Kaohsiung Municipal Cultural Center

Established on April 16, 1981 (Republic of China Year 70), the Kaohsiung Municipal Cultural Center, located on Wufu 1st Road, was one of the earliest cultural venues built in Kaohsiung City. It serves not only as the central hub for promoting the cultural development of the harbor city, embodying significant cultural symbolism and importance, but also as an important place for Kaohsiung citizens to relax and recreate, fostering many beautiful memories. It offers a diverse range of cultural activities. In addition to year-round art exhibitions in the Zhimei Pavilion and the Museum, the Zhide Hall and Zhishan Hall host different performing arts almost every evening. The design concept of the "Citizens' Art Boulevard" emphasizes citizen participation and the integration of life and art. Within the "Dance of Wind Plaza" in front of the main entrance, there is a "Labyrinth of Poetry." Following the maze's path along the boulevard, you can find the first-place winning modern poems from the "Labyrinth of Poetry" essay contest inscribed beneath your feet. On both sides stand ten large artistic lampposts, called "Wind Dance Flagpoles," which use the principle of wind power to rotate the blades within the pole, creating dazzling and mesmerizing multi-colored light and shadow transformations. Additionally, there are light and shadow music boxes: a sensor is installed beneath each Wind Dance Flagpole, and when people pass by, the light and shadow music box will generate changes in light, shadow, and music. It also functions as a clock! At the twelve bases, embedded lights represent the hour and minute hands (marking every 15 minutes) to show the current time. This is a highly creative design and currently the only one of its kind nationwide. Furthermore, ten large artistic illuminated benches are placed between the Wind Dance Flagpoles. On the rotating backrests, which softly glow, are engraved modern poems from the essay contest. Visitors can sit on these leisure benches, rotate the backrest, read the poems illuminated by the light, and enjoy the changing artistic lights, creating a very poetic and picturesque experience! More than ten steel sculptures, created by steel sculptor Mr. Liu Ding-zan, use steel—a key industry in Kaohsiung—as their material, forming various artistic shapes. These works are rich in the unique industrial culture and creativity of Kaohsiung, serving as an excellent example of the integration of culture and industry vigorously promoted by the government. The Citizens' Art Boulevard fully utilizes its functions. Every Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, the center specially organizes a series of street art performances such as street dance, juggling, acrobatics, accordion music, Taiwanese opera, and showcases by street artists demonstrating activities like miniature pottery, mosaic art, musical saw and ocarina, and torn paper art, further highlighting the substantial meaning of the Art Boulevard. The public art, rich in humanistic flavor, combined with the spacious garden area created after the demolition of the walls, attracts many visitors who linger. They might wander through the "Labyrinth of Poetry" to read poems and admire the lights, or stroll over the "Mosaic Ground Paintings" to find images of Kaohsiung, or browse the diverse forms of art along the "Stone Drum Art Light Boxes," or wander along the lush green pathways to appreciate the steel sculptures. Here, the ideal of "art in life, life in art" is realized. This is a high-quality space that combines art and leisure, and a refined pathway that brings together the shared memories of citizens, inviting you and me to pause our hurried steps here, anticipating a beautiful encounter.