Taipei Travel

The Taipei Fine Arts Museum (TFAM) will be undergoing a series of renovation starting September 18. The main exhibition halls and public areas within the facility will be temporarily closed to the public.

Also, in preparation for major hardware and content upgrades, the entire complex will close its doors to the public starting October 11. The project is slated for completion in late summer of 2018.

In light of the largest renovation of TFAM since its founding in 1983, a series of activities will be held at the institution and in its vicinity (the plaza in front of TFAM) throughout the renovation period. During the overhaul, all activities taking place at the institution will be free of charge.

Reimagining TFAM

Now in its 34th year, the facility is facing challenges stemming from outdated hardware. Despite annual adjustments to its air conditioning system, the facility has difficulties complying with the modern standards of artwork maintenance in recent years. Furthermore, the aged system results in side-effects such as the inability to regulate temperature and humidity for different zones, thereby causing poor air quality inside the entire museum even when outfitting sections inside the museum for temporary exhibitions.

Furthermore, the upcoming renovation will also alter exhibition spaces inside the museum to meet the demands of modern art exhibitions and better ensure the safety of displayed items. Upgrades to the tour service center and volunteer standby room also facilitates the management of volunteers. Changes to floor guides and signs ensure more efficient control in the area of crowd flow. In addition, efforts will be invested on inspecting areas that cannot be thoroughly examined during the afterhours of the museum.

Activities during the Renovation Period

Preparations for the overhaul will begin on September 18 with areas on the first floor, third floor, and basement areas. Visitors will still be able to access exhibitions on the second floor, 209 room, first floor lobby, and parts of the basement floor. The exhibitions at these respective areas, including “A Space Andante” and “Time Capsule – the Writing Project” will remain open until the end of the upcoming Double-ten holidays. The museum building will be closed to the public starting October 11.

Starting September 8, a series of activities will take place at the museum’s basement floor. The official activation ceremony for “Reimagining TFAM” will take place at 5 PM on September 17. Furthermore, the public art installation “Sanctuary” by Wang Wen-chih at the outdoor plaza will open to the public starting October 7.

After the closing of the museum on October 11, the outdoor plaza will host the exhibition “Time Capsule 2.0”. On November 23, the 2017 Taipei Arts Awards will be relocated to the Taipei Museum of Fine Arts. For 2018, the X-site exhibition for architecturally-themed installations will be displayed at the outdoor plaza between April and July. Meanwhile, the staff of TFAM will continue to interact with elementary school students through the “Art – Not at Home” in-depth art education program and with the public through TFAM’s facebook fan page.

The majority of day-to-day operations of museum staff will continue throughout the overhaul, including exhibition planning, acquisitions for museum collections, artwork repairs, organization of promotion activities, volunteer hiring and training, and journal publication.

During the renovation period, all activities held at TFAM outdoor plaza will be free to the public. The hours for public art installations at the plaza will be unaffected – 9:30 AM to 5:30 PM Tuesdays through Sunday, with hours extended to 8:30 PM on Saturday.