Penwadee Nophaket Manont Report

1）Objectives/Areas of interest

From my memory of the participation in JENESYS Residency Program and YMA Internship Program in 2008, there seemed to be art galleries and museums everywhere in Tokyo; audience would queue up to go see artworks; seats for kids' workshop in museums were booked up during weekends; abandoned buildings were taken up by private organizations or university students as alternative spaces for art exhibits and events; international art exhibitions had been well accepted both by the locals and tourists. I then realized that people in Tokyo actually spare both their time and money in galleries, museums and exhibitions for pleasure. Art has literally become part of the culture and their daily life, which hardly seems to happen in Thailand. The art scene in Tokyo has fascinated me since, comparing with Thai scene where ideology of the art itself has not been widely realized nor accepted.

As been invited to participate in AIT Residency Program from February 21 to March 26 in 2016, I was initially eager to research more of unique collectives and initiative art projects/spaces in Tokyo. My interest was just to look for any platforms I might find them inspirational to initiate creative/productive projects in Bangkok, where we tend to be extremely short in public funding and lack of eligible art workers and collaborators. Back then, I definitely focused only on how to move forward for Bangkok art scene yet overlooked the reasons why it has not been as active as it should be, comparing with the vast numbers of art students graduate every year from both local and international universities.

2）Activities during my stay

By the time I arrived Tokyo again after 8 years, I realized it would not be as simple to just focus on searching for particular platforms of art projects/spaces. I then started to randomly schedule to go visit all the places and the art clans I have had experienced earlier, both in Tokyo and Bangkok, to basically have myself updated about what's going on there. The places and the people I paid a visit for my research are as follows:

Meeting and Interview:

1) The Japan Foundation Asia Center team - Yasuko Furuichi-san (Exhibition Coordinator, The Japan Foundation), Keiko Suzuki-san and Etsuko Yamada-san
(International Operations, Arts and Culture Department, The Japan Foundation)
2) Aki Hoashi-san (Managing Director, Yokohama Triennale)
3) Mami Kataoka-san (Chief Curator, The Mori Art Museum)
4) Taro Amano-san (Program Director/Curator in Chief, Yokohama Civic Art Gallery Azamino)
5) Naoko Shoji-san (Exhibition Coordinator, Yokohama Museum of Art)
6) Yu Yamasaki-san (Head of Children's Workshop Department, Yokohama Museum of Art)
7) Shingo Yamano-san (Director of NPO Koganecho Area Management Center)
8) Tsuyoshi Ozawa-san (Artist)
9) Taro Izumi-san (Artist)
10) Takuro Kotaka-san (Artist)

Exhibition:

1) The media art exhibition @NTT InterCommunication Center - ICC
2) White Day by Simon Fujiwara @Tokyo Opera City Art Gallery
3) MOT Annual 2016: Loose Lips Save Ships, co-curated by ARTISTS' GUILD and MOT @Museum of Contemporary Art, Tokyo
4) MIYAKE ISSEY EXHIBITION: The Work of Miyake Issey @The National Art Center, Tokyo
5) Possibilities for being together. Their praxis by Koki Tanaka @Art Tower Mito
6) Takashi Murakami's Superflat Collection -From Shohaku and Rosanjin to Anselm Kiefer- @Yokohama Museum of Art, Yokohama
7) Takashi Murakami: The 500 Arhats, Roppongi Crossing 2016: My Body, Your Voice @Mori Art Museum, Tokyo
8) Media Ambition Tokyo 2016 @Roppongi Hills Mori Tower, Tokyo

Other Event:

1) A lecture about Art Festivals/Biennales/Triennales in Japan by Aki Hoashi-san @The Japan Foundation
2) How has Japan engaged with Contemporary Art from Southeast Asia?, Joint Symposium Organized by The National Art Center, Mori Art Museum and the Japan Foundation Asia Center @The National Art Center, Tokyo
3) Red Tank, A theatrical Performance by B-Floor @Ueno Storehouse
4) Open Studio/Talk @Tokyo Wonder Site, Tokyo
5) A roundtable Discussion about Censorship in addition to the exhibition Muntadas: Asian Protocols @3331 Arts Chiyoda

Artist-in-Residence Program:

1) Youkobo Art Space, Tokyo
2) PARADISE AIR, Matsudo, Chiba
3) ARCUS Project, Moriya, Ibaraki
4) Koganecho Artist-in-Residence Program, Yokohama

Alternative Space:

1) Irregular Rhythm Asylum - IRA, Tokyo
2) Nantoka Activist Bar, Tokyo
3) NAWATE shared space, Okayama

The first meeting with AIT crew in Daikanyama

Reassembled with Yu Yamasaki-san at the children's workshop department of the Yokohama Museum of Art

Joined the lecture on Art Festivals/Biennales/Triennales in Japan by Aki Hoashi-san at The Japan Foundation

Viewed the exhibition Media Ambition Tokyo at Roppongi Hills Mori Tower

3）Traveling

After spending two weeks in Tokyo, I actually planned to travel to other parts for a week, such as Onomichi in Hiroshima, Naoshima and Teshima in Kagawa, and came back to Osaka for the Asian Film Festival 2016. Unfortunately, my JR Rail Pass that I bought in Thailand did not work for my 'Cultural Activity' VISA. With such limited budget in hands by the time I left for the trip, I decided to just stop by two places, the city of Okayama and Noshima. At Okayama City, I stayed in the guesthouse Torii-kuguru inside of NAWATE, a multi-purpose building converted from a former meat store. I experienced that the capital inflow in the city has concentrated on the east side and the west side has remained as a residential area. Then, local artists, designers and architects gathered together with the aim of revitalizing this western district by renovating the building to open the guesthouse, renting part of the building to stores, and organizing various events. They aimed to build an inter-mutual relationship within the local community. I later had a peaceful time biking and exploring the artworks all over in Noshima, right before the Setouchi Triennale 2016 had began.

Wandered from the east to the west of Okayama City

4）Projects undertaken

Besides all of my activities and traveling as above, I also did the presentation about "Contemporary Art Scene in Thailand and Bangkok" during Thai Art Night: Finding Ways Through event, organized by AIT at Grain in Harajuku. Takuro Kotaka-san had as well invited me and the other Thais who were participating in residency and research programs during the same time to host an event at the Nantoka Bar (an activist bar) in Koenji. We cooked and sold plentiful of Thai food and drinks that surprised Kotaka-san how much profit we made with breaking the bar's record.

5）Outcomes from my residency

After 34 days of wandering around not only Tokyo but also some other cities, I was able to witness efforts of the Japanese people to bring a change in their small communities. The trip has also revealed what has been lacking in Thailand: a solid foundation. The Thai people's temperament makes it difficult for them to openly accept different opinions, whether in dialogue, debate or social exchange. Even in my immediate environment, this kind of attitude is considered to go against the etiquette, morals, and what is considered appropriate within a community. For this reason, working together to develop ideas and generate social change becomes a challenge. Individuals tend to focus solely on their own development within the systems that they belong. This can be also said of the contemporary art world, where many of the artists and curators aspire to advance to the global stage. They believe that so long as they have the seed, they can sprout and grow. But if we do not share fertile ground in this age of global competition, we can only stand in that place of success for so long.

Last but not least, I have also discovered my new talent in cooking while staying at the apartment in Asakusa!

Visited Tsuyoshi Ozawa-san's studio at Tokyo University of the Arts, Toride Campus

Joined the open studio's tour guide of Koganecho Artist-in-Residence Program in Yokohama

Enjoyed cooking at my apartment in Asakusa