"Cultural Broadway,” a performance venue at the Taitung Living Art Center, has become an increasingly popular space for Taitung art lovers to hang out since its opening last July. Featuring well-known singers, bands, street performers and troupes, the half open-air venue with a casual atmosphere has drawn not only local audience but also tourists.
The space was established to break with a tradition that the arts were only static displays in galleries or on stage in indoor venues, said Lee Chih-chung, the center's acting director.
Different kinds of music performances, from harmonica played by a group of elderly people, indie bands to ocarina music, have taken place here. Recently the center added dozens of tables to the venue and began providing free coffee.
The "Cultural Broadway,” a collaboration project by various local artists, was named by poet Hsu Ching-tung and has a decorative board designed by artist Lin Sheng-hsien. By making the performance space open to the community, the center aims to integrate the arts into people's lives.
Lee said although it is small, the venue gives all people with performing talent a stage to shine. The organizers have visited local schools to invite those students who are good at playing musical instruments or singing to perform at "Cultural Broadway.”
The free admission performances on Friday and Saturday nights are now something many residents look forward to every week. Both amateur and professional performers also have more opportunities to show their talent.