In recent years, Taichung has seen rapid progress in public construction, with Shuinan Economic and Trade Park (水湳經貿園區), district sports centers, and many municipal projects completed one after another. Taichung City Government has also actively promoted public art, installing diverse public artworks in public buildings and major public works projects. Over the past eight years, 238 permanent works have been completed, shaping an aesthetic corridor across the city. Through “arts equity” and the investment of cultural resources, public art has also reached communities, schools, and distinctive local areas, bringing art into everyday life and allowing it to meet people on city street corners.

The Cultural Affairs Bureau of Taichung City Government pointed to Shuinan Economic and Trade Park as an example. The 15 public artworks in the park were completed last year, successfully connecting the outdoor art corridor of Taichung Central Park (中央公園). With “A New Look for Shuinan (水湳展新顏)” as the theme, the project puts the ideas of “low carbon, intelligence, and environmental coexistence” into practice. The works not only won Gold at the MUSE Design Awards in the United States, but also received international design awards in the United Kingdom, the United States, France, Switzerland, and other countries. More recently, they also received the “Creativity Award (藝術創作獎)” and “Environmental Integration Award (環境融合獎)” at the 10th Public Art Awards of the Ministry of Culture, marking an outstanding achievement.

To put arts equity into practice and bring more artistic resources to areas with relatively limited access, the Cultural Affairs Bureau has reached out to remote schools in Taichung’s mountain, coastal, and suburban areas to promote a campus-based public art program. Since 2024, it has also launched the “Taichung ChingShui Art Festival (清水走走藝術季)”, using art actions and artistic interventions in space to help people rediscover Qingshui District, an area rich in coastal ecology and deep cultural heritage. The initiative has received strong public response.

The Cultural Affairs Bureau explained that this year’s “Taichung ChingShui Art Festival” uses Gaomei Wetlands (高美濕地), Yuliao Historic House (魚寮古厝), and the Lighthouse Park area (燈塔園區) as its exhibition sites. Eight groups of art installations have been planned in response to the coastal ecology and cultural landscape. The festival also connects local kindergartens, university USR programs, and community residents, allowing people of different ages and backgrounds to engage with art without barriers. It deepens their connection to local ecology and public art, creating an outdoor museum where art and ecology thrive together.

The Cultural Affairs Bureau emphasized that urban aesthetics is an ongoing path of municipal development. Moving forward, it will continue to deepen the development of public art and promote the integration of art into major construction projects, schools, communities, and distinctive sites. The goal is to create an internationally recognized urban art landscape, while bringing art into residents’ everyday lives and allowing people to experience the many faces and surprises that public art brings to Taichung.