Thai Art Villages and Fieldwork

As I obnoxiously announced (/self-promoted) on Instagram yesterday, this November I am travelling to Thailand to conduct research. I would like to provide a summary of what I am researching, where I am going and why I am doing it. Please note I am currently bed-ridden and too nauseous to continue with coursework but I am too restless to simply lie in bed staring at the ceiling between naps and snacks. If this is incomprehensible, I am very sorry.

When people, from Uber drivers to relatives to any well-meaning person, ask me what I am studying they usually are somewhat perplexed when I answer, “Curatorship.” Most commonly, they give me a blank look and respond with a, “What??”

Other comments have included:
“Ohhhhh, so you like to draw!!!”
“So… you’re like the guys off Monuments and Men?”
“Curating… that is cutting the grass at footy ovals, right?”

When people dare ask me what my thesis is on (after their initial confusion on what my degree is on) I usually get silence or a polite, “… Cool.” I figure people are either not interested or are just aren’t aware of what is involved in arts management, especially at research level. This is reasonable. The art world is known to close itself off to a small circle of the elite and the educated. It is not known for its accessibility and that is a problem. When people don’t instantaneously “get me,” I do not get upset but I also do not have the time in the moment to really explain myself either. I will leave curating and my reasons for going into the arts for another day. Right now, I just want use my bed-ridden “spare time” to explain my research project and upcoming field work.

WHERE IT STARTED
Earlier this year on my last day in Chiang Mai, Thailand, I took a tuk-tuk to the edge of town to an arts village. I had no idea what an arts village was or what it would involve- but I was very curious. In Australia, I find arts facilities highly polished environments with pressurised codes of behaviour. However, such pressures seemed to lift in this Thai arts village. The idyllic, nature filled open spaces had a transcendent sense of calm. The property was filled with traditional Thai homes in which artists had set up libraries, studios, shops and cafes for visitors to wander as they practiced their crafts. I spent hours doing nothing really, just tip-toeing around the serene spaces and reading the few English books in the open air library, sipping on icy drinks. The sense of doing nothing in a space devoted to art and artists existing in harmony seemed other worldly to me and I was very intrigued.

Following this trip, I did some work in first semester for an art consultancy focuses on the Asia Pacific and was able to gain more familiarity with contemporary art of the region. It was all very new to me, after having focused on European history during my undergrad. Moreover, after finding out very little research had been done on these artist-run initiatives in Northern Thailand, I wanted to use my blank slate devoid of preconceptions and ideas to fully explore something new and exciting. This is interesting in terms of a research project, as you often bring a backlog of thoughts, concepts and presumptions. Here, however, I just brought a sparked interest to delve into the deep.

THE THESIS
Quite plainly, I am a crazy person. Instead of choosing either masters by coursework or masters by research, I decided to do both (probably why I am currently in bed with adrenalin fatigue). And so, in June, I began a thesis on artist-run initiatives in Chiang Mai, Thailand.

I am attempting to use the project to achieve few things. Using an interdisciplinary approach of anthropology, history and art history, I am researching why artist villages have emerged in Chiang Mai and how this fits inside Thailand’s cultural and political landscape. This is important in not only filling a gap in curatorial and art studies on Southeast Asian practice but also widening understanding on cultural production situated in Chiang Mai as a region.

Currently, I am looking at how cultural and political movements in 20th century Thailand led to dissatisfaction with state arts infrastructure and bureaucratic strangleholds. As a result of this, many Thai artists decentralised from Bangkok to adhere to traditional ways of living in Chiang Mai. Looking at the effects of such a movement, I am asking how these artist-run initiatives are formed and sustained by such traditional ways of living. To understand the link between Chiang Mai, tradition and the arts, I will specifically be looking at influences from Buddhism, connection to nature, agricultural production and community style living.

FIELDWORK
As I mentioned, there is little research done on this topic. While this is a challenge it also has led to a travel grant allowing me to travel briefly to Thailand to conduct primary research. Due to a very busy schedule until next March which only leaves me with a few weeks free in November, the trip is very impromptu and I am tight with time to get organised. Luckily I am travelling to a city known for its laid back attitude. A classmate and friend of mine who is from Chiang Mai has told me  I shouldn’t expect many emails to be swiftly responded to and everything will likely be loosely planned by my Thai contacts. So, hopefully, my last minute plans matched with the easy-going Chiang Mai will allow for a flexible (and successful) trip.

In addition to archive visits and interviews with artists and curators based in Chiang Mai and Bangkok, I will be visiting two artist-run spaces.

The Land Foundation
Located twenty minute from the city centre of Chiang Mai, the Land Foundation is a rice field which encourages artists to engage with self-sufficient living and community engagement while also being open to the immediate community for agricultural cultivation. While established by renowned Thai artists Rirkrit Tiravanija and Kamin Lertchaiprasert in 1998, it is free from ownership and open to experimentation. Encouraging a holistic approach, there is no time limit or rules for artists choosing to practice there; it is a place to simply be and create free of constraint.

Tiravanija explains it as an, “an empty table top that people bring different projects to. They can bring [something] to it, use the top, leave things there or take them away, but it’s basically an empty table.”

During my visit, two artists will be working on art construction projects which I am really excited about. They are: ‘Eco Blind Date House’ designed by Alicia Framis (Spain) and ‘The Bridge’ designed by Nico Dockx (Belgium).

Baan Kang Wat
The initial artist village I visited in which I am interested because, unlike the Land, it has had no academic attention to date. Established in 2014, the village is comprised of 10 houses created from concrete and wood, home to artists whose practices usually centre on traditional handicrafts. Based on concepts of rural ambiance and community, the artists living in the commune adhere to a slow and quiet pace of living. They all contribute to the community garden which I think is very wholesome.

 In addition to my study tasks, I will be making a full tour of galleries in Chiang Mai and Bangkok and be posting updates and anecdotes of my research trip here.

Thanks for reading and I hope my half-dead brain was able to clearly tell you a thing or two about a very exciting time for me and I hope you will read more as a post during my trip.