Taipei City Government

Have you noticed anything different about the streets of Taipei when you're outside? Bright colors have begun to appear on the formerly drab cement walls, on the streets, on the pillars of elevated bridges, or on some corner walls.

Taipei became the 5th World Design Capital on the 19th of October 2014, and actively began a series of urban remodeling activities, among which “Creating a City with Design Vision” is a core plan. To this end, Taipei City Government has invited many artists and designers to engage in inter-disciplinary cooperation, and make Taipei's urban scenery more varied and interesting by beautifying and changing streetscapes.

Color Paintings on Transformers and Walls: Creating Surprises on the Streets

The creative remodeling of outdoor units has been a rising international trend over the last ten years, most commonly by painting transformer boxes. There are thousands of these boxes in Taipei, and Dalongdong is the pilot area in which boxes have been painted. Local residents, artists and designers have worked together, fusing Dalongdong's culture and rich history and creating brilliant work connected to the environment and displaying local characteristics. At present, 28 transformers in 12 areas have been painted. For example, the artist Chen Duol-ong (陳多龍) transformed a transformer box near Dalongdong Baoan Temple (大龍峒保安宮) into a roadside guardian by using the themes of dragons playing with pearls and stone lions.

Other districts, including Zhongzheng District and Zhongshan District have also highlighted the community's character through art and creativity, led by local figures. For example, local elders were invited to recount history in Zhongzheng District, and cooperated with art groups to depict history in wall paintings. Furthermore, famous artists such as Xu Kuang-kuang (許匡匡) and Juju were invited to attend last year's “Street Fun, Fun Street” Community Art Festival (「街大歡囍」社區藝術節), with the assistance of the Museum of Contemporary Art, Taipei, for four consecutive years. An impressionistic painting of Chifeng Street (赤峰街) was created on the street's walls, turning it into one of Taipei's new cultural strongholds.

Elevated Bridge Pillar Paintings – Combining the Environment and Childish Curiosity

Aside from this, color paintings on the pillars of elevated bridges in two districts of Taipei were completed in 2014, including Xinsheng (新生) and MRT Huzhou Station (捷運葫洲站) elevated bridges. Young artists were invited to paint on the pillars of Xinsheng Elevated Bridge at the intersection of Nanjing East Road (南京東路) and Changchun Road (長春路) through cooperation between the Department of Cultural Affairs, Taipei City Government (臺北市政府文化局) and university departments related to design, combining the environment, surrounding structures, and unique local scenery to create characterful, varied works of art. Animals popular with kids, including Formosan black bears, Taipei green tree frogs, koalas, and pandas, can be seen in the paintings. The paintings on the pillars of MRT Huzhou Station elevated bridge, situated in Neihu, combine the art and the environment in a similar way, via a modularized design which uses simple, well-executed lines to present the technological, cultural and artistic characteristics of Neihu District.

Old streets have been given new meaning through creative art and design, and alley culture has been passed on through art, making a more artistic city. When you're wandering the city’s streets – perhaps you'll run into a painting that will make you smile!