The New Taipei City Art Museum (NTCAM), which opened its doors to the public on April 25, is more than just a striking addition to Taiwan’s cultural landscape—it’s a reimagining of what a museum can be. Rooted in local memory and open to global conversations, NTCAM was shaped through years of field research, community collaboration, and international advisory partnerships. Located in Yingge District along the riverside textures that inspired its design, the museum invites collective learning, creativity, and civic participation.

NTCAM opens with four exhibitions that set the tone for its vision: a pulse of new media experimentation in Don't worry Baby,  where Xindian Boys and XTRUX collaborate across generations; a journey through New Taipei City’s artistic heritage in NTCAM Collection: Encounters in Reflection; an invitation for collective creativity in The Ongoing Nature; and an international showcase of 23 artists and groups exploring the modern city in Reimagining Radical Cities.

At the heart of this vision is Director Lai Hsiang-Ling, whose three decades of experience across institutions like the Museum of Contemporary Art Taipei, C-LAB, and Rockbund Art Museum in Shanghai have been defined by a commitment to openness, research, and public engagement. Under her guidance, NTCAM wasn’t just built—it was cultivated as a platform where art, education, and everyday life converge.

In the conversation that follows, Director Lai reflects on translating decades of institutional experience into NTCAM’s unique model, the role of community-driven practices in shaping its foundation, and how the museum aims to inspire a more participatory future for art in public life.

Your career in museology is over three decades long. With your experience in the art & museum world in mind, what makes NTCAM unique? How has your experience translated into directing NTCAM thus far?

The New Taipei City Art Museum is the city’s first public art museum. What makes it unique is not just its location or architecture, but the way its formation has been shaped by extensive field research, community engagement, curatorial inquiry, and an international advisory mechanism.

My previous experiences at institutions such as C-LAB, the Museum of Contemporary Art Taipei, and the Rockbund Art Museum in Shanghai have instilled in me a deep commitment to institutional openness, local knowledge networks, research-led practices, and global connectivity—all of which have been embedded into the making of NTCAM.

Between 2019 and 2023, we initiated several community co-creation and school partnership programs throughout New Taipei City, including STEAM-based curricula developed with local elementary schools and neighborhood mapping projects. These efforts were not merely extensions of exhibitions, but ways to embed the museum into the fabric of everyday cultural life.

In parallel, we established an International Advisory Committee, inviting renowned directors, curators, and artistic leaders from around the world to contribute to the museum’s formation and to foster transnational institutional collaboration. 

NTCAM’s layout and construction center around public access and potential for learning opportunities. What role did the relationship to the local community play into the museum's development?

The architectural and landscape design of NTCAM emphasizes a harmonious balance between the built environment and the surrounding nature, with a strong focus on connecting the museum to its neighboring communities. Our goal is to provide a welcoming, accessible space where the public can engage with art in an open and meaningful way.

We envision the museum not merely as a place for viewing exhibitions, but as a shared space for collective learning, co-creation, and community life. Since the early stages of planning, we have actively organized artist-in-school programs and community-based art initiatives to better understand the needs of our future audiences and to incorporate those insights into the museum’s operational planning.

For example, by working with students to create hand-drawn maps of their neighborhoods, we gained valuable perspectives on local memory and spatial usage. These insights informed the design of wayfinding systems and rest areas within the museum park, ensuring that the space genuinely responds to the rhythms and habits of the people it serves.

What is the significance of integrating both traditional and modern influences into this museum’s collection?

NTCAM’s collection strategy has never approached art history through the binary lens of “modern vs. traditional.” Instead, our aim is to build a collection that reflects modern and contemporary art through the broader lens of visual culture—rooted in the local, yet oriented toward the world. With regional, global, and contemporary perspectives in mind, the collection seeks to articulate a multifaceted cultural narrative.

Our acquisition efforts reflect this vision. On one hand, we collect works like Homage to the Unknown Hero by Wu Tien-chang, which responds to collective historical trauma. On the other hand, we commission public artworks such as CHOU Tai-chun’s Path of Island and CHU Teh-I’s Color Forms, both of which integrate traditional Yingge ceramic techniques with contemporary expressions.

This kind of curatorial juxtaposition illustrates the multiple dimensions of modernity in Taiwanese art—not as a singular, linear evolution, but as a complex, interwoven network shaped by culture, materiality, and a deep sense of place.

What are the interactive elements and educational activities that NTCAM will offer to different age groups?

We’re launching a multi-layered learning program. The B1 level includes “The Wonder Base,” a space specifically designed for hands-on family and children’s art-making. For teenagers, we’ve partnered with local high schools for museum-based inquiry learning. Aligned with exhibitions, we’re launching Artist Workshops or events responding to the topic. Our approach aligns with a civic learning model, emphasizing dialogue over instruction. 

What was the curatorial process of the four exhibitions that kick off the opening of NTCAM? What type of first impression do you hope to communicate with these shows?‍

Each exhibition was shaped through a curatorial dialogue between historical inquiry and contemporary resonance. “Encounters in Reflection” reexamines collections dating back to the Taipei County Cultural Center. “Reimagining Radical Cities” addresses urbanity and political resistance through a global-local lens. “Don’t Worry, Baby” focuses on intergenerational collaboration, while “The Ongoing Nature” is grounded in ecological education and participatory design. 

‍Can you tell us a bit about the International Advisory Committee–how did the museum choose who stands on the committee, and what are the different strengths that each member brings to NTCAM?‍

The International Advisory Committee (IAC) gathers voices from diverse geographies and disciplines. Each member is chosen for their distinct insight—be it curatorial innovation, institutional strategy, or regional expertise, ensuring the museum’s vision and development strategy aligned with both local needs and international standards. Members were nominated by Director Lai Hsiang-Ling and selected for their expertise in contemporary art, curatorship, museum management, and cultural policy. The diversity of their expertise ensures NTCAM remains a reflective, responsive, and future-oriented institution.The committee functions not as a top-down board, but as a dialogue partner, helping us stay porous to global ideas while rooted in local practices. 

On a personal note, how does it feel to help to open New Taipei City’s first public contemporary art museum? How does such an opening make you feel about the future of the public's access and attitude towards art?

Opening NTCAM has been deeply moving—both as a professional milestone and a civic responsibility. For me, it’s not just about launching another art space; it’s about building a shared platform where stories of the city can be told through art. We’ve witnessed elderly residents participating in co-creation workshops, young families attending art camps, and high schoolers engaging with artworks on labor and migration. These moments reaffirm our belief that art doesn’t belong to a few—it must belong to all.

Looking ahead, I feel optimistic. With projects like the “Art GOGO Bus,” neighborhood collaborations, and to the Wonder Base for Intergenerational Aesthetic Co-Creation, we’re seeing shifts in how the public approaches museums—not as passive visitors, but as participants, co-creators, even critics. The opening of NTCAM signifies more than a building—it’s an invitation to redefine how we live with art, together.‍