Chen Chie-ren is not the only one feeling disappointed about this situation.

In fact, a group of artists share the same concerns, and have started their own art exhibition center last year,

Only one block away from the bustling Ximenting area, the old apartment building is far from being called a museum.

But in the past year, it has gradually become the main venue where local artists exhibit their works and attend workshops.

In recent years, artists have experienced the growing difficulty of getting a good exhibition date and venue in the Taipei Fine Arts Museum.

The museum has seen a record-breaking number of visitors in the past two years, for the exhibitions of the Pixar Animation Studios, Chinese artist Cai Guo-Qiang and fashion designer Jean-Paul Gaultier.

Given the box office success of these exhibitions, the museum gives the major exhibition rooms on the first and the second floors to these foreign, business-oriented events.

Local artists can only settle for a less desirable location in a basement or on a corridor.

They can't help but wonder if Taipei Fine Arts Museum is only an institution with available spaces for rent.

Even a former exhibition space has become a gift shop.

Artists joke that the museum has now switched to business interests, as it not only fails to cultivate its own curators but also lacks a proper reviewing system for reviewing.

With enormous resources at its disposal, the government-backed museum is under criticism for its purpose and public value.

After Chen's bold gesture, the group of artists will begin a series of forums and public hearing to explore the future direction of local art museums. And they don't rule out the possibility to take it to the streets to give pressure to the cultural policy-makers.

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