Thai Art Exhibition

Survival Techniques: narratives of resistance
A video art exhibition curated by Davide Quadrio

At The Art Center, Center of Academic Resources, Chulalongkorn University
February 26 – March 26, 2011
Opening Reception: 26 February, 2011 at 4-7pm

Is it about happiness or about failure (Zhang Peili), Is it the pride of being pure blood or the shame of be born bastards (Shen Shaomin), will you be offended or will you have a good laugh (Rainer Ganahl), is it about the obvious or the unexpected truth (Yang Zhenzhong), can you keep up with tolerance or will you be easily attracted by intolerance (Artur Zmijewski)?

Curator’s Statement
In this show, artists explore the realm of the doubts, the borders and the passages. It is not about the obvious, it is not about a simple reaction. It is the art of dissimulation, yet it is incredibly true.

In this video-based exhibition, we invite the audience to take time and deepen into the realm of the uncertainty. The artworks presented are videos in various forms: documentaries, performances, conceptual works, and interviews.

It takes time to go through all of it. We are no longer used to spending time and concentrating for long: we live in the realm of the quickly digested images and information, but there is a revolutionary need for rediscovering attention and dedication. It is not about consuming another exhibition as a social event. Instead, it is a very intimate experience – the one proposed here. It is a time of pause, almost a praying time, I would say.

When I have been asked to put together this show, I thought of my last years in Thailand and Bangkok and I wanted to express through this curatorial adventure my own connection with the Thailand I discovered. When I think back of the last two years in Bangkok, with all the unrest and social and political uncertainty, the works chosen for this show seem to me very significant and universal. It is quite a testimony to the uneasiness that I feel – and I am sure many other people do – when thinking about nationalism, ethnicity and power mirrored by a personal/private space, poetry and the death as beauty, or as Bohumil Hrabal explains in “I served the King of England”:

“The essence of life was questioning about death, how will I behave when my hour comes, and that basically death, or rather that questioning oneself, is a dialogue from an infinite and eternal visual angle. (And that) the resolution of the problem of death is already the beginning of thinking in terms of beauty and the beginning of thinking about beauty because it is savoring the absurdity of one’s path that anyway will end with a premature exit, that pleasure of experiencing one’s own demise, that fills man with bitterness and therefore with beauty.”

Artists:
Zhang Peili, Happiness, 2006
Rainer Ganahl, I hate Marx, 2010
Yang Zhenzhong, I will die, 2000-2007
Shen Shaomin, I am Chinese 2006-2008
Artur Zmijewski, Them, 2007, courtesy of Vanabbe Museum

Brief Artists Profile
Zhang Peili is a video artist considered by some to be the "Father of Chinese video art.” Born in 1957, Zhang lives and works in Hangzhou.

Rainer Ganahl lives and works in NYC since 1990.

Yang Zhenzhong, 1968 Born in Hangzhou, China. Lives and works in Shanghai.

Shen Shaomin, born
 1956, Heilongjiang province, China
. Lives and works in Sydney, Australia and Beijing, China

Artur Zmijewski, born 1966 in Warsaw, Poland. Lives and works in Warsaw

About Davide Quadrio aka Dadou
Davide Quadrio is a sinologist, curator and art historian. He founded BizArt, Shanghai's first non-profit art centre, in 1998. Stemming from this experience and a decade working in cross cultural matters (Davide was awarded 2004 the title of young leader for culture in Asia by IIAS and ASEF in Den Hague, The Netherlands) in 2007, Quadrio together with Defne Ayas started Arthub Asia, a cultural and artistic constellation of independent thinkers devoted to contemporary art creation in China and across Asia. (www.arthubasia.org). Since 2009, Davide has been founding director of FarEastFarWest, an art production company that supports new and challenging cultural projects based in Asia. FarEastFarWest collection will be available to researchers, practitioners and general public from May 2011 at the Museum of Contemporary Photography in Chicago. Davide is currently residing in Thailand conducting research with the support of the National Research Council of Thailand on cultural and artistic development. From September 2010 he is lecturing at Fudan University, Institute of Visual Arts, Shanghai.

For more information, please contact:
Siriwat Pokrajen (PR Officer)
Tel: 081-629-0457, email: siriwatpokrajen@yahoo.com, info.artcenterchula@gmail.com

The Art Center
7th Fl, Center of Academic Resources, Chulalongkorn University
Phyathai Rd, Pathumwan, Bangkok 10330
Tel: 0-2218-2965, Fax: 0-2218-2907
Email: info.artcenterchula@gmail.com
www.car.chula.ac.th/art
Facebook: The Art Center - Chula
Monday-Friday 9am-7pm, Saturday 9am-4pm
Closed on Sunday & Public Holidays

A Baroque Christmas Concert in Bangkok

Mahidol University Baroque Choir and Soloists
Mahidol University Baroque Orchestra
Henri Pompidor, Conductor

Tuesday, December 21st, 2010
&
Wednesday, December 22nd, 2010
at 8.00pm
Chulalongkorn University Auditorium
(CU Cultural Building)
Bangkok


The Embassy of the Federal Republic of Germany and the Embassy of France proudly present A baroque Christmas concert with Marc Antoine Charpentier and Johann Sebastian Bach on Tuesday, December 21st & Wednesday 22nd, 2010 at the Chulalongkorn Auditorium (CU Cultural Building) in Bangkok at 8.00pm.

Under the baton of Henri Pompidor, the choral director at Mahidol University, the concert will feature the Mahidol University Baroque Choir and Orchestra performing three famous choral baroque pieces, including Charpentiers Te Deum and two Bach Cantatas for the Advent and Christmas period.

The concert will first take us to the Grand Sicle of Louis XIV in Versailles. With Marc Antoine Charpentier and his well-known Te Deum (H146), we have the unique opportunity to taste the great music of the Chapelle royale de Versailles at the end of the 17th century in France. This piece for choir, soloists and instrumental ensemble (with very famous fanfare in the opening)
traces a sacred link uniting the King and all his people. It represents one of the best spotlights on the French baroque musical language, whose archaic and modern style of writing and vocal and instrumental colors are always written with brightness and elegance.

The second part of the concert takes us to Christmas under Bach's musical rule, yet the glorious feeling is quite similar. The two Bach Cantatas introduces Christmas time with two feasting pieces which give joy and happiness to celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ: Wachet auf, ruft uns die Stimme (BWV 140) is set as a call to ask the Christian to be ready ("Hey, wake up, the voice
calls to us One of the characteristics of this cantata is the personification of characters sung by solo singers interacting together in a musical dialogue follows a long tradition in European music history.

The second cantata Christen, รคtzet diesen Tag (BWV 63), is also exceptional because of its own different structure with a complete lack of chorale, the traditional Lutheran hymn. Built in symmetrical and pyramidal structure, this cantata shows a wonderful vocal music with soloist, chorus and orchestra. In this piece, Christmas does not represent only the birth of the Jesus Christ, but a period of transition for everyone, a hope for the people who suffer in the
world they can find comfort and support.

Tickets are available for 300 THB and 150 THB (for students). Due to the expected high demand, advance booking is highly recommended!

For more information about the concert and tickets reservation, please Email
gisela.lerdmaleewong@diplo.de

The Art Center cordially invites you to the educational program of 'That Very Moment'
Artist Talk with Asst. Prof. Surachai Ekphalakorn
Monday July 12, 2010, 1.30-3pm
The talk is in Thai
At The Art Center
7th Floor, Center of Academic Resources, Chulalongkorn University

Asst. Prof. Surachai Ekphalakorn is currently teaching at the Department of Visual Arts, Faculty of Fine and Applied Arts, Chulalongkorn University. His prints come in different forms and techniques. But for "That Very Moment", the artist is showcasing woodcut prints, which are his most developed works. During this talk, he will discuss his concepts and inspirations for his prints that imitate the beauty of brush strokes and look more like paintings.

For more information, please contact:
Siriwat Pokrajen (PR Officer)
Tel: 081-629-0457, email: siriwatpokrajen@yahoo.com, info.artcenterchula@gmail.com

The Art Center
7th Fl, Center of Academic Resources, Chulalongkorn University
Phyathai Rd, Pathumwan, Bangkok 10330
Tel: 0-2218-2965, Fax: 0-2218-2907
Email: info.artcenterchula@gmail.com
www.car.chula.ac.th/art

That Very Moment
Woodcut prints by Surachai Ekphalakorn
At The Art Center, Center of Academic Resources, Chulalongkorn University
On display July 1-30, 2010
Opening reception: Thursday July 1, 2010 at 6pm

Assistant Professor Surachai Ekphalakorn has a Bachelor's degree in Art Education from the Faculty of Education, Chulalongkorn University, before earning a Master of Arts in Printmaking from Tama Art University, Tokyo, Japan. He has been teaching at the Department of Visual Arts, Faculty of Fine and Applied Arts, Chulalongkorn University, since 1994.

Surachai’s prints vary in forms and techniques, but his signature, most-developed works are in woodcut prints.

For his latest solo show to be displayed at The Art Center, Center of Academic Resources, Chulalongkorn University, his concept is:

‘I like the look and energy that radiates from the brushstrokes.

I feel fulfilled and happy every time I am able to splash “the right stroke” onto a blank space.

I enjoy working with the woodcut process, and being able to carve my abstract brushstrokes as realistic as possible gives me a great sense of satisfaction.

Sometimes adapting the feel and the flow of the Lai Thai into my woodcut allows me to experience such a gentle and delicate yet powerful existence of the art and the self.

I like artworks which can convey the beauty of skills, expressions, and concepts effectively.

Therefore, in my case, I have tried to express my skill in art through the expressiveness of my brushstrokes, the flow of my carving and the precision of my printing skill.

I have tried to convey the expression in my art through the gesture, rhythm, value and colors of the brushstrokes.

I have tried to express the concept in my artwork about what is seen might be different from what really is through the sight of brushstrokes which, at first, might appeared to the viewer as a painting which were created within a few seconds with a few whips of the wrist only, but in fact, is a woodcut which required much longer time from the beginning to the end to create.

For me, making art is a process of learning which gives me such enormous pleasure and fun.

Therefore, I would like to share ‘That’ and ‘This’ Very Moment with you all.’
For more information, please contact:
Siriwat Pokrajen (PR Officer)
Tel: 081-629-0457, email: info.artcenterchula@gmail.com


The Art Center
7th Fl, Center of Academic Resources, Chulalongkorn University
Phyathai Rd, Pathumwan, Bangkok 10330
Tel: 0-2218-2965, Fax: 0-2218-2907
Email: info.artcenterchula@gmail.com
www.car.chula.ac.th/art
www.facebook.com/pages/The-Art-Center-Chula/242158381691
Monday-Friday 9am-7pm, Saturday 9am-4pm
Closed on Sunday & Public Holidays

Through Our Eyes: Windows into the Lives of Affected People
from the Deep South’ Photo Exhibition

At the Hall in front of The Art Center, Center of Academic Resources, Chulalongkorn University
11-26 June 2010
Opening reception: Friday 11 June, 2010 at 5.30pm



In the last four years at least 3000 people have died, several thousands were injured and many more people have been socially and mentally affected by the violence in the Deep South. In newspapers and audio-visual media hardly any time and space is allocated to give these people visibility. Many victims have been reduced to mere numbers in reports. Most of the Thai population outside the three border provinces is not aware of the human or tragic dimension this conflict has caused in many lives so far. Some media reports might even contribute to misunderstanding or even incite hatred towards people living in the predominantly Muslim region.

This photo exhibition would like to tell a different story. It wants to show the human side of the conflict, it wants to share the hopes and life stories of the people that have been reduced to statistics in a bloody and seemingly endless conflict, and it wants to put faces where there is otherwise a nameless mass.

The conflict is centred in Thailand’s three Southern border provinces, Pattani, Yala and Narathiwat. This is a region where over 80% of the population adhere to the Islamic faith and speak the local Malay dialect known as Yawi. Independent sources report 10,609 violent incidents taking place between January 2004 and January 2010 resulting in at least 4100 deaths, 60% of which have been Muslims.

This collection of photos wants to take the audience on a journey to a place where there are no sides and where there is no real sentiment of “us versus them”. The photos have been taken by twenty five local women, children, and young people with the aim of inviting the eyes of the outside world into the daily lives of those who are affected by this conflict. While FES and its local partner organisation Friends of the Victimized Families Group provided the participants with digital cameras as well as a brief workshop on basic photography skills, the actual strength of this exhibition stems from the powerful personal messages the photographers conveyed in their photos.

This is their story, through their eyes.

Organized by
- MA in International Development Studies (MAIDS), Faculty of Political Science, Chulalongkorn University
- Friends of the Victimized Families Group
- Friends of Women Foundation
- Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung
- The Art Center, Center of Academic Resources, Chulalongkorn University


For more information, please contact:
Siriwat Pokrajen (PR Officer)
Tel: 081-629-0457, email: siriwatpokrajen@yahoo.com, info.artcenterchula@gmail.com

The Art Center
7th Fl, Center of Academic Resources, Chulalongkorn University
Phyathai Rd, Pathumwan, Bangkok 10330
Tel: 0-2218-2965, Fax: 0-2218-2907
Email: info.artcenterchula@gmail.com

www.car.chula.ac.th/art

www.facebook.com/pages/The-Art-Center-Chula/#!/pages/Bangkok-Thailand/The-Art-Center-Chula/242158381691?ref=ts

Monday-Friday 9am-7pm, Saturday 9am-4pm
Closed on Sunday & Public Holidays

Bangkok University and the Art Center at Chulalongkorn University with support from Office of Contemporary Art And Culture, Ministry Of Culture would like to invite you all to Brand New 2010's first exhibition by Alongkorn Sriprasert and Itsaret Sutthisiri.

Shortlisted for this year's Brand New, Alongkorn and Itsaret will present their past and most recent photography works at the Art Center, Chulalongkorn University. Fascinated by the ideas of memories and places, Alongkorn uses his washed out images to tell a story of the disappearance of places he grew up with. Similar to Alongkorn's works, Itsaret's works are concerned with places and a sense of belonging. Itsaret's works show a contrast between a struggling city life and a simple country life.

Brand New 2010 by Alongkorn Sriprasert and Itsaret Sutthisiri is on view from 31 May to 26 June 2010 at the Art Center, Chulalongkorn University. The opening reception is on Thursday, 3 June 2010, 2.00 pm at 7th Fl of the Art Center.



For more information, please contact:
The Art Center Chulalongkorn University
7 Fl, Center of Academic Resources
Phyathai Road, Pathumwan
Bangkok 10330
Tel: +66 2218 2965
Fax: +66 2218 2907
E-mail: info.artcenterchula@gmail.com

Bangkok University Gallery
119 Rama 4 Road, Klong Toey
Bangkok 10110
Tel: +66 2350 3626
Fax: +66 2350 3679
E-mail: bugallery@bu.ac.th

searching for vegetables

At The Art Center, Center of Academic Resources, Chulalongkorn University
On March 10 – April 3, 2010
Opening Reception: Wednesday March 10, 2010, 4:30-7pm

     The eagerly awaited Path of Perseverance: The Chin from Burma exhibition is set to open at the Art Center, Center of Academic Resources, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok. The exhibition which will be officially opened, 4:30-7pm, will also feature a keynote address by Burmese activists.

     The exhibition will feature an exceptional portfolio of photographic images by the photographer, artist and writer Benny Manser. Benny’s travels and photographs have created a potent mixture of awe and message which in turn has identified with the horrendous issues of Burma and how the world has seemingly left the plight to fend for itself.




     The photographs portraying the story of the Chin ethnic group, spread out across 3 countries in Burma, India and Malaysia, are compelling, emotional and sublime. Manser’s exhibition is a journey of conscience as well as artistic resonance. It is even more enlightening that Manser, who is currently an International Development studies Student at Chulalongkorn University, has captured ‘real’ un-staged images, without manipulation or persuasion. The effect created by Manser is arresting, haunting, and has absolute authority.

Culture and Traditions

Rice pounding

Carrying water

The exhibition will be open to the public from March 10 to April 3, free admission, at the Art Center, 7th Floor, Center of Academic Resources, Chulalongkorn University.

About the artist
     Benny Manser earned a BSc in Computer Animation and Special Effects from the University of Bradford, UK, where he achieved a first-class honours degree. Having a British father and a Karen-Mon mother, he is passionate about using the medium of photography as a way of communicating with people to gain a greater understanding of one another and help to bring complex problems to a more personal human level specifically relating to Burma.

Message of hope

Urban livelihoods

For more information, please contact:
Siriwat Pokrajen (PR Officer)
Tel: 081-629-0457, email: siriwatpokrajen@yahoo.com, info.artcenterchula@gmail.com