THAILAND: Cautious Applause Greets First-ever Culture Ministry

By Marwaan Macan-Markar Reprint | | Print |

Marwaan Macan-Markar

BANGKOK, Oct 14 2002 (IPS) - The Thai government’s plans to breathe life into the country’s contemporary arts are being received with a mix of dismay and cautious applause.

For the critics, the government’s choice of who will head the newly created ministry of culture reveals the significance Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra’s administration places on contemporary culture.

Thaksin’s choice for the country’s first culture minister, Uraiwan Thienthong, is the wrong one, critics say. Thailand’s independent press also says that the appointment was a flagrant case of political patronage rather than one based on merit.

A satirical article headlined ‘Wonders of the Fledgling Culture Ministry’, which appeared in Saturday’s issue of the English-language daily ‘The Nation’, reflects what critics think of Thailand’s first culture czar.

”Uraiwan (has) floated a proposal to hold a national competition in calligraphy. Oh, how wonderful this idea is! For it is aimed at preserving the traditional handwriting style that can be traced to King Ramkamhaeng the Great (Thailand’s 13th century ruler),” commentator Jeerawat Na Thalang wrote.

Others, however, want to give the new minister time to prove her mettle. ”Let’s give her a chance, let’s give her the right information to help shape policy,” says Chatvichai Promadhattavedi of the Bangkok Art and Culture Foundation.

Uraiwan got her post as part of the sweeping bureaucratic reforms that Thaksin introduced early this month, including the expansion of his cabinet from 14 to 20 ministers.

The questions about Thaksin’s commitment to the arts are being raised in light of what the country’s contemporary artists have had to endure over the past decades – being ignored by the state.

”Promoting contemporary arts has never been important for Thai governments,” says Gridthiya Gaweewong, an art curator. ”It has always been a low priority issue or ignored, since it did not fit into the development plans of the governments – to become a newly industrialised nation.”

Whenever governments took interest in culture, it had to have an economic value, often as a way of promoting tourism, she adds. ”They have seen the arts and culture as a commodity, and aesthetics hardly matters.”

Consequently, modern Thai artists who gained fame internationally for their creative output are not household names in their own country. Among these are those like Montien Boonma, Kamol Paosawasdi and Rirkrit Tiravanija, who express themselves through conceptual art and installations.

Montien, for instance, gained renown for installations such as ‘Sala of Mind’, which enabled him to convey his perception of Thai space in exhibits that have appeared in New York, Paris and Tokyo.

”Works produced by Montien always reflect Thai life, which has undergone rapid change. His use of local materials and motifs clearly evokes traditional culture and religion,” writes Sompron Rodboon in a website that highlights Thailand’s contemporary arts.

”His mode of expression depends upon Thai traditional culture and yet it is also highly imaginative,” adds Somporn.

What has been lacking in Thailand is the infrastructure to promote and support contemporary arts, says Chumpon Apisuk, a performance artist. By that, he means public galleries for artists to exhibit and government support to ensure that other modern Thai artists have a staging area for their output.

Contemporary Thai artists have very limited space to exhibit in Bangkok. The available venues are often small private galleries, cafes that are open to new trends in culture, designated spaces at a weekend arts and crafts market, and along the street in the neighbourhood popular with backpackers.

The Thai capital, moreover, lacks a contemporary arts space to talk about, unlike neighbouring cities such as Manila and Singapore. Initial plans to build such a centre has been opposed by Bangkok’s current governor, who is more inclined to use the space assigned for the arts centre for commercial use – including a parking lot.

Some critics here feel that Thaksin’s administration may do little to change this, despite taking its lead in setting up a ministry of culture. Gridthiya, for instance, points to the amount of funds contemporary culture will receive – ”only 650,000 baht (14,000 U.S. dollars), what can you do with that?”

By contrast, the new ministry has been assured 1.5 billion baht (34 million dollars) for its work.

The contemporary arts section in the new ministry ”has been set up to promote and preserve modern art in Thailand,” says Amnuay Jun-ngern, director of culture policy and planning at the ministry. ”We want to help Thai artists maintain international standards.”

But that is not all that troubles critics about the culture ministry. They worry that with the new ministry, the country may see a further affirmation of how the Thai political establishment has always viewed art and culture – as a means to promote nationalism and patriotism.

Highly praised, as a result, have been those who promote the country’s traditional arts and folk culture on the basis that it is healthy for the society. These include the decorative works of art and mural paintings with a repetitive style and themes that have been important to Thai history.

”The minister is a remnant of the old era,” says Surapone Virulrak of Bangkok’s Chulalongkorn University.

Indeed, at one of Uraiwan’s first meetings with cultural ministry officials, she spelled out her views about the role of culture, including a need to promote ”patriotic art and performance”.

What artists like Chumpon were hoping for was a ministry that would celebrate the new thinking in art and culture, where the stress is on individual perspectives and responses to the country’s current reality.

”It is about art that is critical, that reflects new thinking,” Chumpon points out.

”Promoting contemporary art is still clearly not a priority for this government,” says Gridthiya. ”The traditional artists will, like usual, get most of the support.”

THAILAND: Cautious Applause Greets First-ever Culture Ministry

By Marwaan Macan-Markar Reprint | | Print |

Marwaan Macan-Markar

BANGKOK, Oct 14 2002 (IPS) - The Thai government’s plans to breathe life into the country’s contemporary arts are being received with a mix of dismay and cautious applause.
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