Department of Cultural Affairs

By Psyche Cho
Staff Reporter

Renowned curator and art critic Huang Hai-ming assumed the position as the new curator of Taipei Fine Arts Museum (TFAM) in a ceremony held July 2, with Taipei Mayor Hau Long-bin and Cultural Affair Department Commissioner Liu Wei-gong in attendance.

In his inauguration ceremony speech the newly-appointed curator stressed the importance of the accumulation of knowledge economy, gathering creative talents and making dynamic connections inside and outside the urban area in a new era which emphasizes global city competitiveness.

Commissioner Liu particularly praised Huang's professionalism and achievements in visual art and academic fields. In his speech, Liu expressed expectation that under the leadership of Huang, the entire museum staff would join force to dream up new policies applicable in the 21st century to respond to the rapidly changing world.

Liu also mentioned that Taipei City Government will pour in more resources to build the TFAM and the Flora Expo halls in the surroundings into a urban museum clusters in the future.

Since its foundation in 1983, TFAM has spared no effort in cultivating and participating in the establishment of the contemporary arts scene in Taiwan. Huang further said that he expect the museum to serve as a new platform for dialogue under such a new concept.  

"We look forward to maintaining links with different fields and building a cross-border and more comprehensive cultural vision in the future," said Huang in the ceremony.

Huang holds a PH.D. in Aesthetics, Science and Technology of the Arts from Université de Paris VIII. Since the early 1990s he has actively participated in planning arts exhibitions. He is also a keen commentator of contemporary arts, and has done tremendous research involving arts empowerment projects in urban spaces.

Huang was the former director of the Department of Cultural Creative Industries, National Taipei University of Education before he assumed the position at TFAM.