Museum Siam offers a glimpse of Rattanakosin Island’s hidden stories

The “Cultural District 2021: The Art Festival for the opening of Rattanakosin Island” turns the capital’s historical quarters into a hub of creative arts delivered in high-tech format.

Also included in the event are art exhibitions and bazaars. The event is free of charge and will run for the entire month of October at Museum Siam, Sanam Chai Road, Tha Tien, Bangkok (Sanam Chai MRT Station, Exit 3).

The five most interesting highlights are:

• Glass Plate Photography Exhibition: This “Civilized Siam through Collodion Photography” exhibition is organised by Tuppawut Parinyapariwat from the RED LIGHT LAB STUDIO, which uses old analogue technology to capture images that look like they did 100 years ago. The exhibit is on the first floor of the museum and is open to visitors from 10am to 6pm from October 1-31.

• People in Pak Klong Talad Quarter: This street exhibition captures the stories of people and the history of Pak Klong Talad through the lens of “Nui” Sasamon, a young street photographer and alumna of Silapakorn University’s Faculty of Architecture. She was part of the team of students who initiated the Facebook page “Humans of Flower Market”. The exhibition will be held from October 15 to 17 from 10am to 8pm. It includes a flower arrangement workshop by expert florists from Flower Land and Dokmaai.com. Two rounds will be held daily and will be limited to 20 persons per round.

• Animation Showcase & Workshop: See the world through animations created by 50 new-gen artists. Visitors also get to participate in the Animation Workshop from October 15-17, 10am-6pm, in the museum’s Multipurpose Building.

• Art & Lighting Installations: The 27 JUNE STUDIO is holding two shows daily from October 15-17 that kick off at 7pm until 9pm. The first is “Project Mapping: In Praise of Cultural Heritage” projected on the Museum Siam building. The second is “Interactive Swing” which projects art on a swing through an interactive and real-time generative graphic that lets the audience create their own art on objects or swings.

• Telling the stories of Rattanakosin Island through images, tastes, smells and sounds: This kicks off on October 1 via the Facebook page “Cultural District Bangkok”. This online seminar covers interesting topics like “Indulging in Old Times through Renovated Hotels in Bangkok” conducted by Weera-ath Chin-issariyayot of Inn A Day and Surin Panyatpiyapot of Kacha Bed; “Looking Back at Siam through Collodion Photography” by Tuppawut Parinyapariwat from the RED LIGHT LAB STUDIO, and “Strolling Through the Town, Reading Socio-History Through Architecture Heritage” by Dr Kriangkrai Kerdsiri from Silapakorn University’s Faculty of Architecture.

The event schedule is subject to change based on Covid-19 prevention measures announced by the government.

For more information and updates visit www.facebook.com/CulturalDistrictBangkok, www.instagram.com/culturaldistrict.bkk, https://twitter.com/Cultural_Bkk or call (02) 225 2777.