Princess joins Silpathorn alumni

HER ROYAL Highness Princess Sirivannavari Narirattana, who’s earned a global reputation as a clothing designer, is among seven winners of the Silpathorn Award bestowed on artists by the Culture Ministry’s Office of Contemporary Art and Culture.
She becomes the first member of the royal family to earn the award – and, at 31, the youngest recipient in its history. 
Also honoured are curator Ark Fongsamut, architect Twitee Vajrabhaya Thephakham, writer Uthis Hemamoon, dramatist-theatre director Theerawat Mulwilai, film producer Soros Sukhum and violinist-conductor Nora-ath Chanklam.
Princess Sirivannavari attended last week’s opening of a Silpathorn Award exhibition at the Rajdamnoen Contemporary Art Centre. All of the recipients have examples of their work on view, in some cases presented in videos. Her fellow awardees will also be giving talks as part of the show continuing until September 9.

Seventy-four people have received the award since its introduction in 2004 as a way of recognising mid-career artists who have garnered international acclaim.
Princess Sirivannavari, whose clothing carries the Sirivannavari Bangkok label, graduated from Chulalongkorn University with a degree in fashion and textiles, first-class honours, and from l’Ecole de la Chambre Syndicale de la Couture Parisienne in France. 
Her first collection, “Red Hobby”, appeared in 2004, three years before she founded her brand. In 2008 she made her international debut during Paris Fashion Week at the invitation of famed French couturier Pierre Balmain. Ever since, she’s been a familiar face on the global fashion scene.
Sirivannavari clothing is distinguished by unique prints and patterns and by avant-garde yet luxurious and elegant concepts. The embroidering is impeccable and typically features a peacock – the brand’s logo and the Princess’ favourite motif.
The Princess has also designed fine jewellery and leather goods including bags and shoes and creates men’s clothing under the brand S’Homme. About three years ago she established the Sirivannavari Atelier and Academy to pursue embroidery design and other techniques.

There have been 10 collections to date – Viva Victorian (in 2005), Fly to Nouveau (2006), Presence of the Past (2008), Ethnic Rock (2009), Cruise Collection (2010), Human DNA (2014), Napoleonic (2015), Mystical Garden (2016), Serenity (2017) and this year’s Horse, Helen, Henri.
Her designs reflect her keen interest in art history, embracing Thai traditional and Western classical art, Romanticism and Impressionism and even going futuristic. Princess Sirivannavari is also a gifted equestrian and draws inspiration from that sport as well. 
The result is outfits that harmoniously combine both feminine and masculine qualities and are sophisticated, cultured and full of subtle nuance.
In the Art Centre exhibition, some of her clothing is on display along with live demonstrations by artisans of the techniques used in embroidering with gold thread, lace, crystals, feathers and flowers.
In a video interview, Princess Sirivannavari says she’s always admired embroidery, whether in the Thai, French or Indian style. She likes to experiment in both techniques and patterns and to apply modern graphic designs to traditional Thai crafts. 
“We can set goals, but the question is how to reach them,” she says. “There is no shortcut – only perseverance. I’m like a captain of a ship. To direct my crew in the same direction, the foundation has to be strong. Every year I look at the strengths and weaknesses of each collection so I can improve. I don’t rush into something. I want to have a strong base first.”
Composer Nora-ath Chanklam, conductor of the Bangkok Symphony Orchestra, enjoys a variety of musical genres, including Thai contemporary music. He currently also conducts the Symphony Orchestra and String Orchestra at Chulalongkorn University.
Growing up in a family involved with the popular Soontraporn Band, Nora-ath studied violin at the Collage of Dramatic Arts and completed his studies in Germany. 

Captured on video in the exhibition is one of his most memorable moments, the 2017 concert “Journey through the Music of the Great King: Suite for an Orchestra”, Chula’s tribute to His Majesty King Bhumibol.
“What is most important is to create my own voice in terms of technique, so that the modern audience is able to enjoy beautiful Thai traditional music blended with the perfection of Western instruments. It is very unique and I’m quite proud of it.”
Twitee Vajrabhaya Teparkum co-founded Department of Architecture Co, a private firm, in 2004. She earned her bachelor’s degree summa cum laude from Virginia Tech and her master’s from Princeton and worked in Chicago and New York before returning to Thailand. 
It was Twitee who conceived the manner in which the Thailand Creative and Design Centre could be relocated to the historic Grand Postal Building. Her multipurpose pavilion the Flow in Chonburi is renowned for its eye-catching folding floor that allows various activities to be oriented towards the great sea view. 
As a child, Twitee loved both science and art and asked her father what she should be when she grew up. 
“He said, ‘An architect!’ Architect- ure requires you to be quite well versed, with a sense of aesthetics and a basic knowledge of construction. 

“The core of architecture is that you need to understand people – their activities, needs and livelihoods – in order to design spaces for them and the society around them.”
Uthis Hemamoon first gained wide attention with his third novel, “The Brotherhood of Kaeng Khoi”, which in 2009 won the Seven Book Awards competition and the SEAWrite Award. The Japan Foundation then selected Uthis for the Takeshi Kaiko Memorial Asian Writers Lecture Series scholarship award and sent him on a talking tour of Japan. 
He’s written four novels, two collections of short stories and two collections of movie and literary criticism. 
“With a pen and a notebook, we can create whole universes,” he says. 
“In the past, the pen was in the hands of only a few – the powerful and the rich. But the majority deserves a pen, to write and to create their histories. What I’ve tried to do is to make the live of ordinary people meaningful in the world.”
Theerawat Mulwilai helped establish B-Floor Theatre in 1999, but had always been involved in stage performances and especially in the development of physical theatre. 
Most recently the winner of the best actor award from IATC Thailand Dance and Theatre Review, his important works include “Storehouse Collection” at Ueno Storehouse in Japan, “Something Missing” at Momggol in South Korea and “Rite of Passage”.
Theerawat’s pieces are full of wit but also political messages, as seen in “Fundamental”, “Iceberg: The Invisible” and “The Remain”.
“I like to touch on sensitive issue because it’s a challenge for both the audience and me,” he says. 

“But being a performance artist in Thailand isn’t that easy. The problem is the lack of sponsorship. If you want people to remember you, it requires timing and continuing in your work. Maybe I’ll have to be stubborn to achieve my dreams.”
Curator Ark Fongsamut and movie producer Soros Sukhum are the first award recipients in their respective specific fields and grateful to the Culture Ministry for broadening the categories. The award for visual arts has always gone to artists and the award for film to directors. 
Ark, who graduated from in fine arts administration and curatorship from Goldsmiths College, University of London, has been involved in the arts for more than years. He’s currently a lecturer at Bangkok University and a curator at the Bangkok Art and Cultural Centre, where he mounted the shows “Grey Area”, “Allergic Realities”, “Immeasurable” and “Operation Bangkok”. 

Soros is widely recognised as the producer of award-winning indie films, among them “Wonderful Town” (2008), which wowed festival attendees from Hong Kong and Osaka to Toronto and Rotterdam. He also produced “The Master” (2014) and “Motel Mist” (2016), and his latest, “Ten Years Thailand”, was invited to be screened at this year’s Cannes Film Festival.