台北當代藝術中心 謝幕
2021年 2 月 18 日
台北當代藝術中心在歷經三次搬遷、十年的空間營運與不曾間斷的機構改組及實驗後，於 2021年 1 月 9 日會員大會，自主決議今年關閉協會，併二月租約到期之際卸下空間運作的任務。
這條機構實踐之路，始於批判性的實踐和聚合，文化藝術領域的各界專業工作者在 2010 年共同組成 TCAC，以開創空間作為手段，期待在台灣文化場景成立以民主運作為基底的機構，擔負文化想像與反省的樞紐中介功能，實現公共論述空間的書寫。
社群的互動與成長、藝術空間的自我組織和開拓，是一段漫長的旅程。所有參與成員的專業勞動及長期付出，積累成為 TCAC 各階段的成長。各屆營運團隊始終維持開放性，試圖描繪批判性的實驗機構的可能樣貌。透過不同方案，不斷檢視機構在整體文化環境角力中的生產位置與驅力：在地生產、參與國際藝術社群、權衡調節機構主體方向、與核心運作成員協作前行的生命政治問題，一直是 TCAC 的嚴肅課題與挑戰。
成立之初所面臨的社會政治環境態勢，充滿文化界前仆後繼的積極抗爭之姿，而十年之內的文化治理樣貌、文化政策與生產的協商空間，在不同的政治權力中重新組構；全球藝術的生產、流動與技術也日新月異。這是一個我們重新省視實踐路線和工具的時刻：這個旨在集體參與及批判的社群運作機制，如今需要更多超越現存系統結構的開放想像和靈活方略，激活我們對身處時代的反省；此時的謝幕是我們重新盤整思維，面向未來文化場景的責任。
TCAC 作為一個獨特的台北案例，我們有機會在大家的祝福之中，串連諸多發聲的可能，跑跳在國內與國際間的藝術社群之間，致力促成更親密的藝術交流、對話、生產與網絡平台。這個旅途上，我們創建多樣的工作方法論、累積各種寶貴的連結、體會實踐道路上的甘苦果實，也深深感謝藝術社群的種種期待、指教和無私的付出，讓我們領悟了更多共學同存的美好。
形式的重組並不會改變社群的凝聚，運動的驅力與想像也不會囿限於現實之妥協。公共性的描繪與論辯，時或變異更迭，但從未間斷。我們將帶著十年路上的學習和領受，期許並惕勵自身，在未來持續作為公共生活中堅實淬煉的省視力量。
Taipei Contemporary Art Center Closing Remarks
February 18, 2021
Taipei Contemporary Art Center announces it will be closing at the end of 2021. This autonomous collective decision was made on January 9, 2021, at the annual members’ meeting. After 10 years of activities that included a number of institutional restructures, and three different venues, the association came to the conclusion that it would close the current TCAC space by the end of February and the TCAC association by the end of 2021.
TCAC adopted a democratic model for its association to establish an open platform where a common public arena could be created to generate reflections and discourse that accommodate critical discussion and cultural imagination. TCAC’s long journey as an institution began with enthusiastic gatherings of cultural practitioners sharing their critical voices and opinions.
TCAC was founded in 2010, a time when the local cultural arena was in the midst of active movement and criticism of public institutions. Over the past decade, policies and production conditions have shifted through negotiations and changes in local political power. Alongside these local changes, contemporary art production and distribution have been reshaped globally by technological development and its consequences. Current times require us to examine the methods and tools of our institutional practice and our working premises: to exercise such a practice outside existing systemic restrictions, we must conduct deep reflection to maintain the open proposals and flexible strategies requested of our collective organization. It is our greatest responsibility to contemplate how we can continue processing and producing criticality for the coming decades.
TCAC has been an enriching journey for us all to learn how a community can bond, work and grow together, as well as how an art space can be organized and realized. Contributions and efforts made by all participating members and partners have shaped TCAC at different stages and added crucial nuance to its numerous initiatives. All of our operation teams have tried to be experimental in their efforts to build a critical independent institution with an open attitude. We have also taken a self-reflective approach to our drive and position within the production system and the overall cultural environment as we worked through different projects and phases. Our challenges and concerns have always centered on how we can engage in production locally, participate in a wider international art community, and adjust the development and direction of our operations while coping with our core members’ opportunities for growth.
As a unique case among independent art institutions in Taipei, we have been blessed with generous support from multiple sources to connect various voices, present diverse projects locally and internationally, and achieve the exchange, dialogue, production and network of art. We have learnt much from inventing our working methods, and from building relationships and collaborations in our daily practice and operation.
We have also learnt to believe that the restructure of an institutional model does not change how our community is bonded, nor will it compromise how we pursue, argue and imagine constructing and contributing to the public sphere. The lessons taken from the past decade will continue to be a vital source for our courage and inspiration to foster critical strength and future public lives.
