Not long ago, Bangkok’s art, theater and music scene could be summarized easily as “not much.” Today galleries spring up in unexpected corners, troupes stage homegrown performance art and smoky venues discover their own original sounds. There’s now heavy competition for your hard-won leisure time, and our own coverage of what’s happening around town continues to expand.
Enter: “Culture Up!” our weekly guide to what’s happening each day of the week around Bangkok. Check it out every Monday at Coconuts Bangkok.
Here’s what’s going on this week, June 30 – July 6.
Ending Soon:
For most of the world, a tropical island is a distant fantasy.
Although they’re a commonplace destination for us, illustrator Suthipa “Toey” Kamyam still took to her imagination to create such a place as it exists inside her head.
In “The Isolated Land,” the artist shares a series of such images from her imagination via silkscreen prints to tell the story of tropical living on a remote island.
Ends today
Etching Master Class with Professor Jean Pierre Tanguy
Learn print etching Wednesday with Professor Jean Pierre Tanguy from the National School of Fine Arts, Paris.
Registration ends tomorrow
Imaginary friends make some kind of sense, but why are they always bunnypeople?
An art exhibition by Tanasan Kanakasem, HER tells a story of human desire to end their crushing solitude through others.
Ends Saturday, July 5
What happens when 34 young monks occupy a 1,400-year-old abbey? Sound like a reality TV formula for delicious drama and titillating intrigue? We didn’t think so either.
Regardless, a documentary about life in an ancient Saint Marie de Lagrasse Abbey (a place we’re supposed to have heard of) by French photojournalist Christophe Loviny.
Ends Saturday
An innovative collaboration between H Gallery and two U.K.-based galleries, (detail) features extreme close-ups from paintings by each of the artists to provide a peek at their individual efforts while placing them in a greater context. Arists include well-known painters and recent art school graduates whose subjects range from abstraction, landscape and figures in various mediums.
Ends Sunday
Organized by the French Embassy in Thailand, the annual French-Thai cultural festival “La Fête” will feature a variety of cultural and entertainment events such as Fête de la Musique, Hi-So Full Moon Party, Silence on Tourne and art exhibitions.
Ends Sunday
Ongoing:
Technology and a lust for material stuff affects people in an ugly way, according to the paintings of Prawit Lumjalurn.
In his first solo exhibition Fake Work, Prawit seeks to show how material things have guided people into an illusion of living. The result seems to be a lot of creepy looking, toddler monsters.
Ends July 12
RMA Institute offers a look inside Hong Kong’s infamous Chungking Mansions, the tumultuous home for thousands of immigrants and their itinerant lives.
In a new exhibition by Vietnam-based photographer Nana Chen, visitors can explore the mansions in images designed to capture “hiraeth,” which is a Welsh word for “homesickness for a home to which you cannot return, a home which maybe never was; the nostalgia, the yearning, the grief for the lost places of your past.”
Ends July 13
Like visual Prozac, nothing beats watercolor paintings to soothe our torrent of barely concealed rage and anxiety.
Works by 116 watercolor artists from 33 countries around the world are showing at the World Watermedia Exposition at the Ratchadamnoen Contemporary Art Center. Nearly 300 works will be shown on two floors of the art center.
Ends July 20
A provocative photographer bares his soul and everything else in an expressive collection of self portraits.
A Shanghai-to-New York transplant, Shen Wei has exhibited in those cities as well as Philadelphia, Moscow and Shanghai. His solo exhibition “I Miss You Already” will demonstrate the artists’ openness and emotional release achieved through self-portraiture.
Ends July 27
The colorful whimsy and gonzo typography of designer and illustrator Jackkrit Anantakul is coming to Goja Gallery Cafe. Jackkrit’s solo exhibition “Happy Blue” will feature his signature style of colorful wackiness, humorous illustrations and experimental typography.
Ends July 27
Take Off Festival Thailand 2014
Five productions from five recent theater grads will launch at the Take Off Festival next week.
Expect the sincerest experimental and post-modern productions from this new generation of theater grads.
Ends July 27
What is love? If we get a taste of it, what should we do with it next?
Chayanich Muangthai seems to have an answer to this timeless question at her exhibition “Swallow…The Love”. Affection and passion are portrayed through her printmaking process to which the artist adds her strong feelings and emotions.
Ends July 27
Check out what an international crew of artists can come up with when they’re given a chance to chill out and create.
A little bit of everything by 10 artists from Thailand, France and elsewhere will show at Namthong Gallery as part of the annual French-Thai affair of La Fête.
Ends July 28
Inspired by the loss of his mother, cartoonist and Dudesweet founder Pongsuang “Note” Kunprasop will show a collection of his whimsical paintings. Ungrateful Records is a solo exhibition to feature the artist’s accumulated nostalgia transformed into album covers.
Ends July 30
House RCA’s 10 Year Anniversary Festival
To celebrate its anniversary, House RCA next month will look back at some of the best indie hits such as Love of Siam, Last Life in the Universe and Blue is the Warmest Color, as well as sneak previews of upcoming films such as Boyhood. Other secret, surprise screenings await moviegoers.
Ends July 30
What do you get when you blend psychology and Buddhism together in art? The answer: Alexis Dubois.
A French artist that began his career spraying walls on the street, Dubois’ process is described as channeling a “raw and untamed energy” to create his colorful works.
They’ll be on display at the “Alexis Dubois Solo Show” July 5 at the Soy Sauce Factory art space.
Ends July 30
To mark the occasion of the Siamese Revolution’s 82nd anniversary, artist Chumpol Kamwanna is displaying 82 politicians’ portraits at his solo exhibition “3P: People: Politics: Power.”
Ends July 31
Hof Art is back for its ninth anniversary to show off its new art space at W District. Works from over 100 artists including Vasan Sitthiket, Sakwut Wisesmanee, Jitsing Somboon and Jarut Wongkumjantra will be showcased as a part of the celebration.
Ends August 27
Following exhibitions in New York and throughout Asia, figurative painter Henri Lamy will show iconic and spiritual disguise of Thailand through his solo exhibition Hope. Influenced by Jackson Pollock’s drip painting technique, Lamy says he loves splashing colors from the pallet knife straight onto canvas.
Ends August 30
Hashtags have emerged as a way to make sense of our torrent of information. Anything that tries to make sense of meaning is bound to get the attention of artists and end up on exhibition.
Therefore, #IMWTK. Shorthand for “Inquiring Minds Want To Know,” this hashtag is often used online to signify deep questions and general curiosity.
Ends August 31
Here are my teeth: Black with stars
Ever thought of painting your nipple, having a close-up photograph taken of it, then displaying it in an exhibition?
Too late – Elizabeth Preger has been there, done that.
Ends August 31
