Art Network of Railway Warehouses
The birth of the Art Network of Railway Warehouses was because of the policy of “reusing vacant space” promoted by the Council of Cultural Affairs (CCA). In YAO Jui-Chung’s article, titled “Practice and Reflection on the Art Network of Railway Warehouses and the Reuse of Vacant Space,” he points out that the policy inherits and continues the project of a national art village, which was terminated in 2000. Originally, the project planned to establish a “national art village” to facilitate and increase exchange between Taiwan and the world; however, the project was unfortunately stopped by the Jiji Earthquake in 1999. Subsequently, its preparation office was transformed into the Art Village Resource Center, which was responsible for guiding and providing consultation to small-scale art villages and artist-in-residency programs around Taiwan while further promoting the “Five-year Development and Renovation Project of the Art Network of Railway Warehouses in Central Taiwan.” In 1997, the Taiwan Provincial Government’s Department of Culture commissioned LIOU Shuenn-Ren and SHEN Zhi-Sun, who were both professors at Tunghai University’s Department of Architecture, to conduct the “Evaluation of Learning, Creation and Exhibition Sites for Artists.” In Liou’s article, “Formation and Meaning of the Art Network of Railway Warehouses,” he points out that the idea of the Department of Culture was inspired by the policy proposed by American president Franklin Delano Roosevelt and hoped to foster local cultural development through art residencies in local vacant sites.
In the site evaluation, due to the rise of communal awareness and the trend of artists returning to their hometowns, railway warehouses became the first choice because of convenient transportation and their locations in public living areas, which were closely connected with towns and cities. From eighty-seven designated railway venues around Taiwan, twenty-four were selected to become hubs that later constituted the Art Network of Railway Warehouses. Among them, the Taichung Station was at the central spot, both in terms of geography and the railway system. It connected northern and southern railways, and has been a historic site and geographical center, where the Taichung Branch of the Taiwan Cultural Association was founded. Therefore, its warehouses no. 20 to no. 26 were selected to form the first experimental site that was subsequently named “Stock20 Art Network of the Railway Warehouses.” In Liou’s opinion, the meaning of the Art Network of Railway Warehouses lies in “a constant discovery and interpretation of the characteristics of Taiwanese local culture” through the conversion of the vacant warehouses. Because of their distinctive spatial qualities, these warehouses formed an alternative site different from art museums and art galleries. Consequently, they were “beneficial to the development of more avant-garde or experimental forms of art” and could “strengthen exchange and collaboration with international art villages.”
Before the Art Network of Railway Warehouses was established, the railway warehouses were already closely connected to the development of local art scenes and artists. Some of these spaces had been uncovered and operated by artists. For example, HUANG Chin-Ho rented warehouse no. 15 at the Taichung Station as his art studio, where he used to present various exhibitions. WANG Wen-Chih and his wife TSAI Mei-Wen rented warehouse no. 5 at the Chiayi Station, which was the very first example of artists using the warehouses at the Chiayi Station. Together, the couple ran Yuyehlin Art Company, which was commissioned by the Chiayi Municipal Cultural Center to conduct the project, “Art Network of the Chiayi Railway Warehouses.” The project later adopted the Build-Operate-Transfer (B.O.T) mode, and was subcontracted and operated by private organizations, which gave birth to the “Art Site of Chiayi Railway Warehouse.”
Currently, the Stock20 Art Network of the Railway Warehouses and the Art Site of Chiayi Railway Warehouse were stopped due to urban and site replanning. The Fangliao F3 Art District, of which the rental affairs were transferred to the Pingtung County Government in 2005, was subsequently taken over and transformed by the Fangliao Township Office in 2019. At the moment, sites in the Art Network of Railway Warehouses that are still in operation include the Hsinchu City Art Site of Railway Warehouse, which emphasizes on glassware craft; the Taitung Railway Art Village, which places an emphasis on the integration of performing arts and visual arts; and the Hualien Railway Art Village (now Hualien Railway Cultural Park) located in the county that is well-known for producing marble and jade stones.
References
In the site evaluation, due to the rise of communal awareness and the trend of artists returning to their hometowns, railway warehouses became the first choice because of convenient transportation and their locations in public living areas, which were closely connected with towns and cities. From eighty-seven designated railway venues around Taiwan, twenty-four were selected to become hubs that later constituted the Art Network of Railway Warehouses. Among them, the Taichung Station was at the central spot, both in terms of geography and the railway system. It connected northern and southern railways, and has been a historic site and geographical center, where the Taichung Branch of the Taiwan Cultural Association was founded. Therefore, its warehouses no. 20 to no. 26 were selected to form the first experimental site that was subsequently named “Stock20 Art Network of the Railway Warehouses.” In Liou’s opinion, the meaning of the Art Network of Railway Warehouses lies in “a constant discovery and interpretation of the characteristics of Taiwanese local culture” through the conversion of the vacant warehouses. Because of their distinctive spatial qualities, these warehouses formed an alternative site different from art museums and art galleries. Consequently, they were “beneficial to the development of more avant-garde or experimental forms of art” and could “strengthen exchange and collaboration with international art villages.”
Before the Art Network of Railway Warehouses was established, the railway warehouses were already closely connected to the development of local art scenes and artists. Some of these spaces had been uncovered and operated by artists. For example, HUANG Chin-Ho rented warehouse no. 15 at the Taichung Station as his art studio, where he used to present various exhibitions. WANG Wen-Chih and his wife TSAI Mei-Wen rented warehouse no. 5 at the Chiayi Station, which was the very first example of artists using the warehouses at the Chiayi Station. Together, the couple ran Yuyehlin Art Company, which was commissioned by the Chiayi Municipal Cultural Center to conduct the project, “Art Network of the Chiayi Railway Warehouses.” The project later adopted the Build-Operate-Transfer (B.O.T) mode, and was subcontracted and operated by private organizations, which gave birth to the “Art Site of Chiayi Railway Warehouse.”
Currently, the Stock20 Art Network of the Railway Warehouses and the Art Site of Chiayi Railway Warehouse were stopped due to urban and site replanning. The Fangliao F3 Art District, of which the rental affairs were transferred to the Pingtung County Government in 2005, was subsequently taken over and transformed by the Fangliao Township Office in 2019. At the moment, sites in the Art Network of Railway Warehouses that are still in operation include the Hsinchu City Art Site of Railway Warehouse, which emphasizes on glassware craft; the Taitung Railway Art Village, which places an emphasis on the integration of performing arts and visual arts; and the Hualien Railway Art Village (now Hualien Railway Cultural Park) located in the county that is well-known for producing marble and jade stones.
References
- YAO, Jui-Chung. “Practice and Reflection on the Art Network of Railway Warehouses and the Reuse of Vacant Space.” Artist, no. 345, 2004.2, pp. 181-5.
- LIOU, Shuenn-Ren. “Formation and Meaning of the Art Network of Railway Warehouses.” Cultural Life, no. 20, 2000.11, pp. 35-41.
- YEH, Yin-Lung. “The Starting Point of the Art Network of Railway Warehouses—Stock20.” Cultural Window, no. 8, 1999.2, pp. 58-61.
鐵道藝術網絡（Art Network of Railway Warehouses）
鐵道藝術網絡的出現肇因於文化建設委員會（以下簡稱文建會）對於「閒置空間再利用」政策的推動。在姚瑞中的〈鐵道藝術網絡系統與閒置空間再利用的實踐與反思〉中，指出閒置空間再利用的政策銜接了2000年終止的國家藝術村興建計畫，該計畫原定於中部地區設置增益臺灣與國際交流的「國家藝術村」，後因九二一大地震而終止，籌備處轉型為「藝術村資源中心」輔導各地成立小型藝術村與藝術家進駐計畫等，並進一步推動「中部鐵道藝術網絡五年發展改建計畫」。1997年台灣省文化處委託東海大學建築系教授的劉舜仁、沈芷蓀進行「藝術家傳習、創作與展示場所專案評估」，在劉舜仁的文章〈鐵道藝術網絡的形成及其意義〉中指出，文化處的構想參考自美國羅斯福總統的政策，希望透過藝術家進駐地方閒置的場所促進在地文化的發展。
透過場所評估，鐵路倉庫因交通便利、緊密連結城鎮中的公共生活場所，在社區意識抬頭及藝術家返鄉下成為首選。原本自當時全台八十七處的鐵路預定地中篩選出二十四處作為鐵道藝術網絡據點，因台中車站具備南北鐵道相接連通、文化協會成立重要場景等歷史淵源與地理中心位置，其二十至二十六號倉庫成為第一個實驗地點「二十號倉庫」。劉舜仁認為，鐵道藝術網絡的意義在於在改造閒置倉庫的同時「不斷地去觸掘與詮釋台灣本土文化的特質」，因空間條件特殊，形成有別於美術館與畫廊的替代性場所「有助於前衛或實驗性較高的藝術形式的發展」，「加強與國際藝術村之交流與合作」等。
鐵道藝術網絡創建前，便與在地藝術家的發展緊密相關，一些空間早先由藝術家發掘與經營，如：藝術家黃進河在1990年承租台中火車站的十五號倉庫作為工作室並且舉辦展覽；藝術家王文志與配偶蔡美文於1998年承租嘉義火車站第五號倉庫，開啟藝術家進駐嘉義鐵道倉庫的先例，兩人共同主持的「幼葉林藝術創作工作室」受嘉義市立文化中心的委託籌辦「嘉義鐵道倉庫藝術網絡計畫」，後來才轉變成採公辦民營、由民間招標的「嘉義鐵道藝術村」。
目前台中二十號倉庫與嘉義鐵道藝術村已因城市及場所重新規劃而停止運作，枋寮F3藝文特區在2005年由屏東縣政府接管承租後，於2019年轉由枋寮鄉公所接手、轉型經營，目前鐵道藝術網絡維持營運者有著重玻璃藝術的「新竹市鐵道藝術村」、表演藝術與視覺藝術相結合的「臺東鐵道藝術村」，以及位於石材、玉石出產地的「花蓮鐵道藝術村」等三處。
參考文獻
透過場所評估，鐵路倉庫因交通便利、緊密連結城鎮中的公共生活場所，在社區意識抬頭及藝術家返鄉下成為首選。原本自當時全台八十七處的鐵路預定地中篩選出二十四處作為鐵道藝術網絡據點，因台中車站具備南北鐵道相接連通、文化協會成立重要場景等歷史淵源與地理中心位置，其二十至二十六號倉庫成為第一個實驗地點「二十號倉庫」。劉舜仁認為，鐵道藝術網絡的意義在於在改造閒置倉庫的同時「不斷地去觸掘與詮釋台灣本土文化的特質」，因空間條件特殊，形成有別於美術館與畫廊的替代性場所「有助於前衛或實驗性較高的藝術形式的發展」，「加強與國際藝術村之交流與合作」等。
鐵道藝術網絡創建前，便與在地藝術家的發展緊密相關，一些空間早先由藝術家發掘與經營，如：藝術家黃進河在1990年承租台中火車站的十五號倉庫作為工作室並且舉辦展覽；藝術家王文志與配偶蔡美文於1998年承租嘉義火車站第五號倉庫，開啟藝術家進駐嘉義鐵道倉庫的先例，兩人共同主持的「幼葉林藝術創作工作室」受嘉義市立文化中心的委託籌辦「嘉義鐵道倉庫藝術網絡計畫」，後來才轉變成採公辦民營、由民間招標的「嘉義鐵道藝術村」。
目前台中二十號倉庫與嘉義鐵道藝術村已因城市及場所重新規劃而停止運作，枋寮F3藝文特區在2005年由屏東縣政府接管承租後，於2019年轉由枋寮鄉公所接手、轉型經營，目前鐵道藝術網絡維持營運者有著重玻璃藝術的「新竹市鐵道藝術村」、表演藝術與視覺藝術相結合的「臺東鐵道藝術村」，以及位於石材、玉石出產地的「花蓮鐵道藝術村」等三處。
參考文獻
- 姚瑞中，〈鐵道藝術網絡系統與閒置空間再利用的實踐與反思〉，藝術家，345期，頁181-185，2004.2。
- 劉舜仁，〈鐵道藝術網絡的形成及其意義〉，文化生活，20期，頁35-41，2000.11。
- 葉蔭龍，〈鐵道藝術網絡起點站--二十號倉庫〉，文化視窗，8期，頁58-61，1999.2。