Pawit calls for transparency over his sacking by BACC board
Pawit Mahassarinand, the director of the Bangkok Arts and Culture Centre (BACC) is calling for more transparency over the action.
Assistant Professor Pawit was appointed as the director of the BACC in March 1, 2018. The dismissal is effective September 30.
The dismissal was triggered by the director failing his annual performance evaluation, according to the board committee, as well as for his open interviews to the media about the centre’s budget allocation.
But an open letter issued by Pawit charges that the dismissal actions have not been transparent.
Since May 2018, Pawit has struggled with an ongoing problem after the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration cut the funds for BACC to about Bt40 million, the second year it faced a reduction. The art centre has since accused City Hall of wanting to take over its administration. The news of the underfunding quickly spread and resulted in a public response as artists, art lovers and BACC supporters protested.
The centre is now run by the BACC Foundation under a contract signed in 2011 and ending in 2021. The art centre, which opened in 2007, has received support from the business sector since the fund reductions, including through donations, organising events and using its facilities.
The BACC has an average of 5,600 visitors per day, and an expected 1.9 million visitors this year, a bump from recent past years. Its operating costs have also been reduced from Bt75 million in 2017 to Bt63 million in 2018, and are expected to reach only Bt48 million this year.
Pawit is a former lecturer in the Faculty of Arts at Chulalongkorn University. He previously served on the BACC sub-committee for the Arts Activities Department. He is the chairman of the Silpathorn Award and the National Artist Selection Committee for Performing Arts, as well as a member of the Southeast Asia Advisory Committee (SEAAC) at Taiwan’s Ministry of Culture. After obtaining his BA with first class honours from Chulalongkorn University, Pawit furthered his studies and received an MA from Northwestern University on a Fulbright scholarship and Asian Cultural Council (ACC) fellowship.
