Bangkok Hosts Its First Street Art Festival

[webfact]

Bangkok hosts its first street art festival
Janak Rogers for Connect Asia

BANGKOK: -- Graffiti artists from across Europe are joining Thai artists in Bangkok for the city's first ever street art festival.

Alex Face, who is one of almost 30 street artists taking part in the month-long festival, says the Thai capital can be welcoming place for street art.

"A lot of empty spot in Bangkok - like abandoned building, empty wall, dirty wall a lot. That I think is a good spot to paint," he said.

"It's more fun to paint on the wall, they got the story about that area. Like painting the canal, what happened here in the canal? Dark water in Bangkok...we can talk about that."

A street artist for 10 years, Mr Face says there is "more freedom" in painting on the street because "people can see your work."

Full story: http://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-02-24/an-bangkok-street-art-festival/4536972

-- Australia Network news 2013-02-25

[Puccini]

What a brilliant idea. I hope all these artworks get photographed and the pictures made public on the the internet for our delectation.

[chooka]

Great Thailand to become the HUB of graffiti Soon you will have every deadbeat vandal spraying on peoples fences and homes without permission and calling it art. It is all over place in Melbourne Australia on trains (inside and out) sides of public and private building and looks absolutely terrible. Does Thailand really want to go down this path? It is nothing more than vandalism.

[ricardofel]

I hope they have work permits.

[Mousehound]

Graffitti art is very different to the scourge of tagging.

[RisqEM]

That's a great idea, glad to see some progression away from painting endless rice fields and boring portraits. Hopefully it will expand and street art will become part of just 'art'. And yes, there's a huge difference between marking territory, or tagging, and street art.

I hope the two don't get confused and I hope the little soi kids don't start tagging more than they already are...

[Ajaan]

Great Thailand to become the HUB of graffiti Soon you will have every deadbeat vandal spraying on peoples fences and homes without permission and calling it art. It is all over place in Melbourne Australia on trains (inside and out) sides of public and private building and looks absolutely terrible. Does Thailand really want to go down this path? It is nothing more than vandalism.

Ah, thank you. Another stuffy conservative right-winger heard from.

[Nisa]

Great Thailand to become the HUB of graffiti Soon you will have every deadbeat vandal spraying on peoples fences and homes without permission and calling it art. It is all over place in Melbourne Australia on trains (inside and out) sides of public and private building and looks absolutely terrible. Does Thailand really want to go down this path? It is nothing more than vandalism.

Arrrgh!! and what of those damn kids walking on my lawn!!

[chooka]

yes I maybe considered a grumpy young man but I don'r really consider this to be art.

I built a nice new fence at great expence at my home in Melbourne only to have it destroyed by these so called "ARTISTS" cost me 850 AUD to have the whole thing repainted only for the ARTISTS to return 2 weeks later and again we had it repainted and again it was attacked. Vandalism and nothing more.

The cost to clean up street art in Melbourne exceeds 2.5 million AUD every year. Tax payers money that could be better used.

[stoli]

Darn. Just got back from Bangkok, and was there looking for something to do this morning. Since it started in mid-February, I wish the news had come sooner. Well, I may have to make another trip back. Would love to see. Way to go Bangkok.

[HerbalEd]

Great Thailand to become the HUB of graffiti Soon you will have every deadbeat vandal spraying on peoples fences and homes without permission and calling it art. It is all over place in Melbourne Australia on trains (inside and out) sides of public and private building and looks absolutely terrible. Does Thailand really want to go down this path? It is nothing more than vandalism.

Arrrgh!! and what of those damn kids walking on my lawn!!

Is the word "damn" really taboo here on TV??? I hear the word very often in the Christian churches of USA.

[Nisa]

Great Thailand to become the HUB of graffiti Soon you will have every deadbeat vandal spraying on peoples fences and homes without permission and calling it art. It is all over place in Melbourne Australia on trains (inside and out) sides of public and private building and looks absolutely terrible. Does Thailand really want to go down this path? It is nothing more than vandalism.

Arrrgh!! and what of those damn kids walking on my lawn!!

Is the word "damn" really taboo here on TV??? I hear the word very often in the Christian churches of USA.

The auto edit in yours and my post should answer your question.

[tw25rw]

yes I maybe considered a grumpy young man but I don'r really consider this to be art.

I built a nice new fence at great expence at my home in Melbourne only to have it destroyed by these so called "ARTISTS" cost me 850 AUD to have the whole thing repainted only for the ARTISTS to return 2 weeks later and again we had it repainted and again it was attacked. Vandalism and nothing more.

The cost to clean up street art in Melbourne exceeds 2.5 million AUD every year. Tax payers money that could be better used.

I remember one of those train vandals getting killed while train surfing (hit a bridge at Camberwell station) and the spokesman from the Melbourne rail company (I forget the name of the system there) saying good riddance, we're glad he's gone. I was inclined to agree.

I noticed that station walls on the DLR system in London are all covered with a kind of varnish and rarely have any graffiti.

[kyb789]

When I first came to Bangkok 10 years ago, I never saw graffiti on buildings. Now Sukhumvit is covered. Street art festival, who's brilliant idea was that? I just noticed that soi 6 has been plastered with graffiti the past 2 weeks. I guess the "new artists" are practicing.

[tw25rw]

When I first came to Bangkok 10 years ago, I never saw graffiti on buildings. Now Sukhumvit is covered. Street art festival, who's brilliant idea was that? I just noticed that soi 6 has been plastered with graffiti the past 2 weeks. I guess the "new artists" are practicing.

Like that BNE crap everywhere. Someone must think it's cool to do it.

[dave2]

re

Someone must think it's cool to do it.

your probably right but why are they painting almost the same

pictures .. fish skeletons .. babies with hats on and ..

eyes in chiang mai ?

they must mean something to someone but im rucked if i know

what or why : (

dave2

[chooka]

re

Someone must think it's cool to do it.

your probably right but why are they painting almost the same

pictures .. fish skeletons .. babies with hats on and ..

eyes in chiang mai ?

they must mean something to someone but im rucked if i know

what or why : (

dave2

It looks terrible and definately not Thai, more American street ghetto culture. Before we know it the temples, budha statues and other sacred sites in Thailand will be covered in this crap in the name of so called "Street Art". Street Art the new politically correct term for Vandalism.

[kblaze]

Vandalism is not the same as street art. Street art is typically done in designated places that are already public eyesores. The artists are generally professionals and they are very aware of the stigma that "graffiti" has attached to it and thus aim to create images that add character, color, and meaningful expression to the surfaces that get designated. While permission from authorities is often (but not always - this is the real problem with street art) sought and often times the artist is actually sought out but the authorities to visually enhance a part of a street, intersection, etc.

With regulation, it can add much needed life to drab spots. Just google it and you will see.

Dont discount this quote from the article;

"But the real aim was to do something colourful - something positive, if it's the good word. We hope that the people will look at it with a smile. That to us, is the most important."

vandalism and tagging are not the same.