The Mango Art Festival is returning for its second year at River City Bangkok from Tuesday until Sunday. Phathaiwat Changtrakul, artistic director and co-founder of the festival, said it aims to showcase talents of Thai people.
"I want to display the abilities of Thai people since I associate with skilful people in the art industry. I want to organise the event for art and performance enthusiasts, so they can meet, exchange viewpoints and strengthen their networks," Phathaiwat said.
Phathaiwat explained that he decided to organise the event as an art festival instead of an art fair because a festival has no specific rules.
"Art fairs have strict guidelines. For instance, Art Basel specifies the type of seats used in the fair for aesthetic appearances. However, there is no specified rule for a festival. We can set up our own rules to suit the festival format of each year," said Phathaiwat.
This year's festival theme is "A Vision For A Better Tomorrow". Phathaiwat said after the Covid-19 pandemic, many people feel down, so he hoped that everyone would brainstorm what to do to help mankind have a better future.
Unlike many events which focus on fine art, Mango Art Festival features a variety of genres. The festival is divided into four main zones -- galleries, independent artists, product designs and craft, accessories and food and beverage. Suphita Charoenwattanamongkhol, fair manager and curator, explained that art pieces and creations in the festival would be appealing to a wide variety of aficionados.
"We chose pieces and creations that are easy to access. Visitors will quickly be impressed with them and be inspired to take the ideas to further develop their own interests. There are art pieces and performances, such as an underground rapper performance, a classical music performance, a fashion show, street art and old master exhibits that you will not find combined in other events. During the six-day exhibition, visitors will never feel bored," said Suphita.
"The festival emphasises creations or performances by artists. For instance, the sound art zone by Maetee Noijinda has only sound; there are no visuals in that zone. Wishulada Panthanuvong, a social activist, created a 16m by 20m environmental work that covers almost the entire front of the River City Bangkok building. Also, we decided to have a fashion show because fashion inspires artists and art inspires designers. Fashion and art cannot be separated."
The first main zone features artwork from Thailand's most popular galleries, including Dorothy Circus Gallery Bangkok/London and MOS Museum of Something.
Known for its pop surrealism artwork, the independent Dorothy Circus Gallery Bangkok/London is the partner of Thai contemporary art gallery Joyman Gallery. Established by a Chinese investor, MOS Museum of Something is an underground gallery that collects works by international artists based in Southeast Asia.
Abstract photographer Bryce captures urban landscapes and applies experimental film photography techniques that lead to impressive visuals. Thitithep is a skilled technician who portrays everyday living through his work. Art Story by Autistic Thai is a social enterprise that presents the talents of autistic people.
There will be four talk topics including "How To Pursue An Art Career?" and "Thailand's Artscape And Its Future", so people can see every aspect of the art industry.
In collaboration with the Thailand Convention and Exhibition Bureau, the Mango Art Festival runs the Business Matching Project to support Thai artists to showcase their abilities and talents to four leading organisations -- Dorothy Circus Gallery (UK), G13 Gallery (Malaysia), Vins Gallery (Taiwan) and Kiru Made (Japan).
"We can advise what kind of portfolio artists or creators should submit to organisations. If any organisation is interested in Thai artists, we will give contact information to both sides, so they can co-ordinate and communicate with each other," Suphita said.
With the wide range of art on display at the festival, visitors will see both contemporary paintings and old masters. In today's digital age, new generations may be more interested in contemporary art and non-fungible token (NFT) art. While the festival has a metaverse zone for NFT art, it does not neglect old master paintings. According to Suphita, a painting from the reign of King Rama VI will be showcased by a collector.
"An old master reflects an era and the process of work of an artist. In the past, there were no galleries to support artists. Studying art history through old masters is important because we can see the development of the discipline. Some pieces went through a war; some pieces were created at the peak of an artist's career. Thus, we can learn about the artists' lives and their era through their works," said Suphita.
Phathaiwat encouraged people to take time to understand the NFT market while Suphita said NFT art is another platform for artists to earn income.
"NFT art is still new. I am not sure if it will be either a one-hit wonder or classic song. As an artist, I created my own NFT collection on OpenSea, so I do not feel outdated," said Phathaiwat.
"NFT art is another platform with digital currency that connects the world and makes it smaller. I do not consider NFT art to be a competitor of physical art. In the future, NFT art will be a basic platform that everyone can have, like other social media; everything will be in NFT format," said Suphita.
As experts in the art industry, both Phathaiwat and Suphita agree that Thailand's scene will have a bright future.
"Thailand has many global talented people in many art fields such as the conceptual artist Rirkrit Tiravanija, filmmaker Apichatpong Weerasethakul and singer Lalisa Manoban. Our art industry has been developing and has expanded immensely. Thailand's street art is solid. Street artists can adapt by learning from others to create their own styles. In the future, if governmental agencies support the art industry, art will grow in other big cities aside from Bangkok. Hence, there will be festivals in other provinces. Art does not mean only paintings on canvas. It includes other kinds of art such as traditional art, handicrafts, textile art and performance art," said Phathaiwat.
"Art pieces sold well during the pandemic. There are more young collectors. Thailand's art industry is getting better. Thai artworks are of terrific quality and the prices are great. Due to political turmoil, street art and graffiti have grown because they are channels of expression," said Suphita.
Since Thailand's art industry has great developmental potential, Mango Art Festival's creators hope the country will eventually become the Asean art hub.
"I hope every artist, brand and all the galleries in Mango Art Festival receive great feedback. People not in the industry who come to Mango Art Festival will feel that art is not difficult to access. I really hope that Mango Art Festival will continue to grow and become the Asean art hub in the future. I believe it is possible," Suphita said.
Mango Art Festival runs at River City Bangkok, Charoen Krung 24, from tomorrow until Sunday. For more information, visit facebook.com/MangoArtFestival.
