The Taipower Power Equipment Repair And Maintenance (PERAM) Section is located next to the Taipei Music Center in Nangang. It has been 36 years since its establishment in 1984, and holds nearly 600 people in its 13,000 pings of space. Each year, the Section overhauls, inspects, calibrates and maintains more than 300 power plant units and heavy mechanical and electrical equipment nationwide. It is the core secret base for ensuring the stability of the country’s electricity. In cooperation with the Taipei East District Urban Renewal Plan, the Nangang base is now relocating. However, before saying goodbye, Taipower will open up the factory for the first time ever tonight (the 3rd) in coordination with the 2020 Nuit Blanche Taipei. According to Taipower, there will be 10 audiovisual and performances in the venue, among which is an international collaboration by French street artist JR and photographer James Lin. Their giant collage of 202 pieces of portraits is a tribute to the unknown heroes of electric power and echoes this year's highlight theme of "Electricity in Nangang." The public is welcome to experience this all-night art feast.
Nuit Blanche is a global all-night art festival that originated in Paris, France in 2002. It is an all-night event held on the first Saturday of October every year. The event features activities through the night, free participation and public participation. Performances include various domains such as theater, circus, dance, music, performance art and new media art. Through art, urban space is transformed into a one-night only large-scale art gallery. To date, hundreds of cities have responded to the festival, and Taipei has been participating for five consecutive years. Under the impact of the epidemic, Paris; Toronto; Kyoto and Taipei are the only four host cities in the world this year. In 2017, Taipower crossed over industry and participated for the first time in the Nuit Blanche with the theme of "Independent Treasures of Wenzhou Street, Roosevelt Road and Tingzhou Road" when its Taipower Building moved to Gongguan.
In this year’s Nuit Blanche Taipei, Lin Kun-Ying, a well-known artist in the torch tower installation for the opening ceremony of the 2017 Universiade and co-founder of Luxury Logico, is serving as the art director. He has recruited nearly a hundred artists from home and abroad to participate in the grand event. The event venue spans the MRT Nangang Station to the MRT Kunyang Station, and connects 7 key locations, namely Taipei Music Center; Taipower Power Equipment Repair And Maintenance Section; Nangang Bottle Cap Factory; Nangang Station; Extreme Fitness Center; and Nanxing Park. A total of 21 visual installations, 50 performance teams and 9 related activities will be presented. In response to these activities, Taipower is opening up its maintenance facility to the public for the first since its establishment nearly 40 years ago.
Lin Kun-Ying said that during the preparatory stage when he went to Nangang to survey the site, he was curious about the large green building next to the Taipei Music Center. Asking around, he learned that it is the Taipower Power Equipment Repair And Maintenance Section. He also heard this Power Nomad, so nicknamed because of the nature of its work, is relocating this year. Lin believes that the characteristics of Nangang’s convergence and the Nuit Blanche can draw attention to social issues, and therefore eagerly invited Taipower to participate. He even designated the PERAM Section as the independent Exhibition Area Number 7 to highlight its sustainability and protective features through its opening to the public.
Lin Kun-Ying shared that when he undertook the Nuit Blanche, the first artist he thought of collaborating with is French street artist JR. After selecting the "Inside Out Project", a black-and-white collage of people, he decided to showcase the work in PERAM Section without any hesitation. This piece of work is an international cooperation between JR and James Lin, a well-known domestic photographer. He took portraits of 202 Taipower employees and covered the exterior of the Taipower PERAM building with the 1 meter by 1 meter large black and white photos as a tribute to Taiwan's unsung heroes of electricity.
Artist Kuo I-Chen who has represented Taiwan in the Venice Biennale was invited to participate in the Nuit Blanche Canada in 2009. More than 10 years later, he is very happy to participate in the event in his hometown. Kuo I-Chen said that he likes large spaces, and when he set eyes on Taipower's PERAM, he felt as if he was entering a secret base. "It's really a treasure!" With all kinds of imprints left by 36 years of history, "it's a huge artwork in itself."
Kuo I-Chen explains that this time, he has suspended a small light bulb from the lifting equipment of a crane in the PERAM factory and combined it with real-time projection technology to create the "Light Year 1031". Overhead, it looks like a glittering galaxy, and he hopes that viewers can sense the effort of many people behind the lit bulb.
Taipower said that the Nuit Blanche will officially begin at 6 o'clock tonight, and will last for 12 hours until 6 o'clock the following morning (the 4th). The Taipower PERAM exhibition area has 10 audiovisual and performance displays. From 6:30 in the evening, there will also be 4 special guided tours. Staff from Taipower PERAM Section will personally guide the public into this secret power base that is opened to the public for the first time in 36 years. The public is welcome to experience a night of fun in the Nuit Blanche in Nangang. For details, please refer to the event fan page (https://www.facebook.com/NuitBlancheTPE/).
Spokesperson: Chang Ting-Shu, Chief Administrator
Telephone: (02)2366-6271/ 0936-625-552
Email: u742433@taipower.com.tw
Business Contact: Yuan Mei-Ling, Director of the Department of Public Relations
Telephone: (02)2366-7430/0939-656-201
Email：u004465@taipower.com.tw