YO-WEN MAO

The Museum of Contemporary Art Taipei is the first art institution in Taiwan dedicated exclusively to contemporary art. The museum building was originally the Jan Cheng Elementary School, established during the Japanese colonial period. In 1945, the building became the Taipei Government City Hall. After the government moved to Hsinyi District in 1994, the policy of the reuse of historical buildings prompted the old city hall to be transformed in May 2001 into the Museum of Contemporary Art Taipei and Jan Cheng Junior High School. MOCA Taipei is the first museum in Taiwan to be successfully built in a historical building, and it is the only one of its kind to share the same architecture with a school.

Since its inauguration, the museum has combined its historical architecture with contemporary art, entwining yesterday’s memories with today’s culture and introducing the most innovative and avant-garde visual aesthetics, media technologies, architectural design, and fashion from Taiwan and overseas. At the same time, MOCA Taipei continuously promotes artistic education and encourages the community to regard the aesthetics of everyday life. In the future, MOCA Taipei will persevere on its mission to promote and motivate multidisciplinary creativity both locally and internationally. With rich and diverse artistic performances, the museum will vigorously introduce creativity into Taipei, art into the community, and the ever evolving exhibition technology into the new life of the historical building.