AMARETTO-old
August 29th, 2006, 04:34
Completely Thai in France
After two years of planning, a grand celebration of Thai art, culture and cuisine is heading to French soil
As the French culture festival La F├кte wraps up in Bangkok this week, Thailand is hard at work preparing for its own grand celebration of Thai art and culture in France. Entitled тАЬTout ├а Fait Thai,тАЭ which means тАЬcompletely Thai,тАЭ the festival will be the kingdomтАЩs first-ever large-scale cultural event organized for a foreign country тАУ even larger than any other festivals held by Thais in their own backyard.
Tout ├а Fait Thai was initiated by the French ambassador to Thailand, Laurent Aublin, who wished to bring French art and culture to Bangkok while also taking its Thai counterparts to France. With collaboration between the Thai and French governments, the two-year endeavor will finally take place between September 15 and October 31, the same 60th anniversary of His Majesty the KingтАЩs accession to the throne.
The theme of Tout ├а Fait Thai is тАЬart contemporain,тАЭ which means contemporary art, and this will be the main feature of the festival. Nonetheless, Thai exoticism and centuries-old traditions will be included to create a perfect display of culture and illustrate the richness of Thai civilization. Various respected institutes, mostly in Paris, are scheduled to house Thai activities, ranging from royal masked dances to experimental films, OTOP (One Tambon, One Product) fairs to contemporary art exhibitions and Thai classical music to electroclash.
The opening ceremony of the festival will be held at Ch├вteau de Versailles on September 18 in the presence of HRH Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn. According to Jean-Michel Beurdeley, one of the festivalтАЩs two commissioners, the venue was selected for a very good reason. In September of 1686, Thai ambassadors attended an opera by Lully entitled тАЬRolandтАЭ in the presence of King Louis XIV. Three hundred and twenty years later, Thai masked dance khon will be gracing the Versailles opera stage, depicting the story of Ramakien, the Thai version of the ancient Indian epic Ramayana. In addition to this special performance, the French public will be able to appreciate the superior form of traditional Thai performing arts at the National Opera in Brest (September 23) and during the Ile-de-France Festival at the Massy Opera (September 29-30).
In Paris, a Thai Village will be built at Place Saint-Sulpice, which is very close to the residence of Thai ambassadors in the 17th century on Rue de Tournon. It will display an exhibition of His MajestyтАЩs achievements commemorating his 60 years on the throne and expositions demonstrating Thai ways of life and the OTOP project. A Thai food festival will be hosted at H├┤tel Meurice from October 13 to 21. Later, the Thai village and food festival will move to Lyon, the second destination of Tout ├а Fait Thai.
WhatтАЩs more, the French will get a rare chance to witness two other spectacles. The renowned Joe Louis Theater will perform its majestic puppetry art at Maison des Cultures du Monde, Paris, from September 15 to 17, and at the World Festival of Puppet Theater at Charleville-M├йzi├иres on September 24. Then, HRH Princess Maha Charkri Sirindhorn will join an ensemble of Thai musicians playing a traditional Thai concert at Mus├йe National des Arts Asiatique in Paris on September 19.
The main body overseeing the contemporary art section is the Contemporary Art and Culture Office, headed by Dr Apinan Poshyananda, the officeтАЩs director-general. During Tout ├а Fait Thai, nearly 40 Thai artists from various fields will showcase their works and participate in numerous exhibitions, live performances, presentations and seminars to give the French audience a better understanding of todayтАЩs Thai art scene.
At Mairie du 6e, two halls will be dedicated to a total of 10 contemporary Thai artists. Montri Toemsombat, Pinaree Sanpitak and Araya Rasdjarmrearnsook will exhibit their individual works in Salle des F├кtes, while Salle David dтАЩAngers will be occupied by a group of works from artists that are part of the Soi Project, namely Porntaweesak Rimsakul, Sutee Kunavichayanont, Wisut Ponnimit, Thaweesak Srithongdee, Wit Pimkanchanapong, Peeraphat Kittisuwat and also the late Montien Boonma. Meanwhile, the annual strange and sleepless art night, тАЬNuit Blanche in Paris,тАЭ will feature a Thai theme this year. Artwork by Surasi Kusolwong and Navin Rawanchaikul will dominate the space of Stade Georges Carpentier and Arin Rungjang at Passage de Retz on October 7.
As for cinematographic works, the festival will present both feature and short pieces. The night of September 21 at Palais de Tokyo will be dedicated to Thai films, featuring The Adventure of Iron Pussy, Top Secret, Art of Devil 2, Garuda and Buppah Rahtree. A festival of Thai feature films will take place from September 20 to October 1 at the Cin├йmatique de Paris with a lineup of Thai films dating back to 1940 and as recent as Shutter in 2004 and The Tin Mine in 2005. Short and experimental films will be screened at Maison Europ├йenne de la Photographie from September 22 to 24. This program will also include Anocha SuwichakornpongтАЩs Graceland, which was screened at this yearтАЩs Cannes Film Festival. Apichartpong Weerasethakul, whose Sud Pralad тАУ or Tropical Malady тАУ won the Jury Prize at the Cannes Film Festival 2004, will screen his films together with two other Thai video artists at Centre Georges Pompidou on September 28.
The Thai festival would of course not be complete without two final artistic elements тАУ fashion and music. As Bangkok has set its sights on becoming a fashion capital, SoiWat, a Brussels-based international fashion institute that promotes Thai creations, will put on its тАЬEthical Fashion ShowтАЬ at Tapis Rouge in Paris from October 13 to 15, introducing Thai fashion designers in a European setting.
A concert entitled тАЬBangkok Forever!тАЭ will be staged on October 26 at Point Eph├йm├иre, featuring bands Futon, Penguin Villa and Stylish Nonsense
Tout ├а Fait Thai is reported to have cost 46 million baht to prepare and organizers hope it will pave the way for more events of this kind in other countries and set the tone for a similar festival in Thailand itself. The festival is one of 11 events to be staged outside the country this year by the Contemporary Art and Culture Office, with an aim to help Thai artists compete in the international arena and expand the interest in art and culture to a larger audience in Thailand.
The man behind the festival is Prof Dr Apinan Poshyananda, Director-General of the Contemporary Art and Culture Office of the Culture Ministry. In a recent interview/press conference, he explained the importance of the festival:
The first-ever large-scale thai festival abroad
тАЬOf course, weтАЩre very proud that Thai artists are going overseas to create fame for Thailand. In fact, they have done so for a long time, but now, finally, the government has acknowledged the importance of Thai artists and their role in using culture to enhance the Thai economy, social development or even politics.
тАЬIn the global cultural arena, contemporary art has been given the spotlight. Take South Korea as an example, they have a very systematic push, starting from Bae Yong Jun to Dae Jang Geum, Ho Jin and Rain. These are a systematic mechanism driven by contemporary artists. As for Thailand, Thai artists are stepping in this arena. Therefore, itтАЩs very important that both government and private sectors help support these activitiesтАЭ
Cultural exchange and collaboration
The selection of artists was done both by French and Thai representatives. We didnтАЩt make a package of artists and then pitch it. And they didnтАЩt choose our people one-sidedly. We worked together as a team and we were quite pleased with our collaboration. So, I hope the festival between September 15 and October 31 will show a new dimension in contemporary art and that this kind of activity will continue to receive support.
тАЬBringing this large number of artists to Paris involves connections among galleries, museums and artists themselves. This will generate more projects in the future. I hope Thai artists will have the opportunity to create a variety of artwork and gain experience from Tout ├а Fait Thai.тАЭ
Source : http://www.ihtthaiday.com
After two years of planning, a grand celebration of Thai art, culture and cuisine is heading to French soil
As the French culture festival La F├кte wraps up in Bangkok this week, Thailand is hard at work preparing for its own grand celebration of Thai art and culture in France. Entitled тАЬTout ├а Fait Thai,тАЭ which means тАЬcompletely Thai,тАЭ the festival will be the kingdomтАЩs first-ever large-scale cultural event organized for a foreign country тАУ even larger than any other festivals held by Thais in their own backyard.
Tout ├а Fait Thai was initiated by the French ambassador to Thailand, Laurent Aublin, who wished to bring French art and culture to Bangkok while also taking its Thai counterparts to France. With collaboration between the Thai and French governments, the two-year endeavor will finally take place between September 15 and October 31, the same 60th anniversary of His Majesty the KingтАЩs accession to the throne.
The theme of Tout ├а Fait Thai is тАЬart contemporain,тАЭ which means contemporary art, and this will be the main feature of the festival. Nonetheless, Thai exoticism and centuries-old traditions will be included to create a perfect display of culture and illustrate the richness of Thai civilization. Various respected institutes, mostly in Paris, are scheduled to house Thai activities, ranging from royal masked dances to experimental films, OTOP (One Tambon, One Product) fairs to contemporary art exhibitions and Thai classical music to electroclash.
The opening ceremony of the festival will be held at Ch├вteau de Versailles on September 18 in the presence of HRH Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn. According to Jean-Michel Beurdeley, one of the festivalтАЩs two commissioners, the venue was selected for a very good reason. In September of 1686, Thai ambassadors attended an opera by Lully entitled тАЬRolandтАЭ in the presence of King Louis XIV. Three hundred and twenty years later, Thai masked dance khon will be gracing the Versailles opera stage, depicting the story of Ramakien, the Thai version of the ancient Indian epic Ramayana. In addition to this special performance, the French public will be able to appreciate the superior form of traditional Thai performing arts at the National Opera in Brest (September 23) and during the Ile-de-France Festival at the Massy Opera (September 29-30).
In Paris, a Thai Village will be built at Place Saint-Sulpice, which is very close to the residence of Thai ambassadors in the 17th century on Rue de Tournon. It will display an exhibition of His MajestyтАЩs achievements commemorating his 60 years on the throne and expositions demonstrating Thai ways of life and the OTOP project. A Thai food festival will be hosted at H├┤tel Meurice from October 13 to 21. Later, the Thai village and food festival will move to Lyon, the second destination of Tout ├а Fait Thai.
WhatтАЩs more, the French will get a rare chance to witness two other spectacles. The renowned Joe Louis Theater will perform its majestic puppetry art at Maison des Cultures du Monde, Paris, from September 15 to 17, and at the World Festival of Puppet Theater at Charleville-M├йzi├иres on September 24. Then, HRH Princess Maha Charkri Sirindhorn will join an ensemble of Thai musicians playing a traditional Thai concert at Mus├йe National des Arts Asiatique in Paris on September 19.
The main body overseeing the contemporary art section is the Contemporary Art and Culture Office, headed by Dr Apinan Poshyananda, the officeтАЩs director-general. During Tout ├а Fait Thai, nearly 40 Thai artists from various fields will showcase their works and participate in numerous exhibitions, live performances, presentations and seminars to give the French audience a better understanding of todayтАЩs Thai art scene.
At Mairie du 6e, two halls will be dedicated to a total of 10 contemporary Thai artists. Montri Toemsombat, Pinaree Sanpitak and Araya Rasdjarmrearnsook will exhibit their individual works in Salle des F├кtes, while Salle David dтАЩAngers will be occupied by a group of works from artists that are part of the Soi Project, namely Porntaweesak Rimsakul, Sutee Kunavichayanont, Wisut Ponnimit, Thaweesak Srithongdee, Wit Pimkanchanapong, Peeraphat Kittisuwat and also the late Montien Boonma. Meanwhile, the annual strange and sleepless art night, тАЬNuit Blanche in Paris,тАЭ will feature a Thai theme this year. Artwork by Surasi Kusolwong and Navin Rawanchaikul will dominate the space of Stade Georges Carpentier and Arin Rungjang at Passage de Retz on October 7.
As for cinematographic works, the festival will present both feature and short pieces. The night of September 21 at Palais de Tokyo will be dedicated to Thai films, featuring The Adventure of Iron Pussy, Top Secret, Art of Devil 2, Garuda and Buppah Rahtree. A festival of Thai feature films will take place from September 20 to October 1 at the Cin├йmatique de Paris with a lineup of Thai films dating back to 1940 and as recent as Shutter in 2004 and The Tin Mine in 2005. Short and experimental films will be screened at Maison Europ├йenne de la Photographie from September 22 to 24. This program will also include Anocha SuwichakornpongтАЩs Graceland, which was screened at this yearтАЩs Cannes Film Festival. Apichartpong Weerasethakul, whose Sud Pralad тАУ or Tropical Malady тАУ won the Jury Prize at the Cannes Film Festival 2004, will screen his films together with two other Thai video artists at Centre Georges Pompidou on September 28.
The Thai festival would of course not be complete without two final artistic elements тАУ fashion and music. As Bangkok has set its sights on becoming a fashion capital, SoiWat, a Brussels-based international fashion institute that promotes Thai creations, will put on its тАЬEthical Fashion ShowтАЬ at Tapis Rouge in Paris from October 13 to 15, introducing Thai fashion designers in a European setting.
A concert entitled тАЬBangkok Forever!тАЭ will be staged on October 26 at Point Eph├йm├иre, featuring bands Futon, Penguin Villa and Stylish Nonsense
Tout ├а Fait Thai is reported to have cost 46 million baht to prepare and organizers hope it will pave the way for more events of this kind in other countries and set the tone for a similar festival in Thailand itself. The festival is one of 11 events to be staged outside the country this year by the Contemporary Art and Culture Office, with an aim to help Thai artists compete in the international arena and expand the interest in art and culture to a larger audience in Thailand.
The man behind the festival is Prof Dr Apinan Poshyananda, Director-General of the Contemporary Art and Culture Office of the Culture Ministry. In a recent interview/press conference, he explained the importance of the festival:
The first-ever large-scale thai festival abroad
тАЬOf course, weтАЩre very proud that Thai artists are going overseas to create fame for Thailand. In fact, they have done so for a long time, but now, finally, the government has acknowledged the importance of Thai artists and their role in using culture to enhance the Thai economy, social development or even politics.
тАЬIn the global cultural arena, contemporary art has been given the spotlight. Take South Korea as an example, they have a very systematic push, starting from Bae Yong Jun to Dae Jang Geum, Ho Jin and Rain. These are a systematic mechanism driven by contemporary artists. As for Thailand, Thai artists are stepping in this arena. Therefore, itтАЩs very important that both government and private sectors help support these activitiesтАЭ
Cultural exchange and collaboration
The selection of artists was done both by French and Thai representatives. We didnтАЩt make a package of artists and then pitch it. And they didnтАЩt choose our people one-sidedly. We worked together as a team and we were quite pleased with our collaboration. So, I hope the festival between September 15 and October 31 will show a new dimension in contemporary art and that this kind of activity will continue to receive support.
тАЬBringing this large number of artists to Paris involves connections among galleries, museums and artists themselves. This will generate more projects in the future. I hope Thai artists will have the opportunity to create a variety of artwork and gain experience from Tout ├а Fait Thai.тАЭ
Source : http://www.ihtthaiday.com