A new dawn for Bangkok as a cultural hub?

[kamui]

My comment is:

that is a first step on long bumpy road which might take some decades.

For convenience, here is a longer comment I wrote in another thread over a year ago:

 

There is hard work ahead for this plan to to become an art center for itself not to talk about leadership in Asia, since for visitors like me the art scene is nearly invisible. For (art-) tourists currently only traditional Thai art is promoted; contemporary Thai cannot be found without a deeper knowlegde of the town and art scene.

 

To become a leader Thailand needs to compete against capitals like Beijing, Shanghai and Tokyo. I know the scene in Tokyo a little bit and this town has many theatres, concert halls and an opera house, dozens of museums, some of extra ordinary quality (and very large as well) for Asian/western arts, modern- and contemporary arts, for painting, photography, new media or film e.g.. Some of them are state/town owned and some are private.

There are hundreds of galleries, there are auction houses, there are collectors, magazines and critics, curators and very different art schools.

The leading Japanese artists (visual arts, music, ballet e.g.) are part of the international art scene and market, the museums, galleries and curators as well. Additional there is the "Japan Foundation" which promotes Japanese art (exhibitions, symposiums, publications, scholarships for Japanese and foreigners) all over the world and spends millions of yen every year for this purpose.

 

First of all before becoming a leader in Asia, Thailand should first try to develop it's own scene, which means to set up the appropriate structures like to build the long awaited BMA Bangkok Museum of Arts which was scheduled for 2001 .

Bangkok should take a look at other capitals who recently tried to enter the art world like Hongkong, Taipei, Seoul and Singapore. First you'll need buildings for arts like Singapore built a new a multifunctional opera house and Hongkong and Taipei built new museums (Hongkong Heritage Museum, Taipei Fine Arts Museum).

I don't know if BKK has already an concert hall of international standard?

 

Second you need to make shows, tours and publications in English with Thai artists with the only aim to show quality.

An international art festival would be a good idea or a cooperation with existing festivals like the Taipei Triennale in Taiwan or the Kwangju Biennale in South Korea curated by international curators which will attract an international audience.

 

Third, maybe the education system for Thai artists should be reconsidered? To teach Thai artists and to promote them you'll need to send them abroad. If it doesn't exist already a "Thailand Foundation" would be very helpful. But of course the teachers and curators need to be educated on an international level as well.

 

Maybe the biggest obstacle is:

This will take years and money, lots of money and as well important for art: independent directors, independent curators, independent critics, independent gallerists, independent art teachers and educated collectors with a real good taste who will search, develop, collect and show quality. With cronyism, corruption or only a bad taste BKK will not come far. - Of course any art scene has this a kind of cronyism, Japan with it's many closed and rigid art circles is an valid example, but the scene is very complex and the best artist seem to be able to overcome this barriers either at home or abroad.

 

The first decade might not be very successful since Thailand is not on the agenda of the international art scene. If this is only done to promote Thailand as a tourist destination or as tool for more positive publicity for certain politicians the project will be dead after five years. Art is where the money is, maybe this could be the time for the Thai oligarchy to do something for it's country.

[..]

Good news! It has been at least two weeks since we had a new hub which to aspire!

 

Pretty soon, Thailand will be the "Hub of the Universe" LOL!

 

Cheers,

SD

[Nervous_Dog]

It could work, culturally, thailand is way ahead of sillypore which is also trying, with it "Durian Building" to corner the title.

 

Just cant see that as much as I like the place, thailand on the other hand is politically and culturally mpore diverse,

 

DOG

[Guest lazyphil]

I dont want to sound arrogant but BKK, Singapore will never get close to London hub status, we're there this sun/mon staying at friends sarf of the river ::

[Nervous_Dog]

Nor as much a hub as Australia or USA for that matter, but on Asian terms, I think Bangkok could outshine Sillypore

 

DOOG

[Guest lazyphil]

I'm not in Asia, hard to think on Asian terms all the time :: (anyway, I've got a train to catch, these bumpkins are going to the city!)

[kamui]

The only hub I can think of is BKK as hub for SE Asia, i.e. Cambodia, Burma, Laos and Vietnam. But it will never outperform capitals like Tokyo, Beijing and Shanghai. Maybe in a decade or so it might become a competitor of Hongkong, Taipei and Seoul (I don't know about Singapore).

 

- Hongkongs art scene is not that strong, because the British rulers never supported contemporary art since this could be used as voice of free expression.

- Taipei started with the Taipei Triennal at the end of the 1990s, but I have not heard of it recently

- Korea has the famous Kwanju Biennale (ok, its not Seoul) and now has a very strong film industry. Last year I have seen some very interesting artists working with photography. There seems to be a lot of potential.

- I have not been to Shanghai yet, but the art scene seems to be very vivid and some of the galleries I have visited in Beijing are playing on an international level. China will definately close up to Japan in the upcoming decades.

 

In Japan Tokyo is that strong in arts, it has more galleries, museums, concert halls eg. as most of above mentioned cities combined.

[kamui]

Short update:

 

 

BKK governor commits to build the city arty centre

 

Published on Aug 19 , 2005

BKK Post

 

Bangkok Governor Apirak Kosayodhin today (Friday) announced his commitment to build the long-delayed Bangkok Art and Culture Centre.

 

He held a press confidence at the Benjasiri Park to announce the commitment and to sign a pledge with artists' representatives to build the centre with support from the artists.

 

The centre will be built near the Pathumwan Intersection in the heart of Bangkok.

 

The project has been delayed for seven years because of disputes between the city administration and artists' representatives on how the centre should be built and utilised.

[drogon]

Thanks for the article kamui.

 

I would like to know if there is a real cultural interest in Asia?

 

As I remember when in africa, a country built an expensive museum to promote african art, 2 years after, it was still unused as (almost) nobody went to the first exhibitions.

 

I mean in Europe or USA there is a fringe of the population

(call it intellectuals if you want) that takes interest in the culture, not only hiw own but others too.

 

A concrete example, when there is a major cultural event about a foreign painter-musician etc.... in Paris-New york there are many people coming.

Would it be the same in BKK if there was a de vinci paintings expo?

 

Now is it a question of cutural non-interest or simply a matter of education/wealth? Or maybe both?

 

Thanks for your answers

[kamui]

drogon said:

Thanks for the article kamui.

 

I would like to know if there is a real cultural interest in Asia?

 

 

Drogon,

 

your question is much too general. The culture sphere is multi dimensional and traditional culture is as far as I know extremely important for the identity of the people and for whole nations (just think of the importance of Angkor for Cambodia, and this has nothing to do with education or class).

 

But concerning the "Bangkok Art and Culture Centre" we are talking about contemporary Thai art and design. I don't know enough about the current Thai art scene, but I am involved in the Japanese art scene since 7-8 years and I think it is possible to draw some conclusions by comparing both countries:

 

For a vivid contemporary art scene IMHO there are essentials are needed:

 

An well educated and highly interested upper class which supports contemporary art (private and company foundations, collectors, galleries, events, scholarships, e.g.)

 

An well educated middle class which is interested in arts (as small collectors, gallerists, regular visitors to museums and breeding ground for artists, as bureaucrats in culture ministries and organizations) and a lower class which might not be that interested in arts, but recognizes (high) arts as part of the national culture.

 

Have a look at Japan: all this applies to Japan, a huge economy, with a highly educated population and a century old tradition of collecting and supporting arts by the leading/ruling feudal class and the class of the merchants and the town citizens.

BUT: even in this cultural most developed country of Asia the interest and support for contemporary (Japanese) art is much less strong compared to the US and Europe. The main reason is IMHO that the concept of modern art is a western concept which arrived in Japan in the 19th century and in an sense Japan is still struggling the with two very different concepts of traditional Japanese arts and modern Western art - even both directions are highly intertwined since decades.

(I have a blog about a section of Japanese contemporary art, just tomorrow I will write about Japanese museums in crisis. Send me a PM if you are interested.)

 

Now look at Thailand:

A upper class which seems to have no idea of contemporary Thai art, a just emerged middle class whithout any education in arts and almost completely uneducated lower class.

As an example just have a look at the private collection of Mr. T and you will understand that the idea of a vivid contemporary art scene at an international level is just a unrealistic dream of some politicians of whom most of them probably don't have an idea what they are talking about.

 

 

If you want a deeper answer, have a look at this thread: Bangkok may become arts capital of Asia