The heart of Taipei’s cultural scene welcomes the AAPPAC
Located in Taipei’s lively Shilin Night Market, an area known for its vibrant street culture, the Taipei Performing Arts Center (T-PAC) is a striking and unusual landmark. To some, it resembles an asteroid colliding with a building, while its Dutch architects, Rem Koolhaas and David Gianotten, might see it more as a planet docking against a cube.
Conceived in a design competition in 2008, construction of the centre began in 2012 and took 10 years to complete. Despite major setbacks, including the discovery of marshland on the site, the bankruptcy of a contractor and the Covid-19 pandemic, the building opened in 2022 to considerable acclaim. With limited space in the city centre, the design features an elevated central cube connected to three distinct structures: a globe, a rectangle and a triangle wedge. These house three venues: the spherical 800-seat Globe Playhouse, the 800-seat Blue Box and the 1500-seat Grand Theatre.
In keeping with the Greek tradition of theatre as a public space, T-PAC’s mission is to be “Open for all”, and it lives up to that promise. Even visitors without a ticket can explore the building via the “Public Loop”, a separate ground-floor entrance that leads to a rooftop garden with panoramic views of the mountains and cityscape. Along the loop, windows offer glimpses into the theatre’s inner workings, and visitors might even catch performers rehearsing.
From 4 to 6 September, T-PAC hosted the much-anticipated 2024 conference of AAPPAC, the Association of Asia-Pacific Performing Arts Centres. Though less known in Europe, this Singapore-based organisation, founded 30 years ago, now includes around 80 performing arts institutions, including cultural icons such as the Sydney Opera House, the Singapore Esplanade, Suntory Hall, Seoul Arts Center and the West Kowloon Cultural District.
“The dialogue between members and representatives is at the heart of AAPPAC’s mission to establish the Asia-Pacific region as a leader in the performing arts industry, promote the exchange of artistic programmes across art centres, and foster closer ties and better understanding amongst the people of the region,” says Douglas Gautier, CEO and Artistic Director of the Adelaide Festival Center in South Australia, and AAPPAC’s Chairman since 2013.
Welcoming around 200 delegates from across Asia-Pacific and North America, the 2024 Conference focused on the theme “Mind the Gap – Lead the Path”, addressing four key challenges facing performing arts venues worldwide: continuous innovation, local connections, sustainability, and AI technology. In addition to key panel discussions, the event included showcases, pitching sessions, and a compelling roundtable discussion on “Sustainability: The Gap Between Concept and Reality”.
AAPPAC’s upcoming conferences will be hosted by the Daejeon Arts Center in South Korea (2025), the West Kowloon Cultural District in Hong Kong (2026) and NCPA Mumbai, India (2027).
For more information, visit aappac.com/en/home/