Nomadic Artists Alight in the UrbanCore Arts Block

If you happen to drop by the area now, you'll find an art gallery that lends space cheaply to non-profits on the site of what 30 years ago was the Hong Chien-chuan Audiovisual Mus-eum. Turning down the alley, we see the Mobius Strip Theater, whose 2012 was a finalist for the 2009 Taishin Arts Award in performing arts, rehearsing a new piece in its first-floor studio. The nearby Taipei Contemporary Art Center, whose interior spaces are also exposed to passersby, is open Thursday-Sunday in the afternoon. It welcomes visitors in to view exhibitions, hang out, and find out what artists are up to.

Located in the area between Taipei's Zhong-hua Road Section 1 and Yanping South Road, the center is surrounded by military, government, and educational institutions. A year ago, small business and student housing occupied many of the units nearby. Other spaces have been empty for years. With the area expected to be redeveloped within the next two years, large luxury homes with high walls and gate-guards will likely soon purge it of its history and current residents.

For now, the area is a vibrant patchwork "arts block." How did it come to be so?

When the JUT Land Development Group became interested in the area's redevelopment potential several years ago, it began negotiating cooperation and buyouts with landowners. By mid-2009, the group had agreements in place with half the area's landowners and expected to file its redevelopment plans and begin demolition as early as late 2010.

Anticipating that the land would remain idle for nearly two years, the JUT Foundation for Arts and Architecture decided to put its long-mulled "incubator" program into action, lending some of the idle land to arts groups free of charge.

The Taipei Contemporary Art Center deliberately located its administrative offices by the museum's main entrance as a way of proclaiming that "art must be transparent about its means of production."

There are currently a dozen-odd groups utilizing the area, working in fields ranging from the visual arts, theater, and design, to urban studies. While a few are among JUT's "old friends," the majority heard about the project through the grapevine. The groups are well aware how hard it is to get by in Taipei, and are all finding a year and a half rent-free to be enormously helpful. They are also benefiting from their proximity to other artists.

Lea Lin, the JUT Foundation's executive secretary, acts as a de facto property manager and visits the area an average of once a week. Describing the foundation's year-long involvement in the area's formation, she says that before the power and water were turned on, everyone had to walk carefully and carry a flashlight. Tenants were constantly calling the operations department for help clearing garbage and opening up adjacent buildings. When the gallery opened, she had to persuade original residents and local students to remove their scooters from the arcade. When the foundation received complaints from neighbors about "loud musical performances," she showed up immediately to mediate. The foundation also established a local presence by opening its own corner coffee shop that went on to become a locus of extemporaneous exchanges between artists and provide lectures on art.

Lin jokes that the unexpected benefits of having the support of a construction company include access to resources such as old air-conditioners and furniture from other sites, and the ability to guarantee that artists will be relocated to other idle properties once the area is reclaimed for development.

Unfortunately, the JUT Group's activities here do not qualify its project for floor-area bonus incentives. "[Landowner resistance to art projects] is likely to complicate developers' efforts to acquire land," Aaron Lee, the son of JUT's CEO, has said. While researching this piece, we also met a local landowner who complained that the "garrisoning" of artists in the area was disruptive and stated that many other landowners had yet to agree to the redevelopment proposal.

These migrations of nomadic art in pursuit of the shifting pastures of urban development sites are still in the experimental stage. Time will tell whether they can attract the approval and support of residents.

The Taipei Contemporary Art Center deliberately located its administrative offices by the museum's main entrance as a way of proclaiming that "art must be transparent about its means of production."

An influx of artists has given an old Wanhua neighborhood a new face and voice. The photo shows the work of Taiwanese graffiti artist Candy Bird, who says that graffiti is "a message left for strangers. Even the thought of it is exciting."