National Kaohsiung Center for the Arts
(c) Mecanoo
Taiwan announced the opening in October 2018 of the National Kaohsiung Center for the Arts (Weiwuying). In a single sweeping building designed by Dutch architects Mecanoo, Weiwuying incorporates five separate state of the art performance spaces, covering a surface area of 35 acres (141,000 sqm) and is set in the spectacular 116-acre (470,000 sqm) subtropical park in the heart of Kaohsiung, making it the world’s largest performing arts center under one roof.
Taiwan’s most significant cultural investment in a generation, the new Center will incorporate a 2,260 seat Opera House, a 2,000 seat Concert Hall in vineyard, a flexible Playhouse, seating between 1,094 and 1,254 for theatre, dance, and Chinese Opera, plus a 470 seat Recital Hall for chamber music and solo recitals as well as an outdoor performance space, seamlessly linking the building with the park, and open to audiences of up to 20,000.
Kaohsiung, with a population of around 3 million, located in the south of Taiwan, once a major international harbour, is now a modern, diverse city with a rich cultural offer.
National Kaohsiung Center for the Arts
(c) Mecanoo
The Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra under Gustavo Dudamel will be among the first artists to perform at the Center. International collaborative partners have so far included New York’s Lincoln Center, the Spoleto Festival, Singapore International Festival of Arts, Deutsche Oper am Rhein, Esplanade Theatres on the Bay Singapore and Aerowaves Spring Forward contemporary dance festival.
The Executive and Artistic Director Chien Wen-Pin, current Kapellmeister of Deutsche Oper am Rhein and former Music Director of Taiwan Philharmonic, said, ‘Weiwuying is one of the most beautiful, iconic and best-equipped performing arts centres in the world. The creative industries are extraordinarily lively in Taiwan. Once our doors are officially open, the Center will become an exciting springboard from which talent can soar.’
