ARTS
Dynamics of a city
Pattarawadee Saengmanee
The Nation on Sunday

CHIANG MAI: -- The Thailand Creative and Design Centre celebrates its arrival in Chiang Mai with a community-centred exhibition that explores its past and vibrant present

The Thailand Creative and Design Centre has been drawing in the crowds since opening nine years ago at the Emporium in downtown Bangkok. Now the "playground for creativity" is sharing its resources with the folks up north, opening a brand new branch last week in Chiang Mai.

While smaller than its Bangkok sibling, the new space adjacent to busy Muang Mai Market will be offering the same range of educational activities.

After spending five years searching for the perfect location, TCDC finally chose a former day-care facility, transforming the 1,500-square-metre two-storey building into an auditorium for workshops and seminars and temporary exhibition hall and installing a coffee shop on the ground floor.

The second floor is home to Material Connexion Chiang Mai, which features more than 250 kinds of textiles used by designers around the world. The library is also upstairs and provides more than 6,000 textbooks, magazines and videos about art, architecture and design.

"We chose to build our second home in Chiang Mai because it's history dates back more than 700 years and it is home to plenty of professional designers in the fields of animation, graphics and product design. The city is a treasure trove of cultures and full of creative people so we're aiming to be the bridge that connects them with the global market," says managing director Chaiyong Ratanaanggoon.

The centre is celebrating its opening with "Chiang Mai Revisited", an exhibition that portrays the reality of the city through several different aspects of town life. It's curated by native daughter Ornpim Sugunnasil and Bangkok-based project manager Charintip Leeyavanich.

Visitors can explore the old city through a collection of multimedia that focus on five popular tourist destinations and demonstrate how the town has changed and what has come in to replace the beauty of the bygone days.

The exhibition is divided into three zones. "What's there?" depicts the Nimmanhemin and Wat Gade neighbourhoods; "Who's there?" is inspired by Koo Muang (old town square) and the Night Bazaar while "What's going on?" features Wua Lai and Wat Umong.

"Chiang Mail has a unique culture and a wealth of veteran artists, designers and architects. We've spent many years researching the town and they've not only helped us but also revealed some aspects that are totally different from postcard views we've seen. It's challenging to put on an exhibition about Chiang Mai for its people," Charintip says.

Visitors enter the exhibition through three Lanna-style doors made from different materials representing a graceful temple, a shady forest and the slow life, all of them synonymous with the old Lanna town.

No matter the door chosen, the visitor arrives at a video presenting local activities and offering a taste of city life. Alongside, 300 colourful postcards decorate the wall, each one bearing the comments of Chiang Mai folk penned on backgrounds of beautiful views and the northern lifestyle.

Many of the messages express concern: "a Chiang Mai girl doesn't wear a traditional Northern-style costume anymore. But she gets dressed in a sexy outfit and has a fake nose and white face with full make up," reads one. "Smoke and fog are covering the town," says another.

The first zone "What's there?" features a graphic chart showing the results of a survey conducted along 800 metres of a road in the Wat Gade neighbourhood. This area is promoted as the city's "gallery street" but is inconvenient for pedestrians due to the uneven surface, noise from transport and restaurants and obstructed footpaths.

Nimmanhemin's colourful map, set out like a millionaire card game, indicates the rapid changes to the neighbourhood over recent years. Once a residential area, it is now home to artistically decorated bars, cafes, restaurants and boutiques hotels.

"Only 16 per cent of the area is still residential," says Charintip. "Most of the people who used to live here have either sold or rented out their properties because they couldn't take the noise and the nightlife."

The second zone "Who's there?" reveals a variety of people in the crowded Koo Muang area through 100 photographs of body parts.

When it was built 700 years ago, Chiang Mai was considered a sacred land and its layout was designed to resemble the body of a deity. The upper part of the city - the head - was reserved for the noble and rich. Today, residents, tourists, entrepreneurs and young artists, all of them with very different lifestyles, share the square.

"Koo Muang is now home to many attractive guesthouses, which makes it popular with tourists and it's also become a space for graffiti artists. I love this area. It's unique and charming, and is always calm," Charintip says.

The Night Bazaar, which is located opposite, is dubbed a "Clone Town", as most shops offer similar products and these are all available in other markets.

The last zone "What's going on" showcases life in Wua Lai, a former silver market that now accommodates the walking street and weekend night market. The formerly tranquil area around Soi Wat Umong is no longer quiet but bustling with activity, boasting dormitories for university students, Internet cafes, photocopying shops and restaurants.

"We hope the people here will become aware of the changes in their town and be inspired to use creativity in developing their communities," Charintip concludes.

>> TCDC Chiang Mai is located at 1/1 Muang Samut Road (near Muang Mai Market), Chiang Mai. It's open Tuesday to Sunday from 10.30am to 6pm. Call (052) 080 500 or visit www.TCDC.or.th/chiangmai

>> The exhibition runs until June 30. Admission is free.

-- The Nation 2013-04-14

Must take a look but can't help thinking the location is not the best