The mission of the Taipei Fine Arts Museum is to promote the preservation, research, development and popularization of Taiwanese modern and contemporary art; to keep abreast of global trends and establish a variety of channels for exchange; to raise the general public’s understanding of and participation in modern art; to help Taiwanese modern and contemporary art to thrive; and to cultivate fuller artistic attainment in the people, in the hope of forming a contemporary society with aesthetic sense and cultural perception.

To better meet citizens’ demands, the Museum Plan was approved in 1978 with the location of the Yuan Shan Second Municipal Park on Zhong Shan N. Road, Section 3, as its tentative base. The project was completed in January 1983 and was followed by the Museum’s official inauguration on December 24, which led the embarkation on its mission of serving the citizenry. The task of designing and construction was given over to the architect, Er-Pan Kao.

The conception and construction of TFAM’s physical structure is uniquely creative and symbolic. It combines a rather unique architectural plan with a natural courtyard, thus corresponding quite favorably with the initial aims and features of the Museum’s original blueprint. The architecture is infused with elements borrowed from traditional Chinese architecture, which are presented via the structure of piled brackets in the form of suspended corridors, that, together, form a tubular-shaped composition. This tube-shape is identical to the Chinese character for ‘fountain’, hence fostering the museum’s analogue as a live source of culture. Symmetrical and suspended gallery spaces are spread on each floor to form a new space in which visitors can view and appreciate art. The grand windows allow visitors inside of the museum to take in the beauteous views that overlook Yuan Shan,Fine Arts Park Area and the surrounding environments. Zhong Shan N. Road, generally known as ‘national road’ and the usual route taken by foreign leaders who enter and exit the country, extends to the museum’s left. The Museum’s location is also extremely easily accessible and can be reached by either the MRT (Metro) or bus.