THE INCLUSION of the first Bangkok International Performing Arts Meeting (Bipam) to the annual 14th Bangkok Theatre Festival (BTF) last month proved overwhelming positive. And the result is that the Festival is no longer merely Thailand’s largest showcase of Thai theatre, but the region’s first networking platform for international performing arts practitioners, producers, presenters, programmers, scholars and students.

Part of that success can be put down to the efforts made by BTF’s organisers who sought to prepare potential audiences as well as the artists themselves through such activities as talks, forums and workshops. In this respect, support was provided by Japan Foundation Bangkok and Office of Contemporary Art and Culture (OCAC). Among the preparatory activities was a performing arts expo held in early September at K-Bank Siam Pic-Ganesha Centre of Performing Arts, targeting high-school students interested in tertiary education and careers in this field.

“We Women II: Trigger Warning” was staged at the BACC’s 5th floor auditorium.

A collaboration between the Bangkok Theatre Network (BTN), the Alliance of Performing Arts in Higher Education of Thailand (Path), the International Association of Theatre Critics (IATC)—Thailand Centre and the BACC, with strong support from Thailand Convention and Exhibition Bureau (TCEB), Bipam was held from November 14 to 18 at the Bangkok Art and Culture Centre (BACC) and Sodsai Pantoomkomol Centre for Dramatic Arts at Chulalongkorn University,

Peng! Palast members gave a workshop after their performance.

Key members from the organising body served on Bipam’s advisory and working committees. The programme, all conducted in English, comprised various sessions of informal coffee talks in the morning on such topics as “building up new audiences” and “sharing Thai script”; lunch chats with Thai food; afternoon roundtable talks on, for example, “traditional performance in the contemporary context”; and presentations on, among others, “Nang Yai and western theatre practice” and “juxtaposition between politics and aesthetics”.

A Singaporean producer shared his thoughts.

In the evening, the Bipam showcase featured a curated programme of six productions from four countries: “We Women II: Trigger Warning” by We…Women Team (India), “Fight! Palast # membersonly” by Peng! Palast (Switzerland), “Full Service” by Daniel Hellmann (Switzerland), “Kuang Qi” by Move Theatre (Taiwan), “[Co/Exist]” by Full Fat Theatre (Thailand) and “Little Red in the Ruins” by ForWhat Theatre (Thailand), in addition to their workshops, interviews and post-show discussions. Late every evening, there was more opportunity for further networking among Bipam delegates at a designated bar.

Bipam is the brainchild of Studio 41’s director and producer Chavatvit “Should” Muangkeo, who was invited by Japan Foundation to represent BTN at TPAM: Performing Arts Meeting in Yokohama, Asia’s largest platform for international performing arts exchange, this February.

Taiwanese actress and singer Kuan Ching collected plenty of Thai fans thanks to her performance in Move Theatre’s “Kuang Qi”.

“At TPAM, I met numerous leading producers, festival directors, representatives from cultural organisations, theatre managers, journalists, and NGOs whose works are connected or relate to performing arts there,” says Should.

“TPAM is truly driving international contemporary performing arts forward, always presenting something new and inspiring. That’s why everyone in the field wants to be there. The elephants in the room, though, were Thai artists whose performances [like Apichatpong Weerasethakul’s projection performance “Fever Room” and Pradit Prasartthong and Anatta Theatre Troupe’s lecture-performance “Len Likay: Play of My Life”] were presented as key TPAM programmes. Both were loved by hundreds of performing arts professionals who may later bring them to their home countries, but none had never been presented in Thailand.”

Thai students discussed with Swiss artist Daniel Hellmann what they’d like him to do and at what price.

Despite having a similar acronym, Bipam is not simply the Thai copycat of TPAM. “I wanted to create the same opportunity for our artists and audiences. After many long talks with performing arts professionals here, I decided to come up with a different approach,” Should explains.

“Bipam is not about advancing the performing arts industry but is an open platform for the Thai and Southeast Asian performing arts communities to connect with one another and the rest of the world. It should be a destination where Thai and Southeast Asian talent and creativity can be discovered. It’s a launch pad for those who have come up with brilliant ideas, ready to be further developed and seen by the world. I want to make sure that after Bipam fulfils this ambition, being a performing artist here will be considered a legitimate occupation. Plus, I want to elevate our audience experience during the BTF by presenting performances of great quality by Thai and international artists, here in Bangkok.”

Communication arts professor and member of Anatta Theatre Troupe Sukanya Sompiboon presented her paper “Juxtaposition Between Aesthetics and Politics”.

Having watched his baby take its first steps, Should reflects, “Our biggest achievement this year was the fact that we successfully convinced a government agency to support us. TCEB is an economic driver who sees arts festivals as a good opportunity for our country. This is great. But of course it’d be even better if we also received full support from another sector of the government whose mission is to directly support contemporary arts community [like our Ministry of Culture, the worldwide counterparts of which are supporting this kind of festivals and platforms].”

He adds, “Our first step this year was a solid example that we really can make it happen [notwithstanding the fact that the preparation time was only eight months]. With a longer preparation period and more proper support from all parties in the performing arts community – be it the artists, scholars, journalists, critics, and of course, the government – our goals can soon be reached.”

Bipam delegates, from left, the US, Thailand, South Korea and Japan.

Having attended numerous international performing arts festivals and exchange platforms, though never TPAM, myself, I was especially delighted to welcome this new baby. Often asked by international producers, programmers, presenters, critics and scholar colleagues when is the best time to visit Bangkok to see what’s happening on Thai stage, my answer has always been the first few weeks of November. I explain, “It’s not too warm, there’s little rain and, most importantly, there’s the Bangkok Theatre Festival (BTF). And if you really want to be a tourist, you can take part in our Loy Krathong Festival.”

Now, of course, I can add a clause to that, “and as an integral part of BTF is Bipam.” With the aforementioned range of activities and networking opportunities, that’d be more convincing and I’m sure that many more of my colleagues will visit my hometown in the near future.

It should also be noted here that Hiromi Maruoka, TPAM’s director, also attended Bipam among scores of other international delegates from Southeast Asia in addition to Japan, Hong Kong, Taiwan, South Korea, India, Bangladesh, France, Switzerland and the US. The number of participating countries, I am certain, will continue to grow.

That said, there should be more connection and collaboration between BTF and Bipam. While they share the same website and booklet and audiences could book tickets from the same channel, the Bipam programme was not part of the BTF leaflet. Also, while Bipam was a great opportunity for performing arts students to not only meet but also learn from foreign professionals, the fact that most activities were on weekdays, and their professors didn’t assign them to these activities, meant that they could only catch the performances in the evening.

And for Bipam and BTF to further develop, more financial and administrative from the government is necessary. For example, while Bipam strives to become a Southeast Asia platform, everyone is well aware that mobilising SEA artists and productions is financially very difficult unless Singapore is the host, and that’s partly why there were no regional performances as part of Bipam.

It’s also noteworthy that three out of six productions in the Bipam Showcase were possible here only because of firm financial support by foreign organisations—”Fight! Palast” and “Full Service” by Pro Helvetia as part of its “Swiss Window in Asia Performing Arts Series” and “Kuang Qi” by Taiwan’s Ministry of Culture through its Southbound Policy. A timely reminder that one cannot curate without money.

Language, like in many other attempts to work in this region, seemed also to be a problem as the Bipam official language of English scared many people away. Translation and interpretation can be possible, with financial support.

But considering this was its inaugural edition, everyone agrees that Bipam worked like a charm.

“Antwerp 2012-2016” continues through December 18. The three collections – “The Wild Bunch” (2015-2016), “She Walks on Marble Columns” (2014-2015) and “She Came by the Green Line Bus” (2013-2014) – were all shown while he was studying at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Antwerp, Belgium.

Shone creates a myriad of female identities, often finding his muses among the women stars of his favourite films. He’s also inspired by the visual aesthetics of directors such as Wes Anderson and Peter Weir, and by the paintings to photomontages of David Hockney and Georgia O’Keeffe.

Characters and scene settings appear in collages along with other visual references, all translated into garment designs. Unusual techniques, contrasting materials and bold colour combinations heighten the clothes’ allure.

The exhibition includes a section on Shone’s design drawings, sketchbooks and photographs presented in the form of moving images. Another has a presentation on his creative process, from methodology, research, material application, study of structures and making the patterns to the completed works.

A third section displays selected garments and accessories.

Films being screened every weekend in conjunction with the show include “Picnic at Hanging Rock” (1975) and “The Royal Tenenbaums” (2001).

Born and raised in Bangkok, Puipia grew up in a creative atmosphere. Both of his parents were visual artists and he accompanied them to art events.

After completing high school, he attended the prestigious Royal Academy in Antwerp, where he received a bachelor’s degree in visual arts (fashion) in 2015 and a master’s the following year.

Shone launched his self-titled clothing label earlier this year, offering uncompromising beauty in contemporary luxury wear. His womenswear, shoes and accessories are meticulously crafted with the focus on sophisticated silhouettes, distinct colour combinations and fabrication.

His latest collection will be presented in January at the Bangkok showroom SOI SA:M.

The 30-meter-long by 59-centimeter-wide scroll, named the Landscape Map of the Silk Road, is painted on silk. It depicts trade routes starting at Jiayuguan－at the western end of the Great Wall during the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644)－through Central and West Asia to the Middle East.

As many as 221 cities in what now are some 10 countries are on the scroll. Included were key spots on the ancient Silk Road, like Gansu province’s Dunhuang, Mecca, Damascus, Esfahan in Iran and Samarqand in Uzbekistan.

The map’s return was made possible by a donation from Hui Wing Mau, a Hong Kong-based real estate entrepreneur, who paid $20 million for it this year.

“The map, with plenty of geographic information, proves that China had the world’s best mapping techniques at that time,” said Lin Meicun, a history professor from Peking University, at the donation ceremony on Thursday.

“It also shows Chinese people had a clear understanding of the outside world before Western maps came into the country,” he added.

The Forbidden City, officially the Palace Museum today, functioned as China’s imperial palace from 1420 to 1911.

Many royal collections were scattered after the Chinese monarchy fell. The map was bought by a Japanese tycoon from an antique store in the 1930s. However, its historical significance was not widely known during its decades in Japan.

Lin said it’s a pity that one-fourth of the original drawing－showing the route from Mecca to Istanbul－was lost, based on a template for this map he found in historical archives.

“Maybe that part was cut off by the antique dealer to sell separately,” he said.

In 2002, the map was bought by a Chinese collector and was resold several times before Hui bought it.

Shan Jixiang, director of the Palace Museum, attributed great significance to the map as a precursor of the Belt and Road Initiative.

“It’s a contribution of ancient Chinese geography to the whole world,” Shan said.

“The map reflects the frequent business and cultural communication between China and countries along the ancient Silk Road,” he said. “We’re provided with many references for historical study.”

Shan said more archaeological, geographic and linguistic research on the map is planned. After undergoing restoration work, it will be shown to the public.

The director also praised Hui’s philanthropy in support of the conservation of cultural heritage.

In 2016, Hui, head of Hong Kong-listed Shimao Property Holdings, donated 80 million yuan ($12 million) to the Palace Museum for restoration of the Hall of Mental Cultivation at the museum, and some artifacts from the hall were exhibited in Hong Kong this year. He also organized trips to the museum for over 1,000 Hong Kong students last year.

“It’s great for more Hong Kong people to better experience the brilliant traditional culture of the motherland,” Hui said.

The art installations are set up both indoors and outdoors to greet the upcoming Year of the Dog. On show until January 15, the light installations are inspired by breeds of pooches and have been created by both artists and celebrities.

Actor Mario Maurer represents fun through the American Shepherd while actor Thanapob Leerattanakajorn embodies friendliness and sincerity in the shape of a Beagle.

Krisanabhumi Piboonsongkram stands for modernity and smartness in the style of a Golden Retriever while Teeradon Supapanpinyo represents adventure and extremes in the shape of the Corgi. Actress Chutimon Jeungjareonsookying portrays stylish chic for new-age women in the style of Thai-breed Bangkaew.

Local brands also unveil specially designed, limited collections for the campaign. Greyhound has collaborated with Mario to make an exclusive scarf called the Bandana, while Chutimon has launched a T-shirt collection with stylish brand Milin.

Q Design and Play have worked with Thanapob, Krisanabhumi and Teeradon on a collection of trendy shirts embroidered with doggy characters.

Thai designer brands within the Center also offer special promotions and new collections. Among the participating brands are Theatre, Fri 27 Nov, Greyhound Original, Indigoskin, Rotsaniyom White Label, Ake Ake, Kloset, Senada, Gin & Milk, and Iconic. Spend Bt6,000 at the participating Thai designer brands and you’ll receive a Siam Gift Card worth Bt1,000.

The two-part film installation commissioned by the museum and Singapore International Film Festival depicts modern urban life in all its isolation and anxiety, then switches to the temporary freedom that can be experienced in the absence of technology.

There is no admission fee for the show or its accompanying programmes.

In Part 2, “Spectres”, scenes from Miyazaki’s previous films are woven into a multiple-screen spectacle of people trapped like ghosts. Miyazaki lingers on the observation that the modern experience is homogenised and without meaning; without risk and thoroughly monotonous. As one peers into the windows of their uninspired lives, the spectator becomes the spectre himself.

In Part 2, “Tourists”, Japanese actresses Nina Endo (who starred in Miyazaki’s “Yamato (California)”, and Sumire Sato (from Japanese girl group SKE48) play friends who win a free trip abroad.

They arrive in a cosmopolitan city identical to their home country, but find themselves displaced among its unfamiliar monuments when one of them loses her mobile phone. Without the predictability of a travel itinerary found on the Internet, the friends reconstruct their identities with their encounters in unwritten places.

Born in Yokohama in 1980, Miyazaki was one of the Berlinale Talents directors of the omnibus film “5 to 9”. Miyazaki’s first feature, “End of the Night”, was selected for numerous film festivals and won Special Mention at the Toronto Shinsedai Cinema Festival.

On view until February 15, pieces from the Classic and Contemporary collections demonstrate how Fritz Hansen furniture blurs the line between design and art to achieve functional, sculptural timelessness.

The Classic Collection includes Arne Jacobsen’s Egg, Swan and Series 7 chairs and Poul Kjaerholm’s PK22 chair and PK80 daybed.

The Contemporary Collection features new furniture and accessories by designers like Jaime Hayon, Piero Lissoni, Kasper Salto and Cecilie Manz.

Also on display are lighting fixtures and interior decorative accessories from the Objects Collection. Beautiful contemporary lamps created with Danish and other designers such as Cecilie Mans, Gam Fratesi, Jo Hammerborg, KiBiSi, Jorn Utzon and Christian Dell offer an elegant approach to lighting for luxurious home living.

Drawing on nearly 150 years of Danish history and a heritage shaped by collaborations with some of the world’s most innovative designers, the philosophy at Fritz Hansen is that a single piece of furniture can beautify an entire room – or building – and improve the wellbeing of the inhabitants.

Even the furniture created more than half a century ago by Arne Jacobsen and Poul Kjaerholm remains beloved around the globe. And new talents like Jaime Hayon, Piero Lissoni and Cecilie Manz are bringing this heritage into the future with fine new pieces.

The Egg is a chair Jacobsen designed in 1958 for the SAS Royal Hotel in Copenhagen – “the world’s first design hotel”.

The Egg is a triumph of Jacobsen’s “total design” – a sculptural contrast to the building’s almost exclusively vertical and horizontal surfaces. The chair was technologically innovative, a simple organic form with no straight lines, only curves.

The China chair is Hans Wegner’s interpretation of Chinese chairs of the 17th and 18th centuries and reflects his talent as a wood craftsman. The China epitomises his lifelong quest to understand the nature of wood and explore its possibilities.

In an ongoing attempt to unite the sublime with the absolutely necessary, Poul Kjaerholm designed the PK80 daybed. It’s a clear illustration of his method of refining historical models and distilling them down to the essence.

Bauhaus provided the inspiration for the daybed, having been in turn inspired by ancient Roman couches. The PK80 is upholstered in leather or canvas and rests on a painted plywood bed-plate held to the steel construction beneath with a strong rubber band.

The exhibition, featuring images by eight amateur shutterbugs, aims to share charming stories from around the world and raise funds from the sale of photographs and photo books for Foundation for the Blind in Thailand under the royal patronage of Her Majesty the Queen.

It runs through December 10.

“Eight Thonglor is like a living room in the Thonglor jungle where urbanites can relax so what better than to decorate it with art works. The show, ‘8 Elements’ photo exhibition is the discovery of photographs taken by eight amateur photographers, undiscovered talents that can inspire many of the new generations.” said Chairat Sangtong, managing director, Thonglor Management.

Anuwat Burapachaisri, president of MCE Group who uses pseudonym Eyeshadow and has previously showcased his works at the Leica Gallery in Singapore, brings his “Embracing the Light” collection to the mall.

His photographs are of people in light and shadow, each image offering different emotions with a candid hint.

Parkpoom Hasbamrer, design director from Atelier, presents “A Wharf at Yao Yai island in Phang-nga”, while Poomjai Auttanun, adviser to Minister of Transport, exhibits “When Doves Cry”.

Rachod Isarankura Na Ayuthaya, senior vice president, worldwide sales and marketing of Narah Herb presents “If You Want to Go Big, Stop Thinking Small”.

“I specialise in street photography and taking black-and-white photos is a challenge. I prefer to take landscape images, so people can see the beauty and grandeur of nature through my perspective,” said Rachod.

Online orders of photographs and photo book can be placed via Line ID @8thonglor.

THE 14TH edition of the Bangkok Theatre Festival (BTF), the region’s largest contemporary-theatre showcase, drew its curtains on November 19 in the auditorium of the Bangkok Art and Culture Centre, which hosted it as part of the ongoing sixth annual Performative Art Festival.

The Thailand section of the International Association of Theatre Critics opened the event by presenting 12 awards for outstanding stage works by Thai artists that premiered in Bangkok from January through October.

The presentation was well attended by theatre artists, but unfortunately, unlike in previous years, it drew little attention from the Thai press.

B-Floor’s “Blissfully Blind” gave the audience a unique experience at Bangkok CityCity Gallery./PHOTO: TEERAPHAN NGOWJEENANAN

The year’s biggest winner was B-Floor Theatre’s experiential show “Blissfully Blind”, which premiered in July at Bangkok CityCity Gallery. It won in all categories where it was nominated – best movement-based performance, best performance by an ensemble, best direction, and best art direction.

Having already scooped up several awards in past years, B-Floor, now officially Thailand’s most-awarded theatre company, might need to buy a new cupboard to store them all.

Director Dujdao Vadhanapakorn humbly accepted all the awards, bringing to the stage her collaborators, light-installation designer Mont Watanasiriroch and performer Amornsri Pattanasitdanggul.

B-Floor’s Dujdao Vadhanapakorn and Zeight’s Mont Watanasiriroch accept the Best Art Direction award.PHOTO: NAPHATRAPEE SUNTORNTIRNAN

“For this work I got slightly out of my comfort zone,” Dujdao said. By that she meant, for example, working in an art gallery and with some artists for the first time. Apparently these were risks well taken and duly noticed.

Another major winner was FullFat Theatre’s “[Co/Exist]”, which won best play and best original script. Having been nominated for these awards many times in the past and always shut out, the honours were indeed long overdue for veteran playwright, director and actor Nophand Boonyai and his cast and crew.

While Fascinating Four won the best musical award for their first professional stage work, “21 3/4 seen at Thonglor Art Space, it was Maya: The Art and the Cultural Institute for Development that won the best book of a musical award for “Let’s Move the Mountains” at Mayarith Theatre.

Accepting the latter, veteran theatre maker Santi Chitrachinda cheekingly noted that “a play is a play no matter who is the target audience”.

The year’s most prolific company, Splashing Theatre, was honoured with best adapted script for “Teenage Wasteland: Summer, Star and the (Lost) Chrysanthemum”, seen at Creative Industries.

Thanaphon Accawatanyu and Thongchai Pimapunsri’s script for their company’s largest production to date was inspired by Stephen King’s “It” and “The Body”, Hajime Yatate’s “Mobile Suit Gundam”, Hideaki Anno’s “Neon Genesis Evangelion” and the writings of the late political activist Chit Phumisak.

New York-based Thai actor Danainan Kridakorn won best performance by a male artist for his work in Life Theatre’s “LifeX3”. And another B-Floor Theatre member, Sasapin Siriwanij – a nominee in this category last year – won the female counterpart for her performance in ForWhat Theatre’s “Oh Ode”, which also took her out of her comfort zone.

Chulalongkorn University dance professor Sirithorn Srichalakom introduced her senior colleague and highly revered dancer-choreographer Naraphong “Khru Tam” Charassri, who the critics unanimously selected for a Lifetime Achievement Award.

“A lot of the intercultural experiments we’re doing now in contemporary performing arts – for example, combining various traditions in contemporary practices – Khru Tam was one of the Thai pioneers,” Sirithorn pointed out.

Young members of the mime troupe Kon Na Khao paid tribute to their master, who died during the festival./PHOTO: NAPHATRAPEE SUNTORNTIRNAN

As the transition into BTF Awards by IATC Thailand and to honour the late pioneer of pantomime in Thailand, Paitoon “Kon Na Khao” Laisakul, his last work was staged at BTF this year. This was followed by a heartfelt speech by Bangkok Theatre Network’s founder and president, Pradit Prasartthong.

New this year to BTF was the Bangkok International Performing Arts Meeting, one section of which was a showcase of performances from India, Switzerland, Taiwan and Thailand. The critics watched and considered these works for BTF Awards as well.

This part started with IATC Thailand honorary president Kittisak “Khru Daeng” Suwannabhokin announcing two “Special Mention” awards for exemplary works that did not fit other categories.

The critics honoured Tookkatoon Studio and Theatre’s “Nemirath: The Musical Puppet Show” and Mahachai-based Burmese Youth Theatre’s “Fish, No Feet”.

“Tookkatoon is already a significant puppet troupe, but for this work they’ve ventured into a genre they’ve never been known for – musical theatre,” Khru Daeng said. The latter he called “a children’s-theatre work that stunned adults”, and noted that the performers were immigrants from a neighbouring country.

Taiwan’s MOVE Theatre’s “Kuang Qi” is an interdisciplinary and intercultural work./PHOTO: TEERAPHAN NGOWJEENANAN

The biggest winner was the music-theatre work “Kuang Qi” by Taiwan’s MOVE Theatre, presented at Chulalongkorn’s Sodsai Pantoomkomol Centre for Dramatic Arts. Makeup artist Wu Dong Sheng rushed to the Culture Centre as soon as he heard their work was nominated in five categories.

“Kuang Qi” finally won four – best movement-based performance, best script, best art direction and best direction. The fourth time Wu ascended the stage, his acceptance speech was the shortest, he having run out of people to thank. “Welcome to Taiwan!” he said to loud applause and laughter.

Critics commended the multiple artistic and cultural layers of “Kuang Qi”, which reinterpreted the Chinese classical dramas “The Peony Pavilion” and “The Butterfly Lovers” in a contemporary queer context and combined Kunqu opera drumming with Western music instruments.

It’s also noteworthy that MOVE Theatre is normally a physical-theatre company, like Thailand’s B-Floor, and had never before taken such an artistic risk.

Oriza Hirata’s “Bangkok Notes”, a JapanThailand coproduction, won the best play award./PHOTO: TEERAPHAN NGOWJEENANAN

Japan Foundation Bangkok director Norihiko Yoshioka accepted the best play award for “Bangkok Notes”, a Thailand-Japan collaboration by Oriza Hirata, Bangkok Theatre Network, Japan Foundation Bangkok and the Sodsai Pantoomkomol Centre.

The ensemble for the Thai adaptation of “Crimes of the Heart” also got a BTF award, as did pantomime artist Nuttapol Kummata for his performance in “No Name”, his collaboration with Nikorn Sae Tang, and Claire Stanley in Peel the Limelight’s “Spoonface Steinberg”.

Noticeably, foreign works led the list of award recipients. While this proves that the BTF is becoming more international and receiving more attention from foreign artists, producers, presenters and programmers, it’s perhaps also a strong note on the quality of Thai works presented at the annual festival.

There is also the question of whether the festival itself remains the highlight of Bangkok’s theatre season, notwithstanding its praiseworthy fringe-festival spirit of allowing and supports artists to present any works they’d like to.

WHAT’S NEXT?

To read more about what critics think about contemporary Thai dance and theatre, visit http://www.Facebook.com/IATC.Thailand.

To check what’s currently onstage and the preparation of next year’s BTF, see http://www.BangkokTheatreFestival.org.

WASHINGTON’S new Museum of the Bible opens its massive bronze, Latin-inscribed gates to visitors eager to browse ancient relics and interactive exhibits – as well as to critics sceptical of the institution’s “non-sectarian” mission.

The privately funded $500-million (Bt16.4-billion) museum tells the story of the Judaeo-Christian Bible by blending archaeology with history and a hint of whimsy, offering everything from antiquities and Old Testament curios to an amusement ride, all intended to “celebrate” what billions refer to as “the good book”.

But since its genesis, the 430,000-square-foot museum has raised eyebrows, as much for its location – mere blocks from the US Capitol – as its creator and major financial backer, billionaire evangelical Christian Steve Green.

The History of the Bible exhibit is one of many displays examining the book’s narrative and impact. /AFP

Green’s Oklahoma City-based arts and crafts retail chain Hobby Lobby burst into the public sphere when it won a 2014 Supreme Court case permitting companies on religious grounds to opt out of contraceptive coverage mandated by an Obama-era healthcare law.

And just months ago the company came under fire for illegally importing more than 5,500 artefacts, including ancient clay cuneiform tablets that had been smuggled out of Iraq. Attributing the purchase to naivete, Hobby Lobby agreed to forfeit the pieces and pay a $3-million settlement.

The Green family’s Christian convictions and the smuggling debacle had sceptics questioning both the museum’s ideological aim and the provenance of its antiquities, more than 500 of which are on view on the institution’s “history” floor.

But Green, who chairs the museum’s board, insists it aims only to “present the facts”.

“This is a journalistic view of the Bible. It’s not about espousing our faith,” he told reporters at a preview ahead of the museum’s opening.

“We’re inviting all people to engage with this book, so we embrace all that will come and celebrate the Bible.” Situated just south of Washington’s National Mall esplanade that houses the Smithsonian museum complex, the sprawling eight-floor institution – which includes a ballroom, performing-arts hall and biblical garden – lets visitors tour a theatrical exhibit recreating what Nazareth might have looked like in the time of Jesus.

A King James Bible from 1617 is on display./EPA-EFE

Another area explains the evolution of the Old Testament, displaying artefacts and manuscripts from the Green family as well as the Israel Antiquities Authority. The museum also shows items on loan from institutions including the British Museum and Paris Louvre.

The “Washington Revelations” theatre-ride takes museum-goers on a simulation “flight” over the nation’s capital, pointing out biblical references throughout the city, while the “impact floor” traces the Bible’s societal influence – particularly stateside – on politics, education, music, movies and fashion.

A large-scale mural depicts pilgrims reading the Bible to Native Americans, weaves through portraits of suffragists and anti-slavery activists, and ends with an image of Reverend Martin Luther King Jr delivering his “I Have a Dream” speech, which contains a number of biblical references.

Small placards also explain how the Bible was used to justify both sides of the Civil War and opposing views on African-American slavery, as well as the enslavement of Native Americans. The museum does not, however, include references to hot-button topics like abortion or access to contraception.

“We try to avoid anything that’s controversial,” said Tony Zeiss, the museum’s executive director. “We’re not about evangelising – we’re about piquing people’s curiosity.”

But Candida Moss – a religious scholar at the University of Birmingham and co-author of the book “Bible Nation: The United States of Hobby Lobby” – says the museum missed a chance to delve into more complex aspects of biblical history.

“You can’t just tell the story – you’re always interpreting,” she says. “I think what’s really curious is what’s not in the Bible Museum.”

Theories on the Ark of the Covenant are featured in the “Journey through the Hebrew Bible” exhibit. /AFP

Moss argues that the museum focuses too narrowly on American history, making scant reference to the Mormon branch of Christianity, the Ethiopic Christian Churches, and the Bible’s ties to the Quran.

She also voiced concern over the authenticity of a number of the museum’s relics, including fragments of the Dead Sea Scrolls, which, she says, “many scholars believe to be almost entirely forged”.

One of the institution’s advisers, Lawrence Schiffman, a professor of Hebrew and Judaic Studies at New York University, acknowledges that the fragments “may or may not be real” – but accompanying placards make it clear that research is underway.

Gordon Campbell, a University of Leicester professor and lead historian at the museum, says he hopes Washington’s newest cultural institution will “rise above” the controversy.

“I aspire to make it encourage debate centred on the Bible and not centred on the Greens,” he says. “I hope we can succeed.”

For museum members Jim King and his wife Pam, a sexagenarian couple from Austin, Texas, invited to the previews, the free museum is “world-class” and its location near federal government offices “a very great statement”.

“I think it’s something that anybody could enjoy,” King said, “because of the historical aspects that are involved in it – as well as the word of God, of course.”

ONE OF THE LARGEST Colonial buildings in Southeast Asia, the Secretariat in Myanmar, is being restored to its former glory and will be used as a cultural complex containing museums, galleries, cultural event spaces, lounges and offices for creative industries.

Award-winning Singapore-based sustainable design firm Pomeroy Studio has been appointed to restore this abandoned 120-year-old former colonial government office in Yangon. The project is scheduled for completion by 2019.

“The Secretariat is recognised as one of Yangon’s most important heritage buildings, and has been the scene of the most defining moments of Myanmar’s modern history. This includes the assassination of General Aung San, which paved the country’s path to independence. Restoring this grand colonial building to its former glory and reinvigorating its internal spaces with a programme of arts-related functions, seeks to both preserve Yangon’s cultural past, and cultivate Myanmar’s creative future” said Prof Jason Pomeroy, founding principal of Pomeroy Studio.

The Secretariat Courtyard and East Wing view from South Wing

The Secretariat occupies approximately 16 acres in the South of Yangon, and was designed by British architect Henry Hoyne-Fox (1855-1905) as the epicentre of Rangoon (present day Yangon), the first Southeast Asian garden city. Work started in 1890 on the central building, with the Eastern, Western and Northern wings added in subsequent years.

However, an Earthquake in 1930 laid many of the Secretariat’s iconic features, including its turrets and central dome, to waste, and the building was left to fall into disrepair post-independence. The restoration forms part of the Yangon Heritage Trust’s aim to restore and preserve the city’s architectural heritage in the face of break-neck development and modernisation, a heritage that is deemed of world importance.

Pomeroy Studio is working with heritage and conservation expert Prof Luigi Croce of Architetti Croce. The Padova-based firm is taking a careful restorative approach that seeks to preserve the exterior and key internal areas of historical significance and reinstate the original building’s details that were of architectural merit. The extensive settlement, an earthquake and the general dilapidation that took place over decades of neglect presents acute challenges in the restoration.

A counterpoint to the restoration of the British colonial structure was the careful reinterpretation of Burmese cultural elements.

A striking feature is the new roof structure that caps a lofty cylindrical atrium space with a grand wrought–iron staircase, which was once crowned by a heavy brick dome. Given settlement and structural issues, a lightweight and sustainable solution was needed. Pomeroy thus created a unique reinterpretation of the pathein, the traditional Burmese umbrella, that sought to perform the very same tasks of counteracting direct glare from the sun; protection from the rain and act as a heat vent – albeit at a building scale.

Burmese culture was brought into the interior spaces by reinterpreting the pan se myo (10 traditional arts), that range from stone carving through lacquerware. These techniques sensitively complement the original shell and core of the 19th-century building whilst also employing local craftsmen and their skills.

Internal Colonnade in the South Wing

Colonial Rangoon was once heralded as Asia’s first garden city; yet urbanisation has seen the gradual erosion of green open spaces in modern Yangon. Pomeroy Studio was also appointed for landscape design with a particular emphasis on rehabilitating the greenery and restoring the parklands, quadrangle and grand lawns to their original condition. The cultural celebration of Martyrs’ Day through a central memorial, coupled with sensitive lighting will be the focal point of the new landscaped quadrangle and will provide a welcome respite from the busy and bustling city outside of its walls, and thus create a much-needed green open space for the south of Yangon.

Given that the buildings themselves were designed before the advent of electricity, the original high ceilings and large windows/skylights will continue to optimise natural light and ventilation, with the careful use of new smart technologies and modern conveniences to enhance the user experience and, reduce overall energy and water consumption.

Locally sourced materials, crafted locally and expert supervision by restoration experts from Italy seeks to further ensure the overall sustainability of the development.