【Exhibition Promotional】 Kaohsiung Museum of Labor — "Grant Me a Miner's Museum: Letting the Final Generation Mark a New Beginning" 【展場形象】高雄勞博館《許我一個礦工博物館，讓末代成為另一個開始》

Jointly presented by the Kaohsiung Museum of Labor, the Mining and Labor Image Action Project of National Taipei University of Technology (Taipei Tech), and the Houtong Coal Miner Historical Museum, "The Last Generation of Coal Miners Photo Exhibition" is now on display at the Kaohsiung Museum of Labor until April 2024. Using curation as a methodology, the exhibition aims to leverage the power of visual imagery to introduce the public to Taiwan’s final generation of coal miners, and to amplify their earnest hope for the sustainable preservation of mining labor history and culture.

At the turn of the millennium, Taiwan’s last four coal mines ceased operations one after another, bringing a century of coal mining to a definitive close and giving rise to "the last generation of miners." In this post-coal era, they have become the living witnesses to the bygone days of the mining villages, embarking on one journey after another to wage a battle against oblivion.

They returned to the mines to painstakingly restore historical artifacts, establishing a grassroots base for preserving labor history—the Houtong Coal Miner Historical Museum. They personally guide visitors from all walks of life, speaking on behalf of deceased friends and relatives who can no longer tell their own stories, resurrecting a collective memory of mine labor that had been swallowed by the torrent of history. They even marched to the steps of the Legislative Yuan, raising their voices for elderly miners confined to hospital beds, all to push forward the unfinished business of "just transition" after the closure of Taiwan’s coal mines.

Along this arduous path, these last miners encountered steadfast companions who stood shoulder-to-shoulder with them. Among them were former mining colleagues; research groups and scholars dedicated to recording oral histories; and high school students aspiring to be the torchbearers for the mining towns. Over the past three-plus years, faculty and students from Taipei Tech have continuously collaborated with the miners, completing the Houtong Labor Image Action Trilogy, which spans historical artifacts, personal portraits, and cultural landscapes.

Today, this civil-funded historical base faces a crisis due to an expiring lease, and the aging miners deeply worry about the fading of both their own lives and their history. They earnestly hope that in the near future, the public sector will establish an official miner's museum. This would ensure that the mining labor history and memories they have fought so hard to protect do not perish with their passing, but instead achieve sustainable development to be passed down through generations.

Exhibited at the Kaohsiung Museum of Labor—the only public museum of its kind in Taiwan—this exhibition serves as a resounding appeal for the demand: "#GrantUsAMinersMuseum." It is our heartfelt hope that this "final generation" can mark a "new beginning," paving a brand-new path for the preservation and promotion of Taiwan’s labor history!