Cabinet approves new NT$1.4 billion art history reconstruction plan

Taipei, Sept. 12 (CNA) The Executive Yuan has approved a budget of NT$1.4 billion (US$43.52 million) to implement a new version of a project aimed at reconstructing Taiwan's art history from 2025-2028, a cultural official said Thursday.

In 2018, the Ministry of Culture (MOC) began implementing the Reconstruction of Taiwan's Art History Project, with funding from the central government's budget for the Forward-looking Infrastructure Development Program from 2018 to 2024.

The ministry introduced a 2.0 version of the project, which was approved by the Cabinet earlier this year, MOC Arts Development Department Director-General Chou Ya-ching (周雅菁) said Thursday at a news conference after a Cabinet meeting.

The Cabinet decided to inject NT$1.4 billion into the new project from 2025-2028, Chou added.

Under the project, work on the collection, promotion and research of the history of art, music and literature will continue, while efforts will be expanded to also cover the history of architecture and Taiwanese opera, according to Chou.

She said the MOC will also start preparations for the establishment of a national art museum in Tainan, which will focus on Taiwan's pioneering artists, and the promotion of related exhibitions and education.

The preparatory office for the museum's establishment is set to open on March 25, 2025.

Over the past few years, since the Reconstruction of Taiwan's Art History Project was introduced, a total of 867 pieces of work by Taiwanese pioneering artists and more than 90,000 historical records have been collected, while more than 8,000 pieces have been restored, the ministry said in a statement issued Thursday.