Bookstore Introduction
Founded in 2016, Jian Bookstore established Jian Yi Culture Co., Ltd. in 2018 and has been operating at its current location for eight years. The team consists of six core partners and is situated in the Temple District of Keelung City, adjacent to the Keelung Cultural Center. Upholding the vision of becoming the "Cultural Heart" of Keelung, Jian Bookstore provides an independent bookstore that is open year-round, available for visits at any time, and opens up various possibilities for dialogue through its space. We focus on "ocean" and "Taiwan" as key themes for curating books to convey local knowledge and extend our efforts to host various arts and cultural exhibitions, lectures, performances, walking tours, book clubs, and more, enriching local cultural life, empowering partners in the arts field, and realizing the imagination of "living practice" in the community. "Opening a bookstore is a continuous social movement" is the core philosophy of Jian Bookstore. At the time of deciding to open the store, the last bookstore in Keelung was closed for renovations (now permanently closed). The founder, driven by a love for arts and culture and a desire not to let the reading culture be absent in the area, decided to return to the book industry. After opening the bookstore, we approached cultural space management from a perspective that fosters an atmosphere for diverse issues to develop, implementing a grassroots working procedure of "discovering problems, analyzing issues, becoming topics, formulating action plans" throughout our core philosophy, establishing initiatives and actions that resonate with local needs. Beyond reading books, we aim to deeply encounter Keelung, Taiwan, and the ocean that nurtures us; this forms our blueprint for the narrative. Key milestones of the bookstore are as follows: - 2016: Jian Bookstore was established. - 2018: Moved to its current location and registered Jian Yi Culture Co., Ltd. for operation. - May 2018: Launched business at the current location. Organized the "Youth Stay-at-Home Forum" that invited legislators and youth members from various parties for a consensus meeting. - 2020: Published the "Tian Mi Keelung" store magazine, focusing on the people encountered in the bookstore, issued quarterly for readers to collect. - 2020: During the pandemic, the bookstore released five types of "Jian Book Bags," packaging books, instructional videos, and creative materials into kits, providing a way for those confined at home during the pandemic to engage in creative practices. - 2021-2022: Issued 12 editions of the "Tian Mi Keelung" store magazine and produced the "Shai Keelung" cultural tourism special edition commissioned by the Keelung city government, representing Keelung City in the TAPA International Tourism Gold Award competition. - 2023: The store magazine was revamped into a book format, releasing a special edition titled "Mi Shi Keelung," where staff created writings and drawings about dining life in Keelung. Starting in April, the store is open all weekend, from 9:00 AM every Friday to 10:00 PM the following Monday, in homage to 24-hour bookstores. - December 2024: Organized the Blues Reading Market, combining blues music with themed market reading. - 2024: Selected as a youth empowerment workstation by the National Development Council. Two sessions of an innovative book fair - Book Cave Market were held in March, with over 30,000 participants. An art exhibition and literature exhibition in an air-raid shelter attracted over 70,000 viewers within two weeks. Published one issue of "Tian Mi Keelung" store magazine. - 2023-2024: Conducted over 100 events each year.
Store Magazine - In-Store Events - Guest Store Manager 2
Exhibition and Seminar: Walking with Mazu
