From April until July, I was hosted by Treasure Hill Artist Village in Taipei, Taiwan.
Treasure Hill is a community and artist village run by the city of Taipei since 2010. Originally a settlement built by retired soldiers and immigrants, the buildings were deemed illegal and unsafe, and condemned to demolition. Twenty years of demonstrations and activism by locals persuaded the city to preserve the area, and it was turned into an “artist village” with studios and exhibition spaces. 22 artists from Taiwan and abroad live alongside ordinary residents.
Get to know more about the village in this 25-minute documentary made by and for NHK World Japan TV, and meet permanent artists living and working there (for a maximum of 9 years), foreign artist /curator residents (like myself), and the locals who built this special place in the midst of Taipei, some of them still living there working hard to preserve the community’s history. Right now the village is guaranteed until 2030. Hopefully, it will continue to exist as a green sustainable space where citizens of the city can visit, do workshops, learn about social engagement, enjoy contemporary art events, visit craft stores, and where emerging local artists can reside to develop their practices in an affordable way and share with the visitors and live in symbioses with the local villagers. It is a treasure indeed!
Watch it here: https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/tv/asiainsight/20231027/2022402/