KIO-A-THAU Sugar Refinery Artist Village (KAT) is a non-profit organization founded in 2001 and is one of seven Artist-in-Residence programs supported by The Ministry of Culture.
The founding of KAT is originated from a series of movements of cultural preservations and environmental protections held by several civic groups in 1994, which was in order to fight against business patterns for the land development. And since then, art interventions into public space have been giving the enormous historical sites a rebirth of creativity.
KAT is regularly open to select 4-6 international artists to be Artist-in-Residence from September to November; in addition, provides individual applications 1-6 months Artist-in-Residency programs or creative workshops.
KAT is under the management of Taiwan Arts Association and Bywood. There are gallery, studios, space for exhibition, bar and multifunctional space in the village. Also, in the area of Kio-a-thau Sugar Refinery, there are resident-artists studios and relevant institutions for academic research.