Osmanthus Alley Art Village in Lukang, an important attraction connecting Lukang Old Street, is a planted space with a group of Japanese-style wooden housings. The village is open to artists for residency applications. In addition to the facilities such as rest area and outdoor stage, activities such as art and cultural activities and cultural tours are held regularly to inspire diverse artistic sparks. It has been developed into an art base with an international vision.
Osmanthus Alley Art Village is the first art valley in Changhua County. It was used to be a river for trading during the Qing Dynasty. According to legend, the name "Osmanthus Alley" came from the osmanthus all over the riverbank. This area was once where fishermen caught mullet, hence, commonly known as "Mullet Village", according to the historical records. However, due to the coastline receding, the land was reclaimed and further developed. A group of Japanese-style housings was built on the land during the Showa period in Japanese colonial period.
After 1945, this area was managed by the Lukang Township Office, and those housings were once used as a police commissioner’s residence. However, it gradually fell into disuse afterwards. Thanks to the unique architectural style of those wooden buildings different from the Minnan architecture in Lukang Old Street, many people advocated preserving and reusing them. The government, therefore, began to renovate this area in 2009 and opened it to the artists for residency in 2010. The artist residence is a first for Changhua County, making the Osmanthus Alley an important cultural and tourism base in Lukang.
Each studio is elaborately decorated by the selected artists, combining tradition and modernity. The village not only features works by local craft masters, but also creations by new generation artists, allowing the village to retain the essence of traditional culture and inject new artistic energy at the same time. Moreover, it has become an exchange platform for creators. There are lion heads, dough figurines, calligraphy, painting, Taiwanese rush-weaving, glass craft, flower arrangement, Nanguan, poetry singing, etc., presenting a cultural atmosphere flourished under diverse arts.
The art village extends northward to the Lukang Assembly Hall (鹿港公會堂), a county-level historic heritage site. Walking southwards along the red brick trail to Lukang Old Street, and northwards to many temples and historic sites, including Nanjing Temple (南靖宮), Xinzu Temple (新祖宮), Tianhou Temple (天后宮), etc. All of these are rich historical and cultural assets of Lukang.
In addition to the Japanese-style wooden buildings, there are study rooms and 3 plazas and pavilions available for art exhibitions, arts and cultural events and educational courses, offering visitors a varied culture experience.
Osmanthus Alley Art Village constantly presents its innovation to celebrate the festivals and frequently replaces with creative decorative art, such as impressive koinobori, a Japanese carp-shaped windsock, and the healing light corridor decorated recently with Sumikko Gurashi (角落小夥伴), to attract tourists to come and check in on social media. With various arts and cultural events and street performances often held on holidays and irregular evening activities, it combines with the historical development of the town and cultural facilities to inject creative vitality into Lukang and becomes a landmark of new art and culture in Lukang.
