【 Thai Art Night: Finding Ways Through 】

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【 Thai Art Night: Finding Ways Through 】
Recent Issues in Thai Contemporary Art
With Artists, Curator and Writer from Bangkok and Chiang Mai
Date: March 12 (Sat), 2016 / 17:00-20:00
Venue: GRAIN / 5-25-1, Jingumae, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo
Capacity: 20 *Booking required
Admission: Free (excl. food/drink)

AIT is pleased to welcome Thai artist Atikom Mukdaprakorn, curator Penwadee Nophaket Manont, writer Judha Su and artist Takuro Kotaka who stayed in Thailand on a residency program in 2014. Held at GRAIN in Harajuku, the talk will take place on March 12. Mukdaprakorn and Manont are currently AIT Artists/Curators in Residence, staying in Tokyo until the end of March.
In recent years there have been many instances of younger artists and curators creating new alternative art spaces and initiatives in Bangkok and Chiang Mai. These kinds of movements are different from more formal university art schools as well as institutional museums and galleries and Western trends.
In addition to this we see an ongoing tense and unstable political situation in Thailand around street demonstrations and coup d'etat, which feed into the artistic culture and its context. With limited public funding, these artists and workers are actively looking for alternative networks and possibilities for practice.
For this talk we will hear presentations from each of the invited speakers, outlining their work as well as prospects for art in Thailand and tips for surviving in this situation.
This is a rare opportunity for emerging Thai artists to gather and share thoughts in Japan. We will also serve food and drinks from a chef Momoko's kitchen. We look forward very much to seeing you at GRAIN.

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【Outline】
Date: March 12 (Sat), 2016 / 17:00-20:00
Venue: GRAIN / 5-25-1, Jingumae, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo
Capacity: 20 *Booking required
Admission: Free (excl. food/drink)
*Talk will be in English with consecutive Japanese translation
Moderator: Naoko Horiuchi［AIT］
Translator: Satoshi Ikeda
Organized by: Arts Initiative Tokyo［AIT］
Supported by: Agency for Cultural Affairs Government of Japan in the fiscal 2015

【Booking】
Please send an email with its subject as "Thai Art Night" to otoiawase@a-i-t.net, including your name, and contact.

【Program】
17:00 Door Open
17:30-18:00 Talk by Penwadee Nophaket Manont (Curator)
18:00-18:30 Atikom Mukdaprakorn (Artist)
Break
18:45-19:15 Judha Su (Art Writer)
19:15-19:45 Takuro Kotaka (Artist)
19:45 Discussion / Q&A
20:00 End

【Speakers】
Atikom Mukdaprakorn (Born in 1981, Bangkok, Thailand)

Co-founder of mute mute, which emphasizes mutual discussion about society in order to expand the boundary of perception through art, cultural performances and social activities in different forms. He is personally interested in media/art culture, especially domestic photography, freedom of expression and the state of art in Thailand. These form the basis for many of the conditions used in his media/art performances. Currently, he has been collaborating on the project "Chiang Mai Art Conversation" which originated in Chiang Mai. The purpose of the project is to facilitate a connection of art with discussion and Thai society to gain greater knowledge through all kinds of management and media.

Penwadee Nophaket Manont
(Born in 1973, California, lives and works in Bangkok, Thailand)

Her curatorial projects include the Mekong Art & Culture Project: Curatorial and Traveling Exhibition (2007-2008), supported by Rockefeller Foundation and Silpakorn University, where she was one of the four Southeast Asian Art Curators for the Underlying exhibition, from Laos, Vietnam, Cambodia and Thailand. She also co-curated Poperomia/Golden Teardrop (2013), an exhibition at the 55th International Art Exhibition - la Biennale di Venezia, Italy. At the end of 2013, Penwadee founded ANTs' POWER Art & Cultural Group, who are active on Human Rights and Democracy related issues.

Judha Su (Art Writer, lives and works in Bangkok, Thailand)

Judha dances around the ideas of art and its intersection with other disciplines. Her current research project titled: Thinking in Critical Constellations, funded by Asia Centre Japan Foundation.

Takuro Kotaka (Born in 1984, lives and works in Tokyo, Japan)

"Traveling Africa with a Potato" / 2010 / Video
Kotaka is a cross-disciplinary artist whose work references the everyday experiences of the people he encounters whilst traveling. His journeys to Indonesia, Thailand, Africa and other parts of the world have resulted in video works and performances that address issues of cross-cultural communication, otherness, history, rumours, and narrative.
In Chiang Mai, Kotaka produced the new video work How to Transform into Na Neck. He found the access point to integrate his relationship with society by imitation well-known Thai comedian Na Neck after Chiang Mai natives told him that he resembled the comic.