The National Kaohsiung Center for the Arts, also known as Weiwuying, is to present free and paid ticketed events for three days over the Double Ten National Day long weekend, Oct. 9 to 11, to celebrate its third anniversary, it said on Friday.
“Since the opening of Weiwuying, it has overcome various challenges to connect people to the world through the arts,” Weiwuying general and artistic director Chien Wen-pin (簡文彬) said in a statement.
“Despite the COVID-19 pandemic, we continue to support public and performance arts groups — because culture and the arts are keys to the world — and introduce more Taiwanese artists to global audiences,” he said.
Photo courtesy of the Weiwuying National Kaohsiung Center for the Arts
The “Weiwuying Anniversary 3.0” continues the center’s tradition of opening its four venues and other spaces to the public, but will follow the government’s COVID-19 disease prevention guidelines by requiring all attendees to wear a mask, the statement said.
The three-day event will begin with free “open house” events at its playhouse, including demonstrations of how a theater is operated and how a show is run.
The arts center also plans an outdoor market between 4pm and 9pm over the three days.
On the afternoon of Oct. 10, the center’s other venues — an opera house, concert hall and recital hall — will hold free performances, including two by the Diabolo Dance Theatre, two chamber music concerts and two “Let’s Opera” concerts, the center said.
At 6pm, rapper Gil G and two Golden Melody Award winners — Waa Wei (魏如萱) and Julia Peng (彭佳慧) — are scheduled to sing at a free concert at Weiwuying’s outdoor theater, the arts center said.
A free electronic music party featuring DJ Junior and DJ Cookie is to be held at the Banyan Plaza at 8:30pm on National Day, Oct. 10, it said.
Free tickets to the indoor events will be available starting at noon on Oct. 1 through the OpenTix service. No tickets are needed for the outdoor events, but crowd control measures are to be in place to meet government COVID-19 protocols, the arts center said.
Performances requiring purchased tickets are also scheduled for the weekend.
One is a concert on Oct. 9 by the Evergreen Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Chien. It is to feature the world premiere of composer Chang Ching-shan’s (張菁珊) Images of Kaohsiung: Cangue of Freedom, Beethoven’s Triple Concerto in C Major, Op 56, and Strauss’ Don Quixote, Op. 35.
Meanwhile, the Diabolo Dance Theatre is to perform its new production, The Island, VALO Part 2, on Oct. 9 and Oct. 11. Tickets for these performances are available through OpenTix.
Weiwuying, formerly an idle military training base, was redeveloped into a 46-hectare park and arts center, which opened on Oct. 13, 2018.
It is the largest and youngest cultural institution under the National Performing Arts Center, which also runs the National Theater and Concert Hall in Taipei, and the National Taichung Theater.
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