Cats invade Taiwan’s Pier-2 Art Center

On a recent trip to Taiwan, I visited the Pier-2 Art Center in Kaohsiung, which is Taiwan’s second-largest city located in the south-west of the island.

Pier-2 Art Center is made up of four buildings that are located by the city’s port. The buildings were previously owned by the Taiwan Sugar Corporation and were used for warehouse storage; however, they were turned into public art spaces in 2006 by the municipal government. Today, Pier-2 Art Center includes indoor and outdoor exhibition areas, workshop and studio rooms, administrative offices, and an outdoor theatre. Exhibits, which are built around themes and feature a variety of up-and-coming artists from Taiwan, change monthly. In 2011, more than 1.5 million people visited the Pier-2 Art Center.

At the time of my visit, the indoor galleries featured two exhibitions. The first one I checked out was called I Love Cat!? This exhibit was the ultimate cat-lovers fantasy—walls covered in photographs, drawings, and paintings of cats, and at the center of one room, a 3D cat installation.

The second exhibit going on was called Beautiful Life: Memory and Nostalgia, which focused on how childhood memories—both happy and sad—come to life through art. The exhibit featured the work of 12 artists from around the world and included photographs, drawings, paintings, and video installation.

Outside in the Pier-2 Center courtyard were more large-scale works of art. In fact, almost all of warehouses’ exterior walls have been transformed into art using graffiti-style paint.

If you’re travelling Taiwan and want to check out some fun, quirky art in a cool space, I’d recommend spending an afternoon at the Pier-2 Art Center.

Below, Michelle da Silva photos

An outdoor courtyard filled with large-scale pieces of art greet visitors at Pier-2 Art Center.

An old sugar warehouse’s exterior gets an artistic facelift at Pier-2 Art Center.

Photographs of cats line the walls at the I Love Cat!? exhibit.

Visitors can submit their own cat photos at the I Love Cat!? exhibit.

The exterior of warehouse walls have been transformed into works of art.

The outdoor courtyard at Pier-2 Art Center.

It’s hard to miss this giant yellow robot just outside the courtyard at Pier-2 Art Center.

You can follow Michelle da Silva on Twitter at twitter.com/michdas.