Exploring the Partnership Between Art Museums and Communities: Playing Together and Learning from the Locals - A Conversation with Liu Wei-Gong and Lin Shu-Hao
An art museum can serve as a gateway to explore art, a hub for diverse perspectives, and a platform for open dialogue. The New Taipei City Art Museum embarks on a journey into the community through the "Art Co-Creation Project of the Sanxia and Yingge District" and the "Yingge Art Town Project," fostering genuine conversations by deeply engaging with the local context. Lin Shu-Hao, the director of the "Sanying Art" project," and Liu Wei-Gong, the director of the "Yingge Art Town" project," contemplate how to respond to the real needs of the local area through art co-creation.
The two people from different generations have long dedicated themselves to community art projects. When pondering the partnership between art museums and communities, they look forward to bringing art to the community through valued added experience, slowly but steadily taking root in the local area. Lin Shu-Hao believes that art co-creation is a process of learning from the local community. Thinking that it is necessary to go to the local area to explore and observe carefully. Throughout the process of playing together, they identify the highlights and prototypes of co-creation.
"We must reconnect with the people living in the community, ignite their potential, and let them know that they have the ability to transcend their current way of life," says Liu Wei-Gong. What he cares about is how to join hands with local residents and revitalize local art and culture with a fresh perspective. Through the "Yingge Art Town" project, he hopes to showcase the works of those deeply involved in the arts within the community, using cultural performances to highlight the unique "Yingge Lifestyle."
Stepping out of the museum and into the streets, on the journey to strengthen the partnership between the community and the art museum, Lin Shu-Hao and Liu Wei-Gong believe that by promoting community arts, local talents can be discovered and a sense of identity can be forged. With new partners, they aim to collectively think, explore, and take action to nurture a new era for an art town.