Where 'art is everywhere'

THE BANGKOK Artisan Fair all this month at the Thanya Park Modern Eco Lifestyle Shopping Mall on Srinakharin Road aims to get more young people interested and involved in arts and crafts.
Presented by the government’s Office of Contemporary Art & Culture and with more than 300 professional works of art on view, the fair’s second edition has as its theme “Art is Everything”. The displays sprawl across 5,000 square metres.
Vimolluck Chuchat, director of the office at the Ministry of Culture, says its mission is “encouraging, motivating, supporting and promoting creative events in to nine categories of contemporary art and culture”. These are the visual arts, performing arts, music and singing, film, architecture, decorative arts, product design and “local wisdom”.
“Here again we’re joining hands with Thanya Park to present Bangkok Artisan to expand the horizons of Thai area. Last year’s fair was a big success, drawing 150,000 people, both Thais and foreigners. It’s the biggest art and artist fair in Bangkok.”

Thanya Park chief executive Sunantha Somboontham points out that the fair includes all forms of art “because art is a valuable tool to purify the mind and develop the power of creativity. It inspires people to be creative and thus helps in the country’s development.
“We want to see more Thais experiencing art,” Sunantha says. “The mall maintains an area for creative art events all the time, and for Bangkok Artisan 2017 it’s been designated the Mall and Museum Park. It’s a place where young people have a chance to experience all the various categories of art, exchange ideas and hopefully become more efficient in their learning.”
The first of several zones at the fair is bound to be popular. Called “Pasan Silp Panuek Jai Tha Sathit Nai Jai Niran”, it features almost 100 artworks inspired by His Majesty the late King Bhumibol.

In the “Art is Living” zone, installations examine the vast potential in architecture and design. Among the works on exhibit are “Move & Change” by renowned sculptor Pongsatat “Dong” Uaiklank and “Osisu Perfect 10” by Singh Intrachooto, who runs an eco-design centre and founded the Scrap Lab design-and-research centre at Kasetsart University.
The “Art is Touching” zone offers just that, with displays including a 34-metre-long “Art Wall” of graffiti, which has its own concept – “Green & Healthy Life Society”. Also among the more than 100 pieces here are watercolours by Vichok Mukdamanee and the late Panya Phetchu and National Artist Prayad Pongdam.
Gifted students show off their talents in painting, architecture and digital art in the “Art is Supporting” section, while “Art is Moving” is dedicated to the performing arts, complete with Silpakorn University’s Student Ensemble playing jazz, blues, fusion, pop and rock.
“Art is Learning & Doing” gets visitors to the fair actually making art of their own. You can try your hand at painting in watercolours, making a print and moulding a sculpture, all with professional guidance.
And finally “Art is Sharing” is a place to swap opinions and ideas about the fair, about the arts and about the art situation in Thailand.

Let's Get Creative

- Bangkok Artisan 2017 continues all this month at the Thanya Park Modern Eco Lifestyle Shopping Mall on Srinakharin Road.
- Find out more at (02) 108 6000, www.ThanyaPark.com and the “bangkokartisanfair” Facebook page.