Description: With the opening of the Institute of Contemporary Arts, the Taipei Fine Arts Museum (founded in 1983) now occupies a middle-to-late part of the artistic timeline between the "old" classic arts displayed in the National Palace Museum and the ultra-modern scene at the ICA. Its location is in the flight path of planes flying in and out of Sungshan Domestic Airport. The modern concrete and glass building has some cantilevered blocks jutting out, a look that jumps out within its park setting.
While there are some older works, TFAM concentrates on art from the 20th Century. There are also temporary exhibits, including an interesting collection of black-and-white photographs depicting life in Taiwan from 1930 to 1960. The cantilevered ends of the galleries have glassed-in lookouts with great views of the city. You can see planes taking off and landing, and you can see how grand the Grand Hotel is.
The entrance fee is very inexpensive (under $1 US), and there are free catalogs depicting many of the works of the TFAM Permanent Collection. The keepsake catalogs are mostly in Chinese, but there are illustrations and the titles are in English. No photography is allowed within the museum. The museum is closed on Mondays. Tours are conducted in Mandarin, but it is stated that you can arrange for a tour in another language with a notice of several days. The drinking fountain provides little "cups" for you. Each cup is basically a small white envelope, but when it is opened the little envelope actually holds a few sips of water.
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