Showing 1 - 10 of 24
The South, beyond the stereotypes
Life, Suwitcha Chaiyong, Published on 07/02/2024
» As one of Thailand's three southern border provinces, Pattani is often associated with violence despite offering interesting characteristics. At Xspace Gallery, "Patani Abstract" showcases work from 10 artists affiliated with Patani Artspace -- the first art space in the three southern border provinces. "Patani Abstract" offers diverse perspectives of the region through abstract art.
An art renaissance
Life, Suwitcha Chaiyong, Published on 27/12/2023
» In 2023, Thailand's art industry continued to grow. Among the numerous events held nationwide, Adulaya Hoontrakul, director of the Bangkok Art and Culture Centre (BACC), highlighted three significant exhibitions: "Colorful Bangkok", "Thailand Biennale Chiang Rai 2023" and "Womanifesto: Flowing Connections".
Messages hidden in art
Life, Suwitcha Chaiyong, Published on 14/06/2023
» Nakhon Phanom airport was established during the Vietnam War to facilitate the transportation of supplies and troops for the US military. The airport served as a strategic location for the US Army to access Vietnam by flying over Laos which borders Thailand.
A monument of emptiness and embarrassment
Life, Apinan Poshyananda, Published on 15/05/2023
» On Thiam Ruam Mit Road, Huai Khwang, a huge and empty building with a triangular façade has stood for years. A big plaque on the lawn in Thai translates to The National Gallery of Art. With no activities inside, people are left wondering when it will open. Is it true that there are plans to convert it into mixed-use spaces instead of a display of national treasures of modern and contemporary Thai art?
Contemporary mediocrities
Life, Apinan Poshyananda, Published on 03/05/2021
» At the recent ribbon-cutting ceremony of the Office of Contemporary Art and Culture's (OCAC) Art Collection in the spacious art hall on Ratchadamnoen Avenue, a group of ageing male artists covered in sanitary masks surrounded the director of OCAC, Vimolluck Chuchart, who gave a self-congratulatory speech. She proudly announced that the public will be able to view for the first time the national collection of the Ministry of Culture's contemporary Thai art. Beside these elderlies stood a white giant fibreglass sculpture by Sutee Kunavichyanont in Thai military uniform wearing a helmet with a rifle erect. Sutee's Equality; Thai Soldier (2016) is inspired by the cultural mandates between 1939 and 1942 during the premiere of Phibul Songkhram that aimed to uplift the national spirit and moral code of the nation and instil progressive tendencies and newness into Thai life.
A unity of none
Life, Sawarin Suwichakornpong, Published on 17/04/2020
» In the morning of Aug 25, 2017, a group of militants belonging to the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA) unco-ordinatedly attacked police and border guards in northern Arakan (Rakhine) state, killing at least 12 officers. The Myanmar Armed Forces, known as the Tatmadaw, retaliated by launching a military counter-insurgency campaign in order to capture the perpetrators who attacked the border garrisons.
Let's get political (art)
Guru, Pasavat Tanskul, Published on 08/03/2019
» With the upcoming general election finally happening on Mar 24, the fate of the city hangs in the balance of voters hoping for some actual policy changes that leans toward democracy. However, some may express scepticism and while expressing one's doubts and criticism could be met with scorn and censorship, there are a few people who have expressed their opinions in other forms -- namely street art. Enter Headache Stencil, an anonymous masked political painter whose art usually deals with Thailand's recent social and political happenings.
A geopolitical pivot
Life, Published on 01/12/2017
» During the Indochina War years from the 1950s through to the 1970s, America's seven military bases in Thailand symbolised the extraordinary extent of US influence over the politics and development of the Kingdom. In the subsequent 30 years, American influence in Thailand has slowly but steadily waned, largely supplanted by a rising China. Thailand, which had been a linchpin of America's Asian strategy, is now instead a linchpin of China's Asian strategy. American soldiers on R&R have been replaced by Chinese tourists, American airbases by plans for Chinese high-speed rail links. China, not the US, is now Thailand's largest trading partner.
A dull history lesson
Life, Amitha Amranand, Published on 24/08/2017
» Anatta Theatre Troupe's Rak Talerd (Love Astray) is a small play with lots of big messages and an even bigger desire to educate the audience about Field Marshal Plaek Pibulsonggram's regime, from his fascist approach to the modernisation and Westernisation of Thailand to the Franco-Thai War to Siam's alliance with Japan during World War II.
A tale of two biennales
Life, Ariane Kupferman-Sutthavong, Published on 09/06/2017
» 'Singapore has one, Shanghai has one. So do Taipei, Busan, Jakarta," Prof Apinan Poshyananda says, laughing.