Planning for the museum began in 2010. The museum was opened to the public on 27 January 2019 with some exhibitions opened in October 2018.[1] The museum's founding chairman, the artist Chen Huei-dung, died on 1 November 2024 at the age of 86.[2]
Architecture
The museum consists of two main buildings. The museum building 1 was constructed with ochre yellow tiles in Art Deco architecture style.[3] It spans over an area of 1,024 m2. It was designed by Sutejiro Umezawa. The building was constructed in 1930 originally as the Tainan Police Department.[4][3] It is the earliest existing police station building in Taiwan.[5] After the handover of Taiwan from Japan to the Republic of China in 1945, it was renamed to Tainan City Police Department. The police department moved out of the building in 2011.
The museum houses multipurpose theater, children's art center, artist exclusive gallery, collection, restoration and an art research center, the first of its kind in Taiwan.[1]
The museum building 1 consists of 16 galleries and the museum building 2 consists of 17 galleries. The museum building 2 spans over an area of 2,960 m2. It was designed by Shi Zhao Yong and Shigeru Ban. The building was designed with the shape of Delonix regia.[1]
