Civilian art, which is characterized by its non-academic foundation, developed in conjunction with the "liberalization of knowledge" trend kickstarted by Taiwan's community colleges in 1998. In fact, it was these community institutions that opened up a dialogue between Civilian Art and the academy, and Xizhi Community College that first incorporated Civilian Art into its curriculum.
「國民美術」以非學院派美術基調的發展過程，巧妙地與 1998 年國內社區大學興起的「解放知識」風潮接軌，因而在這些社區基地找到和學院對話的管道。