Tsunami Memorial Is Finally Set To Be Built

[NBT TV Phuket]

A committee and officials from the Ministry of Culture\'s Contemporary Arts, led by Director General Dr. Apinan Posayanond, yesterday made a trip to Phang-Nga and conducted site surveys for a Tsunami memorial building and met with Phang-Nga Governor Anuwat Metheewiboonwut. According to Dr.Apinan, a final decision on the memorial site has been reached and it will be built on a hill at Khao-Lak National Park in Thakuapa district of Phang-Nga with an initial budget of 1,500 million baht. Setting to have the ground breaking ceremony in time for December 26th this year, he said a budget of 50 million baht has now been set aside for plan design. From now, a committee will draw up terms of Reference or TOR before opening for tender to submit their plan designs.

We have an interview later with Dr. Apinan partly about this subject:

on Andaman News TV11 & FM90.5 Phuket 8.30am Friday 14 July 2005.

The recorded Interview with Prof Dr Apinan Poshyananda, Director General of Ministry of Culture's Office of Contemporary Arts and Culture is about the plans for a permanent tsunami memorial building and and later with Choi Jeong Hwa, an Artist from South Korea, about many interesting arts events in the next few months being arranged.

These were planned questions:

1) Can you tell us first what are the main functions and responsibilities of your office and job?

2) By contemporary you mean current or modern art, reflecting real life?

3) What are your overall aims in respect of reflecting the tsunami?

4) Now you are visiting Phang Nga & Phuket, can you tell us what you are discussing today and your latest plans for the months ahead?

5) Do they also include the set up of a permanent tsunami memorial building/museum?

6) If so, where will the building(s) be? How much will it cost?

7) & what sort of style and function will it have?

8) For the temporary exhibitions, what are the main highlights? –

9) Are the event dates and locations fixed, and can you specify them? “Andaman Blossom Flower” exhibition at Thai Hua School 9-30 August, “Unique Identity of Andaman" contest at Central Festival Phuket August 27 -28, winners September 22 to 27. Sino-Portuguese architecture at Thai Hua School September 5 to October 5, “Arts on the Beach” at Patong September 24-26, & movies at SFX.

10) Who can join in as participants and contestants of exhibitions?

A mini-video may appear later on http://www.thaisnews.com/news_detail.php?newsid=136064

and several previous mini-videos of interviews and special reports over the last month are at http://www.thaisnews.com/vdoclips_list.php