As many Asian big capitals, Bangkok is a swarm of young talent, but Bangkok also a the cultural center for Thai traditional arts.
Perhaps the most active players on Bangkok's art scene are its cultural centers.
These ensure that scene stays booked with top-notch exhibitions and performances from the world of visual arts, dance, drama, music, fashion, film, design, literature and more.
The foreign contingent regularly put on events showcasing international talent.
Ring up, check their websites or just drop by to find out what's on.
- Bangkok Art and Culture Centre
- Bangkok Music Society
- Bangkok Symphony Orchestra
- Alliance Française - 29 Sathorn Rd
- British Council - 254 Chulalongkorn, Soi 64 Siam Sq., Phaya Thai
- Goethe Institut - 18/1 Goethe, Sathorn Soi 1
- Japan Foundation - Serm-mit, F10, Sukhumvit Soi 21
- The Belgian Club of Thailand
Theaters
Bangkok's performing arts scene may not throb like in other cities, but look under the surface and you'll find it there, beating to its own rhythm. No, there aren't many plays, stage shows or performance pieces being staged, and sometimes it's as if mainstream pop and rock acts are the only things that captivate the masses.
Still, fans of the performing arts can find diamonds and everybody will appreciate the low ticket prices. For more information on what's happening, visit these sites for event information:
Bangkok Theaters:
- Aksara Theater - King power complex, Phaya Thai
- Patravadi Theater - 69/1 Soi Wat Rakhang, Thonburi
- Traditionl Thai Puppet Theater (Joe Louis) - Suanlum night market
- Siam Niramit - 19 Tiam Ruammit Rd
- National Theater - 2 Rachimi Rd, Sunam Luang
Ram Thai (Thai traditional
dance)
Dance in Thailand (Ram thai) is the main dramatic art form of Thailand.
Thai dance, like many forms of traditional Asian dance, can be divided into two major categories that correspond roughly to the high art (classical dance) and low art (folk dance) distinction.
Although the traditional performing arts are not as vibrant as they once were, suffering inroads by western entertainments and generally changing tastes, Thai dance drama is not extinct. What survives displays the elegance of an art form refined over centuries and supported by regal patronage.
The Thais reputedly first acquired a dance troupe when, in AD 1431, they conquered the ancient Khmer capital of Angkor and took as part of their booty an entire corps de ballet. Dancers whose performances had once been seen as a symbolic link between nature, earth and the realm of the gods.
Aside folk and regional dances (southern Thailand's Indian-influenced manohra dance, for example), the two major forms of Thai classical dance drama are khon and lakon nai. In the beginning both were exclusively court entertainments and it was not until much later that a popular style of dance theater, Likay, evolved as a diversion for the common folk who had no access to royal performances.
Cinema
Bangkok boast world class, state-of-the-art movie theaters showing the latest Hollywood and Thai blockbusters. A select few cinemas, notably House and Lido, screen less common independent and international films. Foreign films are mostly screened in their native languages with subtitles in Thai.
For artsy fare, check out the regular screenings at culture cebtres like the Alliance Française, Goethe Institut and Japan Foundation - most movies are shown with english subtitles.
Seats are reasonably priced at around B100-180 and B250-300 for VIP places. The best place to check screning times is on the daily-updated www.movieseer.com
Bangkok Cinema:
- APEX Lido,
Siam & Scala - Siam Square, Rama I
Rd
- EGV grand Major Cineplex - Siam Discovery Center, Rama I Rd - www.majorcineplex.com
- EGV Metropolis - Big C Ratchadamri
- House - Royal City Avenue (RCA) Petchaburi Rd
- Krungsri IMAX Theater - 5th fl. Siam Paragon, Rama I Rd
- Paragon Cineplex - 5th fl. Siam Paragon, Rama I Rd
- SF Cinema City MBK - 7th fl. MBK center, Phaya Thai rd
- SFX Cinema City Emporium - 6th fl. Emporium, Sukhumvit 24
- SF World Cinema - 7th fl. Central World Plaza, Ratchadamri Rd
Thai Cinema History
The cinema of Thailand dates back to the
early days of filmmaking, when King Chulalongkorn's 1897 visit to Berne,
Switzerland was recorded by Francois-Henri Lavancy-Clarke.
The
film was then brought to Bangkok, where it was exhibited. This sparked
more interest in film by the Thai Royal Family and local businessmen,
who brought in filmmaking equipment and started to exhibit foreign
films. By the 1920s, a local film industry was started and in the 1930s,
the Thai film industry had its first "golden age", with a number of
studios producing films.
The years after the Second World War saw a resurgence of the industry, which used 16 mm film to produce hundreds of films, many of them hard-driving action films. Competition from Hollywood brought the Thai industry to a low point in the 1980s and '90s, but by the end of the '90s, Thailand had its "new wave", with such directors as Nonzee Nimibutr, Pen-Ek Ratanaruang and Apichatpong Weerasethakul as well as action hero Tony Jaa being celebrated at film festivals around the world.
Actual
Thai cinema
In the wake of the Asian financial crisis in 1997, three directors of television commercials – Nonzee Nimibutr, Pen-Ek Ratanaruang and Wisit Sasanatieng – were thinking that films needed to be more artistic to attract investors and audiences.
The first breakthrough was in 1997, with Nonzee's crime drama, Dang Bireley's and Young Gangsters, which earned a record box office take of more than 75 million baht. Also in 1997, Pen-Ek's crime comedy, Fun Bar Karaoke, was selected to play at the Berlin Film Festival – the first time in twenty years that Thai cinema had had any kind of an international presence.
Nonzee's next film, the ghost story Nang Nak, was an even bigger success, earning 149.6 million baht – the highest grossing film at the time.
Wisit,
who wrote screenplays for Dang Bireley's and Nang Nak, broke out with
Tears of the Black Tiger, a super-stylised western homage to the Thai
action films of the 1960s and '70s. It was the first film to be included
on the programme at the Cannes Film Festival.
There were also the Pang Brothers from Hong Kong, who came to Thailand to make stylish movies, starting with Bangkok Dangerous and the nod to J-Horror, The Eye.
According to some scholars the 1997 financial crisis also influenced Thai movies in another way. One example is Bang Rajan from 2000 by Thanit Jitnukul which is based on an old Thai tale about how a small village succeeded in resisting a huge foreign. The analogy is quite straightforward with Thailand as the small village and the international monetary market as the foreign enemy.
Action films are a predominant genre of Thai film. In recent years, the martial arts films starring Tony Jaa, Ong-Bak: Muay Thai Warrior and Tom-Yum-Goong, have put Thai action films on the international map. Kerd ma lui (Born to Fight) is in the same vein, and gives more exposure to action choreographer Panna Rittikrai.
TV Series
Thai series are an excellent way to understand Thai culture and Thai society. Seniority, relations with parents, monks, civil or religious festival, Thai food, life after death, ghosts are always part of Thai TV series. TV series usually reflect the long-standing traditional values, especially the importance of the family institution, seniority and respect. Almost all Thai TV series are funny.
Reading & Screening
Bangkok is home to an eye-poping array of excellent book shops, small, large and spawling.
just head for any major mall - Siam Paragon, Emporium, All Seasons Place, CentralWorld or Central Chitlom, to name a few - and look for chain favourites like Asia Books, Kinokuniya, B2S, Nai-In or Bookazine.
Plenty of other stand-alone local book stores across town offer the latest in print, new and used.
Recommended Spaces
Bangkok Art and Culture Centre (BACC) is a contemporary arts museum in Bangkok, Thailand. The plans for a contemporary art museum in Bangkok were initiated by Bangkok governor Bhichit Rattakul. Construction started in 2000, but was later halted due to funding problems and alleged corruption. In 2005, the project was restarted. Originally named Bangkok Metropolitan Museum of Contemporary Art (BMOCA), it was renamed to Bangkok Art and Culture Centre before opening.
The museum opened in July 2008 with the inaugural exhibition "Always Roaming with a Hungry Heart" of photos by HRH Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn. Currently, "Traces of Siamese Smile: Art+Faith+Politics+Love" is being featured until November 23.
The display includes more than 300 works by Thai and international artists. Located in the center of downtown Bangkok, the Centre is currently a landmark with a huge statue of what some could label as a space woman, done in white, seated, about 20 feet tall. The photo herein is quite misleading because the Centre is not a part of EGV movie theaters. Its style is modern inside with a round center space in the main entry hall and several glass enclosed (room sized) spaces off to the right.
Jim Thompson Art Center has a great location and people have a different kind of experience when they come here. If you go to the museum, you’ll see history and antique collections. The art center has shows that meet an international standard; you don’t see many exhibitions of this quality in Thailand. We are funded by the foundation, so we can afford to be non-commercial. The new William Warren Library is also free and we want Thai people to come. You can come to read—it’s like a Starbucks with free wifi, except without the coffee.
If
there is one university that loves and cares about contemporary art,
it’s Bangkok University Gallery. They
always promote young artists. The new space they moved into is a bit
hard to get to but has a very nice atmosphere. The white-box building is
great; it serves well as a gallery because it’s not architecturally
showy but instead accentuates the works of the exhibited artists. A
good
art space has to be like that, very neutral. There’s only natural light
there and it’s very bright, which can actually be a challenge for
curators or exhibition designers when they want to show art which
requires darkness.
I also like the Chulalongkorn University Art Center. At first glance, it seems like they put the gallery in the wrong place—on the seventh floor of the library building, requiring visitors to pass through strict security. But once you get there, it seems completely separated from the busy library downstairs. The room here is also a challenge for curators because the corners and angles are strange; it’s not really rectangular. It’s fun to do an exhibition design there, and at night the balcony view is breathtaking.