Anping Shipyard

The shipbuilding industry in Tainan can be traced back to the Dutch occupation period. After ZHENG Cheng-gong (a.k.a. Koxinga) established his regime in Taiwan, he also set up a shipyard for repair and construction. However, the maturity and modernization of shipbuilding technology began during the Japanese colonial period. After the opening of the New Canal in 1926, the Japanese established a shipyard on the south bank of the blind section of the China Town Canal (now north of Xinnan Elementary School) and built a shipbuilding classroom on the west bank of the canal (now next to Xinnan Elementary School) to cultivate shipbuilding talents. The important figures in the post-war Tainan shipbuilding industry all received their education here.

PAN Yuan-shih, born in 1936 and grew up at Rice Street in Tainan (Now Xinmei Street), was deeply attracted to printmaking. He has long engaged in art education for exceptional children, promotion of art education, and cultivation of art talents. Pan was appointed as Tainan branch Director of Hsin Yi Foundation Preschool Education Library, CEO of Tainan Culture Foundation, Director of Chimei Foundation and Chimei Museum. As a result, PAN has had a major impact on extension education of art, talent cultivation, and art education for exceptional children in Tainan.

Printmaking has remained the major artistic presentation in PAN’s life. The subject matter of his prints are also closely associated with his beloved city. Images of daily life memories, historical sites and artifacts that are exclusively of Tainan are transformed into outlines and graphics with rich palette presentation. His artworks not only are amusing, but also depict this creator’s nostalgia toward life and surroundings in this homeland.