Creative Spaces Bangkok
23rd May 2017
Fancy a touch of creative inspiration on your next visit to Bangkok? Lovely stuff!
3 Centres for Artsy Travellers
Over the past few years new galleries have opened their doors all over Thailands capital and the creative vibe is really up and coming. In this article I’m sharing 3 areas of interest which are definitely worth a visit to get your culture fix.
Bangkok Art and Culture Centre
I was really impressed at first glance of the Bangkok Art and Culture Centre (BACC). Huge colourful graffiti displayed above the main entrance was an eye-catching spectacle on the front facade.
These works had been commissioned by the centre in remembrance of H.M King Bhumibol. To pay tribute to the Late King, 5 artists had painted their own well known characters on the huge previously white walls of the centre. The work was in perfect position to be viewed from the sky train and near by Siam centre, a prime location for such an important tribute.
Once inside, the building opened up and the atrium ascended 9 floors creating very impressive views. It’s worth a visit just for the architecture.
Each floor was filled with art, design, culture and many more forms of creativity.
It’s a testament to this city to have such a large space dedicated to the arts, although lacking in a permanent collection, the BACC makes up for it with the collection of exhibitions and creative amenities. 3–4 full floors of exhibition space, interesting rooms and a great display of varied work from painting and sculpture to contemporary installations and wearable art.
I won’t go into much detail about the current exhibitions, but I will mention that the curators exhibiting when I visited the BACC is a great indicator for future thought provoking exhibitions.
Other floors of the 9 story BACC housed shops and stalls to satisfy any retail therapy requirements. The community art space is also a great addition; small exhibitions changed regularly which encourages regular visits to the centre.
The BACC included vendors such as Shannta which provided workshops to make your own jewellery and a graffiti supply store which drew me in with stacked up spray cans of every colour you can imagine. On the 2nd floor two artist stalls were set up drawing portraits for visitors and displaying their own work.
Quirky coffee shops, cafes and juice bars are also on hand to keep you fed and watered if needs be. Over all a great atmosphere for us artsy culture vultures!
W District
Just off the main road and 2 minutes from Phra Khanong BTS station is W District; a small network of streets and home of HOF Art, Art Residency and an abundance of exhibition space showing local artisans.
With a creative vibe oozing from the collection of places in this area, W District is a pleasurable place to spend a couple of hours soaking up some of the atmosphere.
The public sculpture and graffiti art displayed is vibrant, unique and varied throughout this area.
W District also houses an art hostel which runs in conjunction with the Art Residency program. Attracting artists locally and internationally, placements are available throughout the year and Art Residency is where “the connection between creative people is at the heart of their existence”- Art Residency website.
W District was a fairly new development during my visit. I think this area has a lot of potential as the space carved out for creative events looked great, albeit nothing was scheduled whilst I was in town.
Jim Thompson Art Centre
To be honest I do like to visit some places without any prior research or knowledge and therefore expectation. I knew there was an exhibition that I was interested in seeing and I wanted to learn about Thai silk but that was about all I knew. Off I went then to the Jim Thompson Art Centre without any assumptions.
I found the centre basking in sunshine and looking marvellous with large red umbrellas lining the entrance. The centre itself is made up of 6 buildings which Thompson had re-located from all over Thailand and rebuilt in this area in 1959.
Located by the river in a lovely setting the residence is now home to various amenities including an art gallery, restaurant, boutique silk shop and the house in which Jim lived.
The tour through Jim Thompson’s house was really interesting. Whilst learning about the man who introduced the western world to Thai silk and rejuvenating the industry in Bangkok, we also got to see the collection of many exotic antiques collected by Thompson (unfortunately there were no photos allowed on the tour of the house, otherwise I would now follow this paragraph with lots of interesting visuals. Instead I’ll show you this…)
The Art Centre’s 6 building’s surrounded a courtyard lined by trees and beautiful water features. A demonstration was taking place in the open area where the cooking, colouring and weaving of Thai silk was shown to visitors. Two local women carrying out the demonstrations were accompanied by step by step details about the process so that onlookers could learn about the methods involved.
Other features on site included a swanky restaurant which I didn’t explore and a large exhibition space on the second floor which held a group exhibition of installation art, paintings and sculpture.
The Jim Thompson boutique shop was also a popular place for tourist to pick up quality souvenirs. Gorgeous silk products and a variety of hand made items were beautifully displayed. All the fabric products were tastefully designed; from tropical designs, rows of elephants and geometric patterns. I could have spent a fortune!
Resources
When you first arrive in the capital get yourself a copy of The Bangkok Art Map. A valuable resource printed monthly which is a great go to when you’re on the look out for exhibitions and hidden galleries throughout the city.
Another great resource for Bangkok’s Art Gallery’s is the Insider Guide. Check it out HERE.
Written by Kim Youdan www.kimyoudan.com
