Taipei National University of the Arts

[EduCativ]

In 1979, the Executive Yuan, unveiling a plan to promote cultural and recreational activities, decided to set up a higher education institution dedicated to nurturing talents for fine arts, performing arts, and academic research. So the school had to be founded on the "highest standards". On October 22, 1980, a preparatory committee was formed by leading figures from the arts and educational sectors, and on July 1, 1982, the National Institute of the Arts was born.
The school was founded with three departments: Music, Fine Arts and Theatre Arts. Classes were taught in rooms borrowed from the Taipei International Youth Center. In 1983, the school added the Department of Dance. In April 1985, classes were moved to facilities borrowed from the National Overseas Chinese Student University Preparatory School at Luchou, Taipei County. In September 1990, construction work on the Kuandu campus was completed. In late July 1991, the school was formally relocated to Kuandu. The school's entire staff and students took part in a ritualistic parade to the new campus, marking a brand new stage of the school's development.
To provide a platform for integrating various academic achievements, the Center for Traditional Arts was established in 1982. In 1992, the Center for Art and Technology was set up to become a champion of cross-disciplinary integration between art and technology. In 1993, the school founded the Performance Arts Center, becoming the only higher education institute in Taiwan to own a professional concert hall, dance theatre, and experimental theatre. It was renamed the Performing Art Center in 1994.
On August 1, 2001, the school was officially renamed Taipei National University of the Arts (TNUA) with five schools: Music, Fine Arts, Theatre Arts, Dance, and Culture Resources.
Besides, to enhance its academic performance and expand its international presence, TNUA turned its research and development center into the Office of Research and Development and created the International Exchange Center on August 1, 2006. And to promote arts education in the community, the Center for Continuing Education and the Creative Resource Center for Traditional Arts were merged to form the Center for Arts Resources and Continuing Educational Outreach in 2008. In the same year, the Arts and Activity Complex was unveiled, with its movie theatre formally opened in October.
To further shape TNUA into a comprehensive arts university, the School of Film and New Media was founded in 2009. In 2010, the Department of Filmmaking and the Department of New Media Art were introduced.
Experimental Theatre, Movie Theatre, and Kuandu Museum of Fine Arts －are rare among the world's universities. It is an ideal training ground for art talents through a pedagogy that places equal emphases on the academic and practical sides.
TNUA, as the first arts university in Taiwan, has a group of highly accomplished artists who have a strong sense of commitment to educating young talents and a group of talented students who are passionate about culture and arts.
As the most important institution for educating artists in Taiwan, TNUA embraces a principle that stresses both the traditional and modern and international and local. Our pedagogy emphasizes both the theoretical and the practical, with a mission to nurture generations of artists for Taiwan and elevate the country's overall artistic and cultural achievements.
A quarter of a century may not be too long for an educational institution. However, with keen efforts by its entire staff and student bodies, TNUA has produced excellent achievements. Of all the tenured professors and alumni, 11 have won the National Awards for Arts, and two have received the Executive Yuan Culture Award. Their distinguished achievements have been widely recognized domestically and internationally.
The TNUA produced opening ceremony for the World Games 2009 in Kaohsiung was the fruit of careful planning and management that resulted in an excellent presentation of performances, music, and spectacles mixing the traditional and modern to highlight the local culture of Taiwan's competitiveness. It has allowed art to become one of Taiwan's major attractions on the world stage. Such achievements and successes attest to TNUA's energy and competitiveness accumulated over the years.

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