Bangkok to Launch its Own International Art Biennale

Bangkok will be blissfully full of art in winter next year when Wat Arun, Wat Pho and Lumpini Park, as well as Bangkok Art and Culture Centre and shopping malls, will turn into art galleries for Thailand’s first international contemporary art festival.

The Bt150-million Bangkok Art Biennale 2018 will take place from November 2018 to February 2019. Funded by private companies Thai Bev, Central Group and Siam Piwat, the four-month festival aims to promote contemporary art and Thai culture, as well as boost tourism. Bangkok Metropolitan Administration and the Tourism Authority of Thailand will also support the festival. “The festival will feature 70 artists, both international and Thai artists, who will interpret the theme ‘Beyond Bliss’ through their artworks,” reveals artistic director Apinan Poshyananda, who is the former secretary general of the Culture Ministry.

Officially launched at the opening of Venice Biennale in Italy in early May, the organisers on Tuesday hosted the press conference at Bangkok Art and Culture Centre - one of the festival's venues. Apinan and his team, including Thai and Asian curators as well as directors from the world’s leading museums, aim to introduce Thailand as a new contemporary art destination. The Thai organisers have been inspired by the leading biennales in Venice, Sydney, Fukuoka, Shanghai and Singapore. The contemporary art world now has over 200 biennales. Artists are invited to submit their projects at www.bkkartbiennale.com by September 30.