Museum of Contemporary Art Taipei — Attraction in Taipei

Review as of 1 December 2024 Rating: 0/10 Worst museum I’ve ever visited out of the 40 museums I’ve been to. I would recommend the fine arts museum instead which is much bigger + clearer and has really professional staff + cheaper tickets also.

I feel so sad so say this but this is the worst curated museum I’ve ever been to + the staff are also incredibly rude. I’ve been to over 40 museums all around the world and am giving what I feel is a fair review.

It doesn’t matter if you speak English/ Chinese there’s no information for most of the exhibits besides a QR code that invites you to listen to an audio guide. So you’re forced to listen to an audio guide to get any form of information per exhibit. Most other museums have at least a small blurb that you can translate to your own language. All the art works are very abstract so it does need some information. The grouping of the exhibits and the themes are very vague it’s not clear that exhibits have the same theme it’s not captured in the overview at each section (not each artwork) At the last section there isn’t even a QR code you are forced to watch videos where the artists talk about their vision behind the project. These videos are on loop but no indication is given as to whether there’s 1 min left or 15 mins left. You’re just left waiting for the video to end.

It feels like the whole museum was curated with aesthetics in mind- minimal and clean. But no thought is given for the whole user experience of a visitor trying to understand the museum.

I joined in a tour where dedicated staff were showing a JP art director around and even she was confused with the curation. The museum seems proud that the curator has a PHD but even the JP art director said a PHD means you can write a book, it doesn’t mean anything for museum curation because this museum is very badly curated.

Also the staff at each artwork are very clueless and also giving wrong information about the art work that conflicts with the audio guide. They’re unfriendly and also have different instructions that conflict with each other.

Overall a really...

I went to the museum in August of 2023. Getting to the Museum of Contemporary Art Taipei was, let's say, an adventure! 😅 Picture this: it's August, the sun is blazing, and for some reason, Google Maps decides to take a day off. I wandered around for what felt like forever, even asking a super kind young lady for directions. She didn't know about the museum (which surprised me—maybe it's not as well-known among locals?), but her effort to help was sweet. After some aimless strolling, I finally stumbled upon the place—and oh boy, was it worth it. The museum is housed in this gorgeous old brick building that gives it so much character—contemporary and often unconventional art inside an old traditional brick building. I like it. When I arrived, I had to store my bag in a locker, which required a small coin deposit. I couldn't remember exactly how much, but to my surprise, the locker returned my coin when I left! 😊 Inside, the exhibits were incredible. The range of mediums used by the artists blew me away—everything from colossal neon light installations that lit up the room in dazzling colors to immersive video pieces that pulled you into another world. Then, just when you thought it couldn't get any more eclectic, you'd stumble upon beautiful traditional paintings or intricately crafted clay sculptures of everyday consumer things like pet bottles. It was a feast for the senses. What I loved most was the balance of modern and classic, edgy and refined. You could feel the pulse of contemporary art but still find moments that made you pause and reflect. The space itself was intimate but not cramped, and it allowed you to really engage with the pieces without feeling rushed or overwhelmed. By the end of the visit, I was tired but so, so satisfied. MOCA Taipei delivered that wonderful mix of inspiration and fun that I've come to expect from great museums. If you're in the area, definitely put this on your list—and maybe double-check your route before...

I highly recommend checking what the current exhibit is online before visiting; it looks like this place can be really hit or miss, especially since it's such a small museum. The current main exhibit is so much of a train wreck it's kind of entertaining. The museum, for whom the exhibit was specifically created, seems to have enabled all of the most pretentious mental habits of the artist without any of the irony that makes contemporary art enjoyable. That said, if you enjoy video art so tastelessly pretentious that it stretches credibility, I highly recommend. Like, to the adequately prepared mind this exhibit is genuinely hilarious. The museum took about 40 minutes to complete, mainly because I couldn't bring myself to fully enjoy every part of the exhibit. Someone who likes what they see here could probably spend 1-1.5 hours watching everything in the current exhibit. Entry fee is 100 kuai, or 50 for students. Bags are not allowed in the exhibit, but you can lock your bag in their cloakroom for 10 kuai, which gets returned to you. There is lots of English posted around and an audio...