Abstract
Since the mid-1990s, contemporary arts in Taiwan have been bountiful with a wide variety of discourses in art intervention, particularly in site-specific exhibitions such as art interventions in society, space, and communities. These interventions emphasize the social characteristics of the arts. However, the term ＂intervention＂ is commonly used based on a vague consensus. The term ＂intervention (jie ru),＂ which has been used in various instances of contemporary arts in Taiwan since the 1990s, is not completely equivalent to the art forms of socially engaged practices that represent discussions and interactions between people and communities. This study emphasized the derivation of meaning in contemporary art practice in Taiwan to reflect on the source of concepts and changes in substantial meaning. The results revealed that art intervention in Taiwan was correlated with a democratic background and advanced capitalism in Taiwan in the 1990s after martial law was lifted. The art intervention was also strongly influenced by the government, especially cultural policies such as community empowerment, development, and civil aesthetics. Discussions on art interventions in Taiwan have consistently applied the criticism of avant-garde art to manifest the autonomy of art and focused on the development of various relations. With its continual development of political sense, this concept has become one of the mainstream ideologies of creation in Taiwan.