the museum was first established and housed in an administration building of the chi mei corporation in 1992 by the company's founder shi wen-long, then relocated to the tainan metropolitan park in 2014, and reopened in 2015. shi is known for his collection of antique violins housed in the museum. besides being an entrepreneur, shi is also an amateur violinist who has performed in public many times. to improve the level of classical music and western art in taiwan, he founded the chi mei culture foundation in 1977 and has been providing scholarships through the chimei arts award to developing artists in both classical music and fine arts since 1988.