The third edition of the Mango Art Festival returns to celebrate diversity, new beginnings and discoveries through art from now until Sunday at River City Bangkok. Under the theme "Rise", the festival suggests growth, expansion and prospects for partnerships as well as endless possibilities. It also aims to shine a light on the next generation of emerging artists and designers by giving them the opportunity to exhibit their recent work.
The festival showcases work in three categories -- art, design and performance and music. The space is divided into four zones -- the Galleries Zone, the Independent Artists Zone, the Product Design Zone and the Art & Craft Zone. Highlights of the festival include the Formosa Art Fair, a well-known art fair from Taiwan, as well as special zones One To Watch, Product Design and a place for LGBTI artists called Rise Of Pride.
Doonyapol Srichan, the co-founder of PDM Brand, Witchapohn Tangklangkunlachorn, curator for Rise Of Pride, and Sirawit Chatu, artist at One To Watch, agreed that supporting emerging artists is a terrific idea. As a new artist, Sirawit said emerging artists have few opportunities to present their potential. Mango Art Festival gives curators and collectors a chance to discover new talent, so that young creatives can have a possible path to becoming professional artists.
"It is important for our country to provide opportunities for the new generation to showcase their talent. Art festivals all over the world regardless of scale have spaces for the new generation. Age is not an issue when it comes to ability," said Doonyapol.
"New generation artists are fearless in their creativity. With fresh ideas, they present content that is cutting edge. I am not worried that the festival features emerging artists who may not yet be known because many younger people are interested in art nowadays. Although these viewers may not have purchasing power, their interest in art can create a trend which influences other people," Witchapohn added.
PDM Brand is renowned for its mat textiles and furniture, creative designs, and historical and cultural aspects. At the Product Design Zone, PDM Brand displays its product, Tawipope, which is a collaboration cabinet between the two brands -- PDM and AGAL. Tawipope is a cabinet used to store Buddhist scriptures. In the past, this cabinet was made of solid wood and decorated with gold leaf, but later versions had glass doors. The PDM team replaced Tawipope's glass doors with PDM's recycled strips of plastic mats.
"AGAL is a brand I have known for a long time. They are experts in creating antique wooden furniture with traditional craftsmanship which is hard to find. We were interested in their work and were thinking of how to present their antique pieces in a contemporary context," explained Doonyapol.
Witchapohn is the curator in charge of Rise Of Pride, a special zone that focuses on LGBTI artists. The transgender female curator was initially nervous and felt pressure to create this exhibition, but organisers and artists helped her cope with everything.
"Rise Of Pride displays works created by 10 artists -- LGBTI and straight. People may question why we included artworks by straight artists, but we want to present content, not artists' genders. To be honest, some viewers would skip the exhibition if it is labelled as an LGBTI zone," she said.
"Rise Of Pride does not present only gender equality issues but also covers issues concerning human rights. One of the artists, Baphoboy, is well-known for his political art and works with many human rights nonprofit organisations. He has created paintings to address the issue of political disappearance. Although Baphoboy is LGBTI, the issue he presents involves every gender. Panyawat Mahantapan, one of the straight artists, is interested in gender equality. At Rise Of Pride, Panyawat showcases paintings inspired by Queen vocalist Freddie Mercury, an LGBTI icon of his era," added Witchapohn.
Sirawit Chatu was selected to showcase his work at the One To Watch Zone due to his outstanding art. Sirawat created a collection titled Holy Capitalism. Holy Designer, one highlight of this collection, consists of multiple sleeveless shirts featuring patterns of tattooed talismans as well as global brand names such as Prada, Burberry and Fendi.
"Holy Designer combines the elements of talismanic fabric with pop culture or brand names. In the past, soldiers inscribed sacred symbols on their clothes for protection. I interpret popular brand names to be like those inscriptions. These brand names are commonly used to identify people's status. I want to address capitalism because it has an influence on people who play the role of both labourer and consumer. Capitalism is like a religion of modern society," said Sirawit.
Sirawit is a fourth-year student of the Faculty of Painting, Sculpture and Graphic Arts at Silpakorn University. Last year, the young artist won a scholarship from Silpakorn University and had the opportunity to become an exchange student at Joshibi University of Art and Design in Japan for five months. Although Sirawit has talents and opportunities, he still feels that being an artist does not provide a stable income.
"I would like to be a full-time artist, but being a professional artist requires experience and connection. It is also a career without a regular monthly salary. I may find a regular job, but still stay in the art industry," said Sirawit.
To encourage young artists and designers, Doonyapol, a co-founder of PDM Brand and Witchapohn, a curator and performance artist, gave them some advice.
Doonyapol said he likes to work with young designers and thinks that they have great abilities. To support them, he established a project, Design Plant, which allows young designers to work with experienced peers.
"When young designers see designs by veteran designers, they will try to improve themselves. New-generation designers are talented, so my advice for them is to do what they want without worrying about making mistakes. However, they should find a way to quickly test their ideas. If they find out quickly that an idea does not work, they will save themselves the pain and expense of spending a lot of time and money. They should also be prepared to handle negative feedback about their ideas," said Doonyapol.
Witchapohn advises young artists not to become discouraged and to continue working on their creations.
"Some videos on TikTok can go viral, so likewise, pieces created by thoughtful and creative artists can reach a mass audience at the right time. Be consistent and try to be conscious of good presentation. We are in the social media era, so presentation is crucial. If your work is excellent and presented well, success is not far away," she said.
Mango Art Festival runs at River City Bangkok, Charoen Krung 24, until Sunday. For more information, visit facebook.com/MangoArtFestival.
