Artist Neighborhood In Bkk?

[bangkokjase]

Hello,

I'm moving to BKK and am wondering if there are any hip artist neighborhoods in BKK where struggling artists rent large live/work, warehouse / loft type accomodations. Not a uber-gentrified trendy expensive neighborhood...more industrial and not yet "discovered" by the masses. For those of you familiar with San Francisco, think SOMA before the dotcommers bought it up and jacked the prices to Mars.

Thanks,

Jase

[StreetCowboy]

You could try one of the container parks on bangna-trad

[chrisinth]

There are several p1ss artist areas that spring to mind..............

[Pseudolus]

Jase

All of Bangkok is full of struggling people trying to scrape through life. Have you ever been here? You'll find it vastly different to Kansas, Dorothy.

[NaMah]

He is looking for the loft district LOL.

[StreetCowboy]

He is looking for the loft district LOL.

I thought he was looking for derelict industrial units.

SC

[Pseudolus]

Actually OP, if you know Bangkok at all, there is a road there called Sukhumvit. Off Sukhumvit there are other roads (these are called Sois). One of them is Soi 21, aka Asoke. If you head up there you will then join a road called Ratchada Road. Heading north, about 2Km, there is a whole area full of warehouses. Huge ones, small ones, quite a dirty place in many regards so not what you would call uber-gentrified but many travellers to Bangkok have found what they are looking for in those buildings.

.... warehouses. I did spell that correctly, right?

[bangkokjase]

@ Pseudolus: Thanks, the location info is very helpful. I'm aware that BKK isn't Kansas, but in every large city there is always a neighborhood(s) where artists live and work. I'm guessing that BKK is no different since the art/music/performance scene is growing in leaps and bounds and getting international attention.

@ StreetCowboy: Thanks. I'll check it out.

@Na Ma: you might want to read the second sentence of my post again.

Actually OP, if you know Bangkok at all, there is a road there called Sukhumvit. Off Sukhumvit there are other roads (these are called Sois). One of them is Soi 21, aka Asoke. If you head up there you will then join a road called Ratchada Road. Heading north, about 2Km, there is a whole area full of warehouses. Huge ones, small ones, quite a dirty place in many regards so not what you would call uber-gentrified but many travellers to Bangkok have found what they are looking for in those buildings.

[StreetCowboy]

Some of the upstairs places - the walk-ups - in the city centre are used by performance artists. I don't go down Silom way, so I wouldn't know any details

SC

[BigJohnnyBKK]

You could try one of the container parks on bangna-trad

If this is anything but content-free wit, please expand.

I'm very interested in the topic of container-based housing, and if there are any communities already doing this would appreciate any details.

[BigJohnnyBKK]

I'm aware that BKK isn't Kansas, but in every large city there is always a neighborhood(s) where artists live and work. I'm guessing that BKK is no different since the art/music/performance scene is growing in leaps and bounds and getting international attention.

The difference here is that very few creative types come out of the lower socio-economic strata, which are largely hand-to-mouth peasants and manual laborers.

Most of the artsy scene here is made of up rich kids, most of whom IMO are dilettantes and poseurs.

They are scattered around in the usual sterile environments - McMansion suburbs and high-rise luxury condos.

IMO it will take a larger middle-upper class over time in order to produce the genuine struggling-bohemian-students-and-artists neighborhoods that you're seeking.

I'd be very happy to find out if the above is mistaken. . .

[californiabeachboy]

I am very familiar with San Francisco and SOMA, and somewhat familiar with Bkk. As someone said, artists in Thailand mostly come from those who do not need to make a living.

I am familiar with Ari neighborhood in Bkk - too trendy and expensive for what you are looking for. But if you go one BTS stop North (Saphan Kwai) or South (Sanam Pao), you will find more working class neighborhoods, and a bit cheaper, but still close enough to get to the other areas of Bkk that may interest an artist.

Good luck

[Payboy]

You'll find some art workshops in JJ market.

[MiG16]

OP, I dont think anyone knows of a specific artists suburb. People live all over town, and do not tend to gravitate to a certain location according to their occupation or trade.

Bangkok tends to be group more around the ethnicity rather than the type of work that people do (well and of course economic capability as well).

one suggestion would be, once you are in Bangkok and have found somewhere convenient within your budget to live, then explore the small restaurants and cafes around Silpakorn university (not far from the grand palace area). There are lots of young artists, arts students hanging around in those areas. a number of markets will also have these young artists present (jatujak is the biggest - but you will have to spend time walking around, and determining who you wwant to strike up conversation with). the cafes/restaurants around Silpakorn might be easier?

A few years ago I saw young art uni students selling stuff at the Khao Sarn road area, but not sure if this is still the case. Look for the arts and craft style jewelry stall and ask them for further suggestions/ideas. Some may be selling hand screen tshirts.

Cheers

[Pseudolus]

Can not believe no one corrected my spelling mistake.

OP - seriously, have you been to Bangkok before? You can not relate it to European capitals and cities like Paris and London, and certainly not to American ones. MiG16 is right. Just find somewhere you can afford to live and forget about loft / warehouse living. A warehouse with no walls, barely a roof, no public transport, built and not maintained for 40yrs will still set you back 40k a month minimum, and you will be surrounded by the properly poor (not romantic struggling artists and musicians)

Lastly, and no one has asked this yet, how are you planning to actually live here? What visa will you be getting? Will you be selling your work and therefore need a work permit? Have you investigated this? As said before, this is not gay Paris. If you do not necessarily have to move to Bangkok, you might find what you are looking for in PP, Cambodia.

[fireplay]

Ahahaha Man i am fron san francisco and have lived in open floor plan live work spaces for years...West Oakand Noodle Factory...17th and treat space...etc...I also lived in bushwick e. williamsburg Brooklyn NYC in an artist loft. Look, I haven't read any of the replies yet...but I have lived in bkk for 3 years...I have been looking for this type of place too...And unless you are thinking a straight squat in an abandoned building with no electric and rats and roaches...it is very hard to find so far...What you and I want for that matter IS expensive full floor loft spaces for the trendy and gentrified and rich bro. I live in Ratchada...it is a great neighborhood...I lived in Asoke sukhumvit...its great...ratchada is young and hip and artists and night life and young business professionals....Have you been to Bangkok> you are on the other side of the world...

The only thing I have found close enough is in Pinklao called the Overstay...go check this place out man...it is what you are talking about for sure...

or another avenue is renting a home with your own roomates...the houses here are like 4 stories and really cheap...again I know people doing this in Pinklao...

but all the artists, designers, film makers , photographers, fashion, people I know...live all over the place...

Thing is, to say Thai people believe in ghosts is a serious understatement....Spirits are a big deal here man...and thai people are not into living in old buildings...they are all haunted with spirits..you feel me?

[Kilgore Trout]

@ Pseudolus: Thanks, the location info is very helpful. I'm aware that BKK isn't Kansas, but in every large city there is always a neighborhood(s) where artists live and work. I'm guessing that BKK is no different since the art/music/performance scene is growing in leaps and bounds and getting international attention.

@ StreetCowboy: Thanks. I'll check it out.

@Na Ma: you might want to read the second sentence of my post again.

Actually OP, if you know Bangkok at all, there is a road there called Sukhumvit. Off Sukhumvit there are other roads (these are called Sois). One of them is Soi 21, aka Asoke. If you head up there you will then join a road called Ratchada Road. Heading north, about 2Km, there is a whole area full of warehouses. Huge ones, small ones, quite a dirty place in many regards so not what you would call uber-gentrified but many travellers to Bangkok have found what they are looking for in those buildings.

In my experience artists in Bangkok come from wealthy families and don't need to live in developing neighborhood. They all have very nice mansions.

Btw, foreigners cannot be artists in Thailand; look at the rules governing work permits and the definition of work.

Any poor person with artistic talent is going to be mass producing some handmade gobblety gook to sell to foreigners for 100 baht a day.

You really are in Kansas aren't you?

[Pseudolus]

OP; I think you should answer these questions if you seriously want advice;

1) Have you ever been to Thailand / Bangkok? How long for and how many times?

If not....

2) Have you ever been to an Asia country?How long for and how many times?

If not....

3) Have you ever been outside of the USA?

If not....

4) what is prompting you to follow the yellow brick road to Bangkok leaving Kansas behind you?

[bermondburi]

Can not believe no one corrected my spelling mistake.

OP - seriously, have you been to Bangkok before? You can not relate it to European capitals and cities like Paris and London, and certainly not to American ones. MiG16 is right. Just find somewhere you can afford to live and forget about loft / warehouse living. A warehouse with no walls, barely a roof, no public transport, built and not maintained for 40yrs will still set you back 40k a month minimum, and you will be surrounded by the properly poor (not romantic struggling artists and musicians)

Lastly, and no one has asked this yet, how are you planning to actually live here? What visa will you be getting? Will you be selling your work and therefore need a work permit? Have you investigated this? As said before, this is not gay Paris. If you do not necessarily have to move to Bangkok, you might find what you are looking for in PP, Cambodia.

why bring up visa issues , and financial issues , the OP could be loaded for all you know .

[saorsa]

Can not believe no one corrected my spelling mistake.

OP - seriously, have you been to Bangkok before? You can not relate it to European capitals and cities like Paris and London, and certainly not to American ones. MiG16 is right. Just find somewhere you can afford to live and forget about loft / warehouse living. A warehouse with no walls, barely a roof, no public transport, built and not maintained for 40yrs will still set you back 40k a month minimum, and you will be surrounded by the properly poor (not romantic struggling artists and musicians)

Lastly, and no one has asked this yet, how are you planning to actually live here? What visa will you be getting? Will you be selling your work and therefore need a work permit? Have you investigated this? As said before, this is not gay Paris. If you do not necessarily have to move to Bangkok, you might find what you are looking for in PP, Cambodia.

I'm guessing you were talking about whorehouses, but nobody bit...

[bangkokjase]

@ Fireplay: heh...you read me. I had warehouse/ studio space in soma and the mission (one on Capp St. and one on Treat). and also a ratty storefront in E. Oakland (talk about people desperately just trying to live). I also had an industrial squat in emoryville with 10 other people and hijacked electricity. No heat, stepping over heroin addicts, bars on windows, steel plated door with three deadbolts, ignoring gunshots, etc...I'm familiar w/ all these. A lot of space is important to me, living among the very poor isn't a problem, and I don't need a Starbucks. I also had a real yuppie kinda studio on Howard Street, with floor to ceiling windows, good floors, etc...eh, nice, but space and creative people is the thing.. Ratchada sounds great...being around creative people is what I'm looking for...any shophouses in that area?

@ Kingore Trout: artists exist in all classes of people. In every desparately poor ghetto or dirt-scratching village around the world, there are artists. Many would rather scratch their eyes out with a rusty spoon rather than prostitute their vision by selling gobblety gook. I wonder if you know any real artists...or poor people. Also, of course foreigners can be artists in Thailand...they just can't sell their work. It's a very Western mind that thinks of art in terms of commerce and career, by default. Much of the world still has a deeper understanding, respect for, and appreciation of the creative drive...not reducing it to dollar signs as Americans typically do. Sounds like you'd be right at home in provincial Kansas.

Thanks MiG16, Payboy, Californiabeachboy, Streetcowboy for your suggestions where to look.

[Kilgore Trout]

@ Fireplay: heh...you read me. I had warehouse/ studio space in soma and the mission (one on Capp St. and one on Treat). and also a ratty storefront in E. Oakland (talk about people desperately just trying to live). I also had an industrial squat in emoryville with 10 other people and hijacked electricity. No heat, stepping over heroin addicts, bars on windows, steel plated door with three deadbolts, ignoring gunshots, etc...I'm familiar w/ all these. A lot of space is important to me, living among the very poor isn't a problem, and I don't need a Starbucks. I also had a real yuppie kinda studio on Howard Street, with floor to ceiling windows, good floors, etc...eh, nice, but space and creative people is the thing.. Ratchada sounds great...being around creative people is what I'm looking for...any shophouses in that area?

@ Kingore Trout: artists exist in all classes of people. In every desparately poor ghetto or dirt-scratching village around the world, there are artists. Many would rather scratch their eyes out with a rusty spoon rather than prostitute their vision by selling gobblety gook. I wonder if you know any real artists...or poor people. Also, of course foreigners can be artists in Thailand...they just can't sell their work. It's a very Western mind that thinks of art in terms of commerce and career, by default. Much of the world still has a deeper understanding, respect for, and appreciation of the creative drive...not reducing it to dollar signs as Americans typically do. Sounds like you'd be right at home in provincial Kansas.

Thanks MiG16, Payboy, Californiabeachboy, Streetcowboy for your suggestions where to look.

You clearly have no idea about the Thai mindset.

Every count of your response to me is so off the mark its not even funny; it just shows how naive you are.

Come live here for a year or two and then try spouting the same bs.

Have fun in lala land, because when it comes to Thailand, thats where you are, my friend.

[bangkokjase]

I can't imagine what it is about my OP that triggered your interest in my motives, financials, and life history. Short version: I've travelled (not touristed) around the world, hitchhiking, trekking, boat, and train, frequently to remote places more times than I can count w/ only a small backpack. I'm no stranger to squat toilets, extreme poverty, village life, and intestinal parasites. I'm equally comfortable on a yellow brick road or a rope mountain bridge.I've lived in a corrugated sheet metal shack and a 4k a month flat and everything in between. I'm intelligent enough to attend to visa requirements. I'm moving to BKK because I've never been there and because I live my life as an adventure. Your notion that I'm a Kansas bumpkin is 1. Insulting to people in Kansas, and 2. A wild fabrication of your own mind. Any other questions?

OP; I think you should answer these questions if you seriously want advice;

1) Have you ever been to Thailand / Bangkok? How long for and how many times?

If not....

2) Have you ever been to an Asia country?How long for and how many times?

If not....

3) Have you ever been outside of the USA?

If not....

4) what is prompting you to follow the yellow brick road to Bangkok leaving Kansas behind you?

[Kilgore Trout]

I'm equally comfortable on a yellow brick road or a rope mountain bridge

Glad to see you're comfortable on a yellow brick road there, Dorothy

Have fun in Kansas

[bangkokjase]

You clearly have no idea about the Thai mindset.

Every count of your response to me is so off the mark its not even funny; it just shows how naive you are.

Come live here for a year or two and then try spouting the same bs.

Have fun in lala land, because when it comes to Thailand, thats where you are, my friend.

I lived in a tenement in one of the poorer parts of Mumbai for a year. I lived in a 10 x 10 cinder block "house" in rural nepal with only wooden shutters at the windows that the monkeys would break open while I was gone during the day and trash the place. I lived in a squatter's abandoned housing project in Ukraine. Trust me...I'm anything but "naive". And I met incredible artists in those places who struggled to do their art in excruciating poverty after long hard work days...none of them bitter and unhappy, which is what you sound like in your negative unhelpful posts here.

[Kilgore Trout]

You clearly have no idea about the Thai mindset.

Every count of your response to me is so off the mark its not even funny; it just shows how naive you are.

Come live here for a year or two and then try spouting the same bs.

Have fun in lala land, because when it comes to Thailand, thats where you are, my friend.

I lived in a tenement in one of the poorer parts of Mumbai for a year. I lived in a 10 x 10 cinder block "house" in rural nepal with only wooden shutters at the windows that the monkeys would break open while I was gone during the day and trash the place. I lived in a squatter's abandoned housing project in Ukraine. Trust me...I'm anything but "naive". And I met incredible artists in those places who struggled to do their art in excruciating poverty after long hard work days...none of them bitter and unhappy, which is what you sound like in your negative unhelpful posts here.

Hey, I'm just speaking from experience. I've lived here a long time, and please don't compare any of those places to Thailand, no matter how poor. The culture here is very different, even quite distinct from other asian countries, in ways you can't imagine.

I'm a musician myself in addition to my day job and I know how frustrating it can be looking for a scene like we have in the west. Its just not the same here. When you see people arrested and taken to jail for playing a song at an open mike night it changes your attitude a bit. I know personally how little most Thais value art, and the "artist" type, especially the poor artist with dreadlocks etc. are particularly disdained by most Thais.

What everyone's saying to you is....see with your own eyes first, then talk. Till then, your comments are just making you look like an arse wearing rose colored lenses.

[dddave]

There is an area near Lad Phrow called "Town in Town" that while somewhat gentrified, has also become one of the more artistic areas of Bangkok. It is a center for TV and movie production with many studios, both small and large. Since those businesses attract talented people in many artistic professions; photographers, designers, musicians, ect., there has developed a strong creative community centering around a sort of "Cafe Culture" with a wide variety of small coffee shops, many showing local artist's work centered on various artistic themes. One of my fav's is the "Ukulele Cafe", the name says it all.

While that area is somewhat "upscale", the surrounding working class areas of Lad Phrow and Payhon Yaotine

will certainly have the kind of space you seek; probably an upper floor of a joined double shophouse where the walls have been knocked through.

I live in what could be called a loft style room, 70 sq/m with 4 meter ceilings. It's a great space and I love it but it is VERY expensive to air condition.

Good luck.

Edited June 25, 2012 by dddave

[ayayay]

Most of the artsy scene here is made of up rich kids, most of whom IMO are dilettantes and poseurs.

They are scattered around in the usual sterile environments - McMansion suburbs and high-rise luxury condos.

IMO it will take a larger middle-upper class over time in order to produce the genuine struggling-bohemian-students-and-artists neighborhoods that you're seeking.

I'd be very happy to find out if the above is mistaken. . .

It seems to me this is in large a correct observation, however, I have heard, from a friend who used to hang around some of the art kids that, at least, they used to live together, quite Bohemian, but to speak of any particular neighborhoods like that, not sure about that one.

[BigJohnnyBKK]

Spirits are a big deal here man...and thai people are not into living in old buildings...they are all haunted with spirits..you feel me?

No thanks.

But to the OP - I personally would be very interested in what you find if/when you come here, so please don't let the old gits put you off, please do come back and report OK? You can just do a search for this thread and resurrect it down the road rather than starting a new one.

Look forward to hearing more about your artistic adventures. . .

[phuturatica]

You should check out Da Overstay (google it or PM me for details) its a huge ex-brothel warehouse place where artists and musicians come together. You can stay there also for a small price and they have regular nights on. If theres no nights on there is usually a bunch of artists or musicians just making art and music and chilling out together. It's got an artistic squat like vibe to it and the electrics in the place look dangerous but some of the artwork (graffiti, paintings, all sorts) are amazing!