“No limitations, anything is possible.” An interview with Xiang Art-XIMEN, Taiwan

Vincent Art is the distributor and owner of a new graffiti store in Taiwan called Xiang Art Ximen. The distributor has a background in stores focused on supplies for fine art, but thanks to the discovery of the world of graffiti through Montana Colors our former distributor City Marx, they saw the massive potential of opening a graffiti shop. 

MTN News talked to the team in Taiwan about the new venture. 
 
Who’s behind the business? 

Vincent Art - the exclusive distributor of Montana Colors in the Taiwan Market. We distribute art brands in Taiwan and were blessed to meet Montana Colors in 2019, we stepped into graffiti, it was a whole new field for us. Because of this opportunity, we’ve met lots of great artists, and been involved in many incredible graffiti campaigns. By collaborating with CityMarx, we’re glad to promote street art in Taiwan.  

Most importantly, the store is named Xiang Art-XIMEN, it’s a spray can shop located in Ximending! 

Tell us the story of the shop opening. 

During these years, we’ve seen the potential of Taiwan graffiti. There are more and more artists, writers, and painters. Therefore, we started to have an idea about having a spray can shop in this city and it was an easy choice for us to select Ximen as our first stop.  

We tried to shape the store around the concepts of COOL, STREET, YOUNG. And it’s definitely a milestone for us. We are glad to provide a paradise for street art writers, mural creators, and creative painters. They can find every color and item they want. Without a doubt, as a distributor of Montana Colors, having a space filled with Montana Colors products is a must. 

What do you like about the neighborhood where the shop is located? 

Ximending is the youngest place located in the capital of Taiwan. As the hip hub for youth, it’s the source of Taiwan fashion, street art, subculture, recreation, and shopping. All kinds of ideas and cultures bump with each other and are born from here.   
 
The must-visit spot for the tourists, you can see Ximen is full of new energy anytime and everywhere, and needless to mention, here is a point for authentic Taiwanese food. 

How would you describe the community of artists that come through the shop? 

Artists, beginners, hobbyists, fashionists, tourists. Our shop is on Lane 96, which has a nickname called American Street. The street is full of graffiti, murals, and artworks, and new ones are painted often. It’s easy to find writers painting in the street.  

How is the graffiti scene in your city? 

In recent years, Taiwan has had many organizations working hard to push graffiti art. They’ve held exhibitions, created lots of installations in public and crossed over with other industries, like fashion brands, TV programs, movies and so on. This makes more and more people start to learn about graffiti art, and more and more young generations step in.  
 
One of the key attributes is that the Taiwanese government is starting to pay more attention to this field. They’ve opened more public areas for the writers to create and they also support many art activities. Therefore, in Taipei, Taichung, and Kaohsiung, big cities like those, you can see graffiti art is gradually more part of the everyday street scene. 

Which spots do you recommend to visitors for painting or checking out spray can art? 

Definitely “American Street”. As mentioned above, it’s an alley full of graffiti scenes and famous murals.  
The street is next to Taipei Cinema Park, where there are many art campaigns and showcases held in the park almost every month.   

What are some of the special or unusual products that you carry? 

We stock 94, Hardcore, Water Based and PRO lines in the store. People have different preferences; every line has its own supporters. However, these days, we get more customers come to ask about the selection of the Markers, Dabbers. We’re glad to share with them that MTN just launched a brand-new marker series, and they just can’t wait to have them in the store. 

Do you have any unusual/funny stories or anecdotes from your experiences of running an MTN Dealer? 

Because of the MTN, we get many chances to meet and get to know lots of passionate artists, and there are many customers who will give us feedback after using MTN aerosols on their artworks.  
We remember the Squid Game going viral all over the world in the past few months, one of studios used the Water Based series to make the mask, everyone was crazy to cosplay the characters at that time.  
Recently, the most amazing one might be the 2D cars. CityMarx used MTN94 to paint some vehicles and make them into 2D versions, like cars in comic books, but in real life. It was really incredible, we never thought that graffiti could combine with cars so well.  
 
No limitations, anything is possible, that’s what we see in graffiti art. 

You can find the Xiang Art-XIMEN shop at No. 24號, Lane 96, Kunming St, Wanhua District, Taipei City, Taiwan 108. 
Read an interview with Arcade Gallery in Taiwan and artist Orbita here.