Taipei, Taiwan

Why Taipei works so well for residencies

Taipei is set up almost unnaturally well for artists on residency. You get a dense art ecosystem, strong public cultural funding, and a city that’s easy to move through on a tight schedule and budget.

Residency programs here tend to connect studio work with the city itself. Hosts frequently ask you to respond to the urban landscape, cultural history, biological environment, and social context of Taipei. If you like research, walking, and letting your work grow out of place and community, Taipei is a good fit.

On a practical level, residencies often cover housing and studio, which cuts the biggest costs. Transit is cheap, food can be very affordable if you lean on night markets and local spots, and it’s straightforward to move between studios, galleries, and museums.

This guide focuses on how Taipei’s residency ecosystem actually feels to work in: where residencies are based, how to situate yourself in the city, and what to expect from the art scene around you.

The core residency ecosystem: AIR Taipei & Treasure Hill

AIR Taipei basics

The main public residency platform in Taipei is Artist-in-Residence Taipei (AIR Taipei), operated through Treasure Hill Artist Village. It has hosted hundreds of artists from dozens of countries and runs both international and exchange programs.

The two flagship sites historically were:

• Taipei Artist Village (TAV) – legacy downtown site that has now been phased out due to urban renewal
• Treasure Hill Artist Village (THAV) – the main current physical base for AIR Taipei

While TAV as a building has closed, the residency programs and exchange structure continue, with Treasure Hill as the key on-the-ground space.

Treasure Hill Artist Village: what it’s like

Address: No. 2, Alley 14, Ln. 230, Sec. 3, Dingzhou Rd., Zhongzheng District, Taipei City 100, Taiwan

Treasure Hill is built into an older hillside settlement near the river. You get narrow stairways, layered houses, and studios wedged into a historic neighborhood. It’s part art village, part community space, and part historical site, which shapes how you work there.

Typical AIR Taipei offers at Treasure Hill include:

• Free accommodation for selected international residents during specific program periods
• Studio space within the village
• Presentation or rehearsal spaces for talks, exhibitions, or performances
• Administrative support from the residency staff
• Networking with local and international artists and institutions

The program encourages projects linked to Taipei’s environment and context. Strong proposals usually show:

• A clear body of previous work
• A project that actually needs Taipei (not just a generic studio period)
• Plans for research, production, and public sharing that are realistic for the residency length

Treasure Hill can be especially good if you work with site-specific installation, social practice, urban research, sound, performance, or anything that benefits from being embedded in a layered neighborhood rather than a white-cube studio block.

International Residency & Exchange

AIR Taipei is structured around a few main frameworks:

• International Residency Project – artists come to Taipei, live and work at Treasure Hill, and often share their work through open studios, talks, or exhibitions.
• International Artist Exchange Project – AIR Taipei partners with institutions in places like Japan, Korea, Singapore, Thailand, Australia, France, the UK, Germany, and Canada. This can mean coordinated calls where one residency sends artists to Taipei and receives Taipei-based artists in return.

If you’re based outside Taiwan, you’ll most likely interact with AIR Taipei via an open call to the International Residency Project or through a partner institution in your own country. If you’re based in Taiwan, there are also pathways that support outbound residencies abroad.

Because it’s a public program, you can expect structured selection criteria and some emphasis on public benefit: exchanges with local audiences, educational or community elements, and work that expands cultural understanding.

Puppetry residency: THAV x Puppetry Art Center of Taipei

Within AIR Taipei, there is a specialized track: the Treasure Hill Artist Village x Puppetry Art Center of Taipei Project Residency (THAV x PACT).

Key features:

• Designed for international applicants
• Provides accommodation and administrative assistance
• Includes opportunities for public performances through the Puppetry Art Center of Taipei

This suits artists working in puppetry, experimental theatre, performance, or cross-disciplinary practices that can use puppetry language or staging. The partnership gives you both a studio base in Treasure Hill and a performance-oriented venue and context at the Puppetry Art Center.

If your practice leans towards object theatre, movement, visual performance, or expanded puppetry, this residency can offer much more relevant infrastructure than a generic studio program.

Residencies around Taipei’s metro area

Yingge Ceramics Museum Residency

Technically in New Taipei City rather than Taipei City, the Taiwan Ceramics Residency at the Yingge Ceramics Museum is still part of most artists’ mental map of Taipei’s residency circuit.

Yingge is known as a ceramics hub. The museum and surrounding area are geared toward clay, kilns, and material experimentation.

Typical elements include:

• Professional ceramic facilities – kilns, equipment, and technical support you would struggle to access alone
• Cultural and craft context – local craftspeople, workshops, and a town built around ceramics
• Accommodation & program fees – often structured as a month-long program with an inclusive cost covering housing and access to facilities

This is ideal if your practice is ceramic-focused, sculptural, or research-based around craft and industry. Even if your residency base is Treasure Hill, it can be worth visiting Yingge for day trips to understand how contemporary ceramics sits in Taiwan’s art ecosystem.

Arts Residency Network Taiwan (ARNT)

Arts Residency Network Taiwan is the national platform listing residencies across Taiwan, including those in Taipei. It’s run under the Ministry of Culture framework and is useful for:

• Discovering programs in Taipei and beyond
• Tracking policy and funding structures around residencies
• Reading residency reports written by artists about their experiences

While not a residency itself, ARNT is handy to map how Taipei connects with residencies in Tainan, New Taipei, and smaller towns, especially if you’re planning a multi-city research or production period.

How Taipei residencies actually select artists

Across programs in Taipei, a few patterns show up in selection criteria:

• Connection to place – curators and staff are usually looking for projects that respond specifically to Taipei or Taiwan, not interchangeable studio time. Show how the city’s urban structure, history, ecology, or communities matter to your work.
• Interdisciplinary practice – many residents combine visual art, performance, social practice, sound, or writing. The scene is comfortable with hybrid practice.
• Public engagement – open studios, talks, workshops, or performances are common expectations. You don’t need to be an educator, but you should be open to sharing process and context.
• Feasibility – ambitious is good, unrealistic is not. Proposals that clearly match the timeframe, facilities, and budget situation tend to land better.

For AIR Taipei specifically, a strong application usually includes:

• A concise CV focused on relevant projects
• A clear statement of practice
• A project proposal that names why Taipei matters and how you’ll research or work on site
• Portfolio images or links that demonstrate you can deliver what you’re proposing

If you come from a performance or socially engaged background, emphasize how you collaborate with communities or institutions. If you’re more studio-based or object-focused, articulate how context and research will enter your process in Taipei.

Where to stay and work: neighborhoods that make sense

Zhongzheng: Treasure Hill + central access

Zhongzheng District is where Treasure Hill is located. It’s central, well connected, and gives you quick access to both the residency site and institutional spaces.

Good for you if you want:

• To be close to Treasure Hill or its events
• Quick access to cultural institutions and government offices
• Easy MRT links to the rest of the city

Many artists who aren’t housed at Treasure Hill still orbit Zhongzheng because of its mix of older neighborhoods and easy transit.

Da’an: studio–café–gallery triangle

Da’an District often feels like the everyday backdrop for artists in Taipei. It’s dense, walkable, and filled with cafés, small galleries, bookstores, and studios.

Why it works:

• Plenty of places to work on a laptop or sketchbook between studio and events
• Easy to schedule meetings and casual studio visits
• Good starting point for exploring commercial and independent art spaces

If your residency doesn’t include housing, Da’an is a solid area to look for a room or short-term rental, though prices reflect its popularity.

Xinyi: museums and major institutions

Xinyi District is more polished and commercial, but it’s also where some major institutions and galleries anchor themselves.

Pros:

• Close to key museums and larger galleries
• Useful for seeing how contemporary art is framed in more formal or commercial settings
• Easy to reach by MRT from most other districts

Living here can be pricier, but spending time in Xinyi is helpful to understand how your work might sit in the broader institutional context.

Wanhua: texture, history, and street culture

Wanhua is one of Taipei’s oldest districts. If your work taps into history, urban transformation, nightlife, or social issues, it can be especially rich as a research environment.

Expect:

• Older buildings and a more layered, sometimes rougher urban fabric
• Street culture and religious spaces side by side
• Good material for documentation, field recording, or ethnographic-style research

Wanhua is not a residency cluster in the same way as Treasure Hill, but artists often come here to walk, observe, and gather material.

Beitou and New Taipei corridors: retreat and budget options

Beitou sits at the edge of Taipei City, known for hot springs and a slower rhythm. It’s attractive if you want quiet evenings, more nature, and still-usable transit connections.

Banqiao and other New Taipei City areas can offer:

• More affordable accommodation
• Access to maker spaces or community arts programs outside the denser center
• Suburban or industrial environments that may suit specific research interests

If your residency provides housing, you may not need to worry about this. If not, these zones can help stretch a modest budget.

Cost of living and working as a resident

Compared with Tokyo, Seoul, or Hong Kong, Taipei is generally more manageable. It’s not ultra-cheap, but residencies that cover housing and studio space take a lot of pressure off.

Typical monthly out-of-pocket costs might include:

• Food – very flexible. Night markets and local eateries keep costs low; specialty cafés and imported goods add up.
• Transit – MRT and buses are inexpensive, especially if you stick to public transport and occasional shared bikes.
• Materials – depends heavily on your medium. Basic hardware and general art supplies are accessible; niche or imported materials can be pricey.
• Personal spending – museum tickets, zines, books, events, and occasional taxis.

If the residency covers housing and studio, you can often manage on a modest monthly budget, especially if you’re comfortable cooking or eating in everyday local spots.

Studios, galleries, and art spaces to know

Taipei’s art structure mixes public institutions, commercial galleries, and artist-run or project spaces. You won’t see everything in one stay, but a few anchors help you orient yourself.

• Treasure Hill Artist Village – not just a residency site but also a venue for exhibitions, performances, open studios, and informal community events.
• Taipei Fine Arts Museum (TFAM) – a major reference point for contemporary and modern art in Taiwan. Seeing how artists are framed here can help you position your own practice.
• Museum of Contemporary Art Taipei (MOCA Taipei) – often focuses on contemporary and experimental practices and engages strongly with Asia-wide and global discourse.
• Yingge Ceramics Museum – important if you work with clay or want to understand how craft and contemporary art intersect.

Independent spaces and commercial galleries are spread across districts like Da’an, Zhongzheng, Xinyi, and parts of Wanhua. Once you arrive, it helps to:

• Ask your residency coordinators for a list of current spaces and events
• Use gallery maps or city art guides to cluster visits by area
• Show up to opening nights – these are key for meeting other artists and curators

Getting around the city as a working artist

Taipei’s transit makes it unusually easy to sustain a busy residency schedule.

• MRT – fast, clean, and reliable. Most art sites and neighborhoods you’ll care about are within walking distance of an MRT station.
• Buses – useful for reaching slopes, riverbanks, and areas not directly on the MRT lines.
• YouBike and cycling – good for short hops between neighborhoods or along the riverside paths. Handy if your work involves repeated visits to the same area.
• Taxis – affordable relative to many major cities, useful when carrying works or materials.

If you’re based at Treasure Hill, you can reach central Taipei quickly by MRT and don’t need a car. Planning gallery and museum visits by district will keep travel time low and leave more hours for the studio.

Visas and paperwork

Residency stays in Taipei usually rely on visitor visas, visa-free entry, or specific cultural visas, depending on your nationality and the length and structure of the program.

Before you confirm dates, check:

• What the residency provides – an official invitation letter, proof of accommodation, and documentation describing the program as cultural exchange.
• Your passport’s rules – how long you can stay visa-free, and whether your planned stay exceeds that.
• Activity type – exhibitions, talks, and non-commercial performances are often considered cultural, but you should still check how that aligns with local regulations.

The safest path is usually to confirm details with both the residency and the Taiwan representative office or consulate that handles your region. Rules can differ by nationality, so don’t rely on another artist’s situation if they hold a different passport.

When to be here and how to time your application

Residencies in Taipei extend across the calendar. Weather and personal workflow might influence your preference more than anything else.

Many artists favor cooler months for:

• Outdoor research, photography, and field recording
• Transporting materials and moving around the city comfortably
• Longer walks in neighborhoods like Wanhua, Zhongzheng, and along riverbanks

When you’re planning an application, factor in time to prep:

• Portfolio files in formats acceptable to the host
• Translated materials if needed
• A project description that directly references Taipei or Taiwan
• A basic timeline of what you want to achieve in the residency period

Many public programs run annual open calls, so being prepared early in the year makes it easier to apply as soon as announcements go up.

Community, open studios, and getting the most from your stay

Taipei residencies are rarely about locking yourself away from the city. Hosts tend to encourage or expect interaction, sharing, and dialogue.

Ways to plug into the scene:

• Open studios – a core feature of Treasure Hill and many other programs. These can be formal events or more informal visiting hours where people drop in.
• Artist talks and workshops – opportunities to share your practice, get feedback, and explain context that might be unfamiliar locally.
• Gallery openings and museum events – good for meeting curators, writers, and other artists while experiencing how work is shown in Taipei.
• Peer hangouts – coffee, shared meals, and studio visits with other residents often lead to future collaborations and invitations.

Taipei also has strong ties between visual art, puppetry, performance, ceramics, and interdisciplinary practices. Don’t be surprised if you find yourself in conversations with puppet makers, ceramicists, and theatre artists in the same week. The more you articulate your practice in that mix, the more useful the residency becomes long-term.

Which Taipei residency vibe fits your work?

To quickly match yourself to the city’s main residency flavors, think about these alignments:

• Research-based, site-specific, interdisciplinary work – AIR Taipei at Treasure Hill, especially if your project engages urban space, community, ecology, or social history.
• Performance, puppetry, object theatre – THAV x Puppetry Art Center of Taipei Project Residency, designed specifically around public performance and puppetry language.
• Ceramics, sculpture, and material research – Yingge Ceramics Museum residency, for access to equipment, technical networks, and a town structured around clay.

Many artists end up combining these: producing ceramics work at Yingge while connecting with urban research in Taipei, or developing a site-specific installation at Treasure Hill that later travels to partner institutions abroad through exchange programs.

If you approach Taipei as a city-wide studio and not just a single building, residencies here can give you both focused production time and a long-term anchor in Taiwan’s art networks.