Keelung Cultural Center – Art, Exhibitions, and History

If you’re looking for things to do in Keelung on a rainy day, the Keelung Cultural Center is a great place to explore both art exhibitions and a bit of local history (the Story House). It is open from Tuesday to Sunday, from 9AM to 5PM. As all the floors have air conditioning, it’s also a great place to hide if you’re feeling too hot in summer.
However, I quickly realized that its interior, especially for the first floor, is a bit chaotic.

Exhibition Areas and Entrance Tips

The building has four entrances (at least for visitors). The “main” one has two lion statues at the front. It is the one people will see right away as it is on the facade where “Keelung cultural center” is written. It is the facade picked to illustrate the venue on Keelung’s website, Google, or Tripadvisor. However, close by on the right side (when you face the front), there also is a smaller door, next to the cafe. Lucky us, the cafe also has its own entrance from outside if you just want to get a drink or a snack (it also has another entrance from inside the building)!

The fourth entrance is on the left side of the main facade.

The two doors I want to focus on are the “main” one (front facade) and the “left side” door.

When you enter from the “main” entrance, you get to the first exhibition right away, the one called “Behind the ideal landscape” (current exhibition as of June 2025).

However, the main entrance hall doesn’t have any elevators… while the building has 8 floors. It personally unsettled me a bit. The elevators are in the area you enter when you take the “left side” door. Do not worry, though, you can get from one side to another without leaving the building.

To do so, you will have to go through the exhibition room (still “behind the ideal landscape” exhibition at the moment). What I did (and recommend) is to go all the way to the back and go up the stairs to the Story House (left side), which is in the area called “M” for Mezzanine.

The Story House (M Floor)

The permanent exhibition called Story 100% has four “spaces” that are separated by walk-through curtains. We learn about Keelung’s history as we roam around. This exhibition allows you to “witness a century of Keelung” and is the only permanent one in the cultural center (as of June 2025).

Opposite to it, there is the “data tide” exhibition. I do not know if all exhibitions in this area are usually seen in the dark but this one is. The first time I went to the center, I wasn’t sure I was allowed to walk through the thick black curtains. Turns out, I was!

I mentioned the area being called M for Mezzanine. Now, the tricky part is that M01 and M02 are together but M03 has its own area, closer to the left entrance door! (Are you still with me here?) As I just said we should visit M01 and M02 first, it’s then time to come back down and enjoy the exhibition on the first floor (currently “behind the ideal landscape”). The cafe is also in this area but I will talk about it a bit later. As you roam around the paintings, you will end up seeing a pair of stairs with a path in between.

The stairs lead up to … M03!

The path in between leads to … the left door entrance and the bigger stairs and elevators, leading to the upper floors.

Now, M03 also has its own elevator so you could take it from there to go to the third floor (as the 2^nd floor is the library but is currently closed).

M03 has another exhibition, different from the other two. So in total, as of June the 8^th, we have three art exhibitions and one permanent exhibition on the first floor and the mezzanine combined.

However, it is not the end of the art exhibitions. On the 3^rd floor, there is another one, so don’t skip it. The space is called the “exhibition room 301” but it takes almost the entire floor. On that floor, and the one following up, you will find benches and glass windows.

Performing Arts Center

From floor 4, up to floor 6, those are part of Keelung Performing Arts Center. Some days, those floors will be closed to the public. If you can, I do recommend taking the stairs or elevator up to take a seat and enjoy a bit of the view.

On the 4th floor, I also saw a piano. I do not know if it’s possible to play (I play terribly and didn’t want to try) but it’s a beautiful one.

What I personally did was take the stairs one floor at a time (to visit each one) and came down from floor 6 back to floor 1 with the elevator.

Floors 7 and 8 are office areas.

Floor guide of Keelung cultural center — Floor Guide of Keelung Cultural Center

How to Check Show Schedules

As they have performances happening, you could visit the website (https://klneartsnew.klccab.gov.tw/ in mandarin) to check if you can attend any. Some are free while some need you to buy a ticket, using Opentix (https://www.opentix.life/). The website is in mandarin as well but offers an option to translate the pages.

Art Museum Cafe

The art museum cafe is open from 9AM to 6PM. Their menu has English translations and the place is nicely decorated. Beside the usual drinks and snacks/pastries, they are also selling goodies. I got myself the little pudding and a pineapple & apple juice drink.