life abounds a day beyond eternity
BackgroundALIEN Art CentreALIEN Art Centre is a contemporary art institution based in Taiwan, initiated by a private endeavour and independently operated, dedicated to presenting exhibitions and cultural programmes that engage with contemporary art, architecture, and interdisciplinary practices. Grounded in curatorial research and long-term collaboration, the Centre advances projects through sustained inquiry and shared development.
Located within the restored historic Kin-Ma Military Hostel complex, the Centre reflects a dialogue between historical architecture and contemporary cultural production. By placing historical space alongside contemporary cultural making, the Centre cultivates an ongoing relationship of exchange and responsiveness.
Through exhibitions, artistic projects, and public programmes, ALIEN Art Centre seeks to create an open platform for artistic exploration, critical reflection, and public engagement. We believe an exhibition is not only a presentation of works, but also a method—one that unfolds through time and space, inviting deeper conversations between the viewer, the work, and their own perceptions.
The Centre was established as a long-term cultural initiative, emphasising curatorial practice, research context, and spatial experience, and the relationship between art and everyday life. Committed to the sustainability of the art ecosystem, the Centre pursues a resilient model of operation—supporting exhibitions and cultural programmes through diverse approaches, and reinvesting resources into artistic production and deeper forms of public participation.
Director & Curatorial CoreDirector and Chief Curator Yaman Shao leads the curatorial direction, academic research, and educational outreach of ALIEN Art Centre, extending this vision to the exhibitions’ visual identity and spatial design. Through an interdisciplinary curatorial approach, she responds to the contemporary by developing exhibitions, public programs, and collaborative exchanges—enabling the originality of contemporary art to continue unfolding within everyday life.
Her curatorial principles foreground resonance between what is presented and those who encounter it: how visitors enter into the works, how they linger within the site, and how an experience of beauty forms sensory and emotional connections are all integral to curatorial thinking. Taking resonance and perception as a point of departure, the Centre creates a more approachable atmosphere in which contemporary art can offer feelings of healing and comfort. This does not mean simplifying exhibitions; rather, it is a choice to remain open, accessible, and welcoming—so that visitors from different backgrounds may find their own rhythm in the galleries and carry their experiences back into daily life.
Within this framework, the ALIEN Art Centre’s curatorial core is shaped by the intersection of visual creation, the natural environment, and architectural space as a way of seeing. The museum regards exhibitions as an experience of presence, where light, texture, and movement shape a sense of time and embodiment—allowing works to be re-understood within their setting and opening a dialogue between artwork and space, history and the present.
This curatorial approach is built on a structure that can be sustained and developed over time:
Space as narrative: Architecture and environment become part of the viewing experience, woven into everyday perception.
Research as context: Starting from art-historical perspectives and contemporary questions, the Centre builds curatorial threads that are traceable and expandable.
Interdisciplinarity to expand perception: Linking art, design, and diverse creative forms opens broader entry points for understanding.
Public participation to deepen resonance: Through guided tours, forums, and programs, exhibitions become public experiences that can be entered and shared.
In recent years, materiality has become a key thread in the ALIEN Art Centre’s curatorial research—examining how materials expand perception, connect technique with everyday life, and prompt renewed reflection on ecology and our relationship to the world. Through these curatorial principles and contexts, ALIEN Art Centre aspires to be a contemporary art platform that invites more people to come closer—and to build lasting feeling and resonance through the experience of the museum.
Founded by ALIEN ArtALIEN Art is the founding organisation of ALIEN Art Centre.
Established as a cultural and creative company, ALIEN Art is committed to enriching everyday life through contemporary art and interdisciplinary collaboration. Its long-term vision focuses on integrating art, architecture, design, and cultural experience into accessible and sustainable platforms.
Through the establishment of ALIEN Art Centre, ALIEN Art extends its commitment to cultural production by supporting exhibitions, research-based curatorial practices, and the development of diverse cultural spaces.
Extended Platforms and ProgrammesAlongside ALIEN Art Centre, ALIEN Art has developed a network of related platforms that extends its cultural programmes—bringing contemporary culture closer to everyday life through a range of forms and experiences.
ALIEN MODEALIEN MODE is a curatorially led collecting platform and project hub that explores alternative ways of engaging with artworks beyond the exhibition format. It operates as an extension of the curatorial vision of ALIEN Art Centre, nurturing long-term, ongoing collaborations with artists and creative practitioners. By connecting contemporary art, objects, and everyday aesthetics, ALIEN MODE returns to art’s essential values of feeling, understanding, and companionship. Here, collecting is a long-term relationship—inviting artworks into daily life, and allowing a sensibility for beauty to slowly take root and unfold in the everyday.
ALIEN ALL DAY LOUNGE - Cafe & Shop ALIEN All Day Lounge is a cultural and lifestyle space that integrates dining, design, and artistic experience. Conceived as part of the broader ALIEN ecosystem, the Lounge offers an environment where contemporary culture intersects with daily life.
Awards and RecognitionALIEN Art Centre and its associated programmes have received recognition for their contributions to cultural preservation, architectural revitalisation, and contemporary cultural practice. It has been recognized as one of Taiwan’s “Top 100 Cultural Landscapes” by Shopping Design, named one of Kaohsiung’s premier contemporary art museums by Lonely Planet, and has received multiple international design honors, including the Concept Design Gold Winner at the U.S.-based Muse Design Awards, the Gold Award at the Netherlands-based Indigo Design Award, the iF Design Award (Germany), and the Gold Award in the Concept Design category at the London Design Awards.
