Thai craft exhibition marks SUPPORT Foundation’s 50-year milestone

The year 2026 marks the 50th anniversary of the Foundation for the Promotion of Supplementary Occupations and Related Techniques of Her Majesty Queen Sirikit of Thailand (the SUPPORT Foundation).

The Queen Sirikit Museum of Textiles, an agency under the foundation, recently mounted the “Future SUPPORT” exhibition as of Monday (August 24, 2026) to pay tribute to the royal benevolence of Her Majesty Queen Sirikit The Queen Mother.

The exhibition recounts the foundation’s history and provides an opportunity to look towards the future through contemporary technology.

It reflects the foundation’s benefits to society and the way Thailand’s heritage of traditional wisdom is being carried forward, preserved and further developed to suit the context of the modern world.

Over the past five decades, the foundation has achieved its goals of creating livelihoods, preserving traditional wisdom and gaining international recognition for Thai handicrafts.

Future SUPPORT also presents the royal work of Her Majesty Queen Suthida Bajrasudhabimalalakshana and Her Royal Highness Princess Sirivannavari Nariratana Rajakanya in promoting and revitalising Thai arts and crafts.

Their royal work is taking SUPPORT arts and crafts into the future on a sustainable basis, in fulfilment of the Queen Mother’s royal resolve to preserve local wisdom and carry forward valuable artistic traditions so that they remain an enduring part of Thailand.

The objectives of staging the exhibition are to pay tribute to the Queen Mother; celebrate 50 years since the foundation’s establishment; disseminate knowledge about the foundation and its benefits to society; promote efforts to carry forward, preserve and develop Thai arts and crafts in keeping with contemporary society; and inspire craftspeople and a new generation of artists to express their creativity and further develop SUPPORT arts and crafts for the future.

It is on display in Gallery 5 (activity room) at the Queen Sirikit Museum of Textiles.

The exhibition’s presentation traces the story of the SUPPORT Foundation and the Queen Mother’s royal work over 50 years in creating livelihoods, preserving traditional wisdom and gaining international recognition for Thai handicrafts.

It also presents the royal work of Queen Suthida and Princess Sirivannavari in continuing, preserving and building on the Queen Mother’s great royal aspiration.

Stories of these achievements and the further development of SUPPORT arts and crafts for the future are organised around four main themes:

• The Beginning displays a replica of the first piece of cloth, which was the starting point of the foundation, and a timeline summarising its establishment and operations over five decades.
• Strong Roots, Lasting Growth presents the story of the foundation’s sustainable development in the areas of society, the economy, the environment, peace and co-operation through displays of various types of SUPPORT Foundation handicrafts together with technology.
• Empowering People, Strengthening Communities presents the foundation’s efforts to develop individuals through vocational training, income generation and pride in the community. It passes on what gives communities strength, the inspiration and stories of individual localities, through video interviews with foundation craftspeople.
• New Faces, New Phase summarises the foundation’s role and benefits to society. It presents efforts to continue, preserve and further develop contemporary SUPPORT arts and crafts, including the Pha Thai Sai Hai Sanuk project, which further develops SUPPORT arts and crafts to suit the present context and lays the foundation for Thai handicrafts as soft power and a symbol of cultural diplomacy.