THURSDAY, March 28, 2024
nationthailand

A stage for cultural exchange

A stage for cultural exchange

Bangkok prepares to launch the brand new Asean Cultural Centre

With the start of the Asean Economic Community less than five months away, Bangkok is once again underscoring its intention to become the hub of Asean with the opening on Friday of the first Asean Cultural Centre.
The Bt15-million-centre, which opens its doors the day before the official Asean Community Day, will be on the third floor of the Ratchadamnoen Contemporary Art Centre run by the Office of Contemporary Art and Culture on Rajdamnoen Klang Avenue, near the Democracy Monument.
Spread over 600 metres, the new space will feature interactive digital exhibitions and artefacts designed to educate visitors about the grouping’s history, art and culture. The exhibitions will be divided into six zones.
“Culture ministers from Asean countries have been invited to join the opening ceremony, which will also feature a discussion on the future of Asean cultural cooperation,” Culture Minister Veera Rojpojanarat told a press conference last Tuesday.
But presenting history and culture of other countries is not easy, even when they are close neighbours and so the ministry has made sure it gets it right by consulting cultural experts from all over the region.
“History and culture can be sensitive and we are very pleased to have received the help and advice of Dr Sunet Chutinotranon, the Chulalongkorn University expert on Southeast Asian Studies,” explained Dr Apinan Poshyananda, permanent secretary to the ministry.
Aiming to both educate and entertain the audience, the interactive exhibition will be designed using digital presentations and eye-catching animations. All six zones invite the visitor to explore Asean nations in the virtual world by dressing in their national costumes, standing front of their landmarks and even trying their food including Malaysia’s satay, Singapore’s chicken rice, Thailand’s tom yam goong and somtam from Laos.
“Walk into the first zone, ‘We Live Together’, and you will find yourself in front of curved digital wall depicting the background of Asean countries. An animated grandfather and grandson tell stories of our history and how we have lived together. The animation is in English and Thai and open to 20 visitors at each round,” Apinan explained. 
The “We are United” zone offers visitors the chance to have fun by touching the interactive video wall. This is the place to learn about the founding of Asean, the timelines of significant historical records and the cultural backgrounds of each country including religious beliefs, traditions and arts.
Step into a virtual window to explore the “Journey to Asean” zone. Here you can see cultural gifts from the Asean countries as well as real artefacts. Photography, arts and literature will also be featured in this section. 
“We will bring the permanent collections of artefacts from the National Museum to display at the new centre,” Veera told the crowd.
“Ramayana, a literary work most of the countries share, will be the highlight here. We also plan to host Ramayana performances.”
The zone also invites the visitor to learn the languages of its fellow members.
“Language is very important, especially for Thai visitors. We should learn more about other languages. The Lao, Cambodians and Vietnamese can speak our language, but the majority of Thais cannot speak theirs. Here you can learn basic daily conversation skills via animations. Visitors can also try on national costumes in this fun zone,” Apinan explained.
Designed to resemble a modern park, the Asean Park E-Library will provide e-books and e-magazines where you can learn about Asean history and culture just by browsing. The Knowledge Lab, meanwhile, is housed in a separate glassed-in section and aims to serve as a platform where young designers, cultural experts and members of the public can share ideas for cultural activities.
“We hope the centre will serve as a platform for all Asean members to share their culture and also engage in creative productions for the ‘Asean plus 3’ market, namely Japan, China and Korea. We also hope to organise Asean cultural road shows in these countries,” Veera said, adding that further such centres are slated to gradually open in other Asean nations.
 
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