the Cultural Artifacts Exhibition Hall by its red-bricked decorations. The three-in-one combination exhibits a brand new style, making a well-furnished cultural palace that lives up to the expectation of Tainan citizens. At the sight of the symbolic classical Chinese architecture of “Palace by Water” and “Winding Bridges with Fountains”, and with the reflections and images of flying swallows around, it makes the visitors feel very comfortable and peaceful.

In the main body of the center, the Performance Hall is a three-floor building with 2010 seats in the fan-shape area. It provides a set of world-class sound, lighting and stage designs to accommodate a wide variety of traditional and modern arts performances. The International Conference Hall, containing 129 seats and comprehensive oral translation equipment, can be used to hold various kinds of workshops, symposiums or international conferences. The Cultural Artifacts Exhibition Hall and its three galleries display not only the works of contemporary domestic artists but also world-class artistic and cultural objects. The Music Library and the Children’s Reading Room collect music-related data and provide audio-visual service. It facilitates the increasing music-loving population of the city. Right in front of the Performance Hall is a sculpture of phoenix, symbolizing eternity, surrounded by colorful cool fountains. At sunrise or sunset, rainbows are seen around. To the right, the sculptures “Apart or Together” and “By Fate” look like a reality or a fantasy. And a set of sculptures “From the Past” and “To the Future” can be found by the fountain pond. These spots are always the favorite scenes that the tourists try to capture by taking picture. They also represent the expectation of Tainan citizens that the center will take traditional cultures as its basis to develop the center into an operational center of international arts and cultural exchanges. To achieve the high management efficiency and operational objectives, the center works hard to provide comprehensive hardware facilities for cultural and artistic activities, to organize dynamic cultural activities, and to make major reforms in cultural development. The Performing Arts Section, the Visual Arts Section, the Arts and Cultures Promotion Section, and the Administrative Section are intended to cooperate under the same goal and ideal of the center in the management and implementation of all of its affairs.