Pier-2 Art Center, which refers to Pier No. 2 in Basin No. 3 of Kaohsiung Harbor, was built in 1973 as common port warehouses. They were once abandoned and buried in history due to the city move from an industrial based to the service sector. It was for the celebration of National Day in 2000 that the central government for the first time decided to release fireworks in southern Taiwan, and Kaohsiung became the selected. Thus, the organizers re-discovered these Pier-2 warehouses just beside the harbor. Later in 2001, a group of passionate local artists established the Pier-2 Artistic Development Association, aiming this center to be the headquarter for artistic development in southern Taiwan.

In 2006, Bureau of Cultural Affairs of Kaohsiung City Government took over and became the management entity. Ever since, the center has positioned itself as an international art platform, oriented toward avant-garde, experiment and originality, open to creators all over the world, making the region a place where tourists and locals come together to enjoy fine art. With the collision of an old area and new fine art, this center thus transforms itself into an art venue representative in Taiwan, an art area full of new vitality and liveliness.

Nurtured by the city, the center has its dialogues with histories of commercial harbor, iron and steel, shipbuilding and shipbreaking, and has constantly held art events or even festivals in response to these characteristics. “Pier-2 Artists in Residence Program” (PAIR) was thus initiated in 2015, aiming to bring in more art perspectives and practices that may recall beyond.

Open call is released to all artists from every June to August. With the evaluation of the committee along with the exchange program, PAIR receives about 25 artists every year from all over the world to make art happen in this beautiful center. Artists will also have the chance to hold workshops or deliver speeches in schools and communities, and to present their art practice in the exhibition venue.