The dual exhibition “Character in My Mind” will features Sitthinon Mongkolsangsuree’s depictions of a fashionable young lady with a big head and even bigger eyes, and Thanaphan’s watercolours of a cat expressing various emotions reflecting his own perspectives and feelings.

A portion of the proceeds from sales will go to the Prostheses Foundation founded by Her Royal Highness Srinagarindra in aid of underprivileged amputees.

There is no admission charge. Find out more at (02) 100 1234, extension 6753-6.

During the great wealth of the seventeenth century, countless artists created masterpieces that are now shown in museums worldwide. The Dutch Golden Age paintings display a unique and distinctive creativity and individuality depicting landscapes, portraits, scenes of everyday life, seascapes and church interiors.

The 1800s witnessed n increasing flow of talented new artists with their own personal styles such as Lastman and Wtewael, Rembrandt, Hals, Flinck, Bol, Heda and Kalf, Dou, Steen and Ter Borch, Ruisdael and Van Goyen, Berckheyde and Van der Heyden, which are all represented in the exhibition ‘Dutch Masters from the Hermitage, a treasure of the Tsars’.

To mark this occasion, Conservatorium, which is housed in a palace, is introducing the “Dutch Masters Package” offering two nights accommodation, breakfast for two and two tickets to the Hermitage Museum. The room rates start at 550 Euros (Bt21,365) and are valid for stays through May 27.

With art being one of the pillars of Conservatorium, guests will enjoy an artistic experience as well as the hotel being an architectural masterpiece that combines landmark heritage with graceful, contemporary design to its fullest.

Online booking can be made at http://www.ConservatoriumHotel.com or by emailing reservations@conservatoriumhotel.com.

THE BANK of Japan’s Currency Museum in Tokyo exhibits mainly currencies that have been circulated in Japan, including fuhonsen coins said to be the first ever used in this country, toraisen coins imported from China during the medieval period, and oban and koban (large and small gold coins).

Visitors who turn right after entering the museum will encounter a glittering display of gold coins produced during the Edo period (1603-1867), such as keicho oban, genroku oban and kyoho oban coins.

The oval-shaped coins, which were often given as gifts, are about 15 centimetres long and 9cm wide and weigh 165 grams.

The seal-mark inscribed in Indian ink on each coin is the signature of the Goto family, who produced the coins. As oban coins without the seal were of lesser value, the seal would be rewritten when the ink faded.

The Goto family and Edo shogunate, which commissioned their production, guaranteed the coins’ value and thus their circulation.

Since gold and silver coins were in short supply during the Edo period, han (domains) across the country issued their own bills. Into the early Meiji era (1868-1912), more than 200 kinds of han bills were issued, mainly in western Japan.

The creditworthiness of a domain determined the value of its bills.

Han bills issued by the Kii Wakayama domain./ The Japan News/Yomiuri 

In 1871, the Meiji government established a new currency law and changed the currency unit from ryo to yen.

At the time, a one-ryo bill issued by the Shinano Matsushiro domain (Nagano Prefecture) was converted into 0.889 yen, while a one-ryo bill issued by the Satsuma Kagoshima domain (Kagoshima Prefecture) was converted into 0.322 yen.

To finance battles during the Meiji Restoration, the Satsuma domain issued so many bills that their actual value was less than the face value.

The museum also features foreign currencies that suffered extreme losses in credibility.

After Germany’s defeat in World War I, its Ruhr industrial district was occupied by foreign troops.

Germany subsequently experienced rampant inflation, leading to a collapse in the value of the mark in 1923.

Rai stone money was used on the Micronesian island of Yap. 

The denomination of banknotes increased rapidly, with 100-trillion-mark notes entering circulation.

A large stone is displayed near a staircase in the museum. It’s a form of money called rai, which was used on the Micronesian island of Yap.

Rai were used for land and other transactions, but were never physically moved.

Even units that had sunk to the ocean floor were used. Nor were transactions involving the stone money recorded.

The sense of trust between seller and buyer is said to have guaranteed the currency’s value.

The Bank of Japan’s Institute for Monetary and Economic Studies runs the museum. It opened in 1985 in commemoration of the 100th anniversary of the bank’s establishment.

The museum exhibits about 3,000 items, including currencies and banknotes.

FIRST, a brief recap of what’s just happened in the year that’s about to end.

Two venues were added: namely Syrup the Space in Soi Thong Lor and the new white box theatre as part of Chang Theatre in Thung Khru, Thonburi. The former was active in the first half of the year but has been silent for a while now; the latter, home to Pichet Klunchun Dance Company, has also been occasionally hosting works by artists other than the world-renowned Thai choreographer. But despite this new space, the Thai audience has not yet had a chance to watch his company’s “Dancing with Death”, which has been to Japan, Singapore, Australia and Taiwan already since its premiere almost two years ago. And it’s not even banned!

French choreographers will work with 15 Thai performers and nonperformers in “Gala”./Photo Josefina Tommasi

By contrast, another major venue in Soi Thonglor, namely the Pridi Banomyong Institute, where Crescent Moon Space and B-Floor Room have lived for many years and which other groups were making use for rehearsals, has halted its support for stage works. The three resident companies, which include Babymime, have not yet found a new home.

Meanwhile, artists have been using other non-conventional spaces for stage works to exciting effect. Two notable examples were Full Fat Theatre’s “[Co/Exist]” at Warehouse 20 and B-Floor’s “Blissfully Blind” at Bangkok CityCity Gallery– and both were the top winners at the International Association of Theatre Critics (IATC) Thailand Dance and Theatre Awards 2017. The former was also performed in English and that reflects an important trend towards English-language works, among them Life Theatre’s “Life X 3” at Thong Lor Art Space, in this semi-colonial kingdom.

Nouveau cirque artists of Compagnie Defracto will wow both kids and adults at the BICT Fest./Photo BICT Fest

After its cancellation in 2016, Bangkok Theatre Network’s Bangkok Theatre Festival (BTF) returned in November with its new section Bangkok International Performing Arts Meeting (BIPAM). Its efficient preparation of both artists and audiences through many pre-festival activities proves that BTF is no longer just an annual informal gathering of Thai theatre artists, but is now constantly engaging theatre lovers here and overseas.

It’s also noteworthy that after a few years in hiatus the Culture Ministry’s Office of Contemporary Art and Culture (OCAC) has resumed the Silpathorn Awards. Our congratulations again go to veteran stage director Suwandee Jakravoravudh whose staging of “Ratri Thi Sipsong: Ao Thi Sabai Chai”, Daraka Wongsiri’s translation of Shakespeare’s “Twelfth Night”, truly explains this national recognition.

King Rama VI’s nationalistic drama “Phra Ruang” is being adapted into a musical and will be staged at Muang Thai Rachadalai Theatre in February.

The 2018 stage calendar starts with “10 Sen”, a collaboration between French dancer and choreographer Julie Nioche and Thai dance movement therapist Dujdao Vadhanapakorn on traditional Thai massage and osteopathy. This is the first phase of Nioche’s research that will continue later this year and the work-in-progress presentation on the first Friday evening of the year, as part of “French Highlights #3”, at Sodsai Pantoomkomol Centre for Dramatic Arts will be open to the public, free-of-charge, thanks to the support of the Institut Francaise and French Embassy in Thailand.

Also part of “French Highlights #3” is the much anticipated return of Jerome Bel, whose dance dialogue “Pichet Klunchun and Myself” has been staged worldwide after premiering at the Bangkok Fringe Festival more than a decade ago. At the Chang Theatre, Bel will work with 15 performers and non-performers on the conceptual dance work “Gala”, which he has already staged at Sadler’s Wells among other venues.

At the BICT Fest 2018, Belgium’s kabinet k will prove that contemporary dance can also be enjoyed by young children./Photo Kurt van Der Elst

Postponed from Bangkok Theatre Festival (BTF) last month after a nasty bite by her dog, long-time B-Floor member Ornanong “Golf” Thaisriwong’s “Sawan Arcade” will start on January 8 at Democrazy Theatre Studio. Here, she’s invites us to join her in paradise and to question what’s happening around us. The press release, though, doesn’t specifically say if she also invited army officers, who showed up for every performance of her last solo “Bang Lamerd”.

Postponed due to an injury, Ornanong “Golf” Thaisriwong is now ready for her solo work “Sawan Arcade”./Photo BFloor Theatre

B-Floor will tour its highly acclaimed work “Sandan Ka” to Tokyo in late February and its new work scheduled for May has not yet found a suitable venue at home.

At Thong Lor Art Space, New Theatre Society’s Damkerng Thitapiyasak will stage a new adaptation of Yasmina Reza’s dark comedy “God of Carnage” in March. Among the cast is Pattarasuda “Bua” Anuman Rajadhon, who will herself stage Daraka Wongsiri’s murder drama “Crimson Rose” in June at the same venue.

There are also a few intercultural collaborations to watch for. “Portrait of the Desire” is Japanese playwright and director Toshiki Okada’s adaptation of SEA Write laureate this Haemamool’s new work of the same name. With professional Thai actors already in rehearsal, the play will have a world premiere in Bangkok in August before making its European debut at Centre Pompidou as part of Festival d’Automne a Paris.

French dancer and choreographer Julie Nioche discussed her upcoming collaboration with Thai dance movement therapist Dujdao Vadhanapakorn in Paris last March./ Photo Pawit Mahasarinand

“Negotiation”, Pichet’s collaboration with France-based Lao hip-hop artist Ole Khamchanla, will have its world premiere in Strasbourg on January 30 before being staged in Paris and other French cities in February and March. It will also be part of the New Vision Arts Festival in Hong Kong in November. No Bangkok dates have yet been set. Word is that there’s no political content in this work so it shouldn’t be banned.

After a low-key 2017, award-winning choreographer and director Thanapol Virulhakul is preparing a new work called “The Retreat.” A rumour, and a very exciting one, is that Pichet and Thanapol are also planning a collaboration, although, like many rumours, we don’t know yet when and where.

Muangthai Rachadalai Theatre will host “Phra Ruang The Musical” next month, with a number of professional crooners who have won acclaim for their musical theatre performance in the line-up. Later in the year, the resident company Scenario will restage “Mae Nak Phra Khanong The Musical”, to mark its 10th anniversary, but hasn’t confirmed if it will also celebrate its 12th, 15th and 20th anniversary as well, so it’s better for us to catch it now.

Then in October, a new musical “I Was Born in the Reign of King Rama IX”, will be on stage following its TV broadcast earlier this year.

As for festivals, Democrazy’s and Arts on Location’s second edition of the biannual Bangkok International Children’s Theatre Festival (BICT Fest) will return in May to Bangkok Art and Culture Centre (BACC) and Sodsai Pantoomkomol Centre for Dramatic Arts. A strong focus will be French nouveau cirque performances although there are other genres from other countries as well. Workshops, talks and a forum on youth theatre in Southeast Asia are also on the programme. Rumour is that Pichet, himself a father of a five-year-old, might create a new work for this festival too.

Bangkok’s International Festival of Dance and Music will return to Thailand Cultural Centre in September, and as it’s the 20th edition, we can expect a more exciting line-up than the previous one.

BTF and Friends of the Arts Foundation’s International Dance Festival (IDF) will be in November as always but as their main hub BACC is also hosting the inaugural Bangkok Art Biennale, which will take up most of its space, it could be interesting to see how different art genres connect to one another.

Lastly, our thanks to all the dance and theatre artists, producers, presenters and supporters whose work has helped make our evenings and weekend fruitful throughout the year. Through our previews and reviews here, we look forward to continue recording the development of contemporary dance and theatre in Thailand.

The include the Bt7,010 Van Gogh Irish Flower Collection, which contains a pottery mug, note card box and a ball-point pen, the William Morris Pink & Rose Collection featuring a porcelain pitcher together with a mug for Bt6,870, and the Sunflower Monet Collection comprising a mug, note cards, pop-up note cards and pen.

Also on offer is the Cat Lover Collection, which takes inspiration from ancient Egyptian and Chinese paintings by different artists all showing the charm and playfulness of our feline friends. This set features a mug, note card box, magnet and pen and is priced at Bt8,200. The gift sets are available at The Met Store in Anantara Siam Hotel.

Find out more at (02) 250 0720 or visit http://www.TheMet.asia.

FROM 2014 to 2016, when many countries around the world were marking, respectively, the 450th and 400th anniversary of William Shakespeare’s birth and death, the number of Shakespearean productions hit a record high. Thai theatre artists didn’t add much to that record, though, as the May 2014 coup provided a more exciting source of inspiration. Auspicious years aside, we haven’t had much fun with our translation and adaptation of the Bard’s works here in contemporary Thai theatre – Naked Masks’ “Hamlet”, B-Floor’s “King Lear” and New Theatre Society’s “Othello” are the very few exceptions.

Another is Ing Kanjanavanit’s “Shakespeare Must Die”, the 2011 politically charged, and much more fun, film adaptation of “Macbeth”, although it doesn’t really count having been screened worldwide but not in her home country.

And so any new production of Shakespeare’s is quite exciting. I missed the first run of Dreambox’s “Twelfth Night”, or in Thai, “Ratri thi sipsong” with a very colloquial subtitle “Ao Thi Sabaichai”, a direct translation of “What You Will”, during the three weekends it was staged in August. The praise for the script and performances by fellow theatre critics made sure I wouldn’t miss its restage earlier this month at M Theatre.

Given the rave reviews, the number of audience members on a Sunday afternoon was much lower than I expected. Are we still afraid of Shakespeare? And is that partly because the first Thai dramatist who translated Shakespeare’s plays was King Rama VI and we studied some of his translations in Thai literature class? Or is it just that in this semi-colonial state we don’t need to care about the world’s most produced playwright?

That said, Dreambox’s resident playwright Daraka Wongsiri’s new translation, which masterfully sacrificed some literary prowess for better communication with the contemporary audience, reminded us that in his time Shakespeare wrote for the general public, not just theatregoers, and so we should never be intimidated.

The cast was made up of television actors, all of them with a significant amount of stage experience and even though the proscenium theatre wasn’t as intimate as the thrust Shakespeare wrote for, they knew very well how to connect with us. The three stars of the show were Deejai “Phat Thai” Deedeedee who proved a real comedian as the Fool; Nisachon Siewthaisong who was convincing as Viola and also when she impersonated Cesario; and Darun Thitakawin as Lady Olivia on whom my eyes stayed anytime she appeared on stage. Sadly though, Tamakorn Jakravoravudh’s Malvolio, especially in his rendezvous with Lady Olivia wasn’t quite as convincing.

Credit here must also go to director Suwandee Jakravoravudh who made sure that her thespians were not only comfortable with their lines but also had fun in mastering their roles. And when they did, so did the audience. It’s noteworthy that she picked up a Culture Ministry’s Silpathorn Award a few days before the premiere of this play and her work here proved that this national recognition was indeed long overdue. That said, I would still question her, and Daraka’s, decision to set the production in this predictable style although Ritirong Jiwakanon’s practical set and ravishing costumes helped transport us to Elizabethan England.

While this “Likay Farang” look may be what the Thai audience almost always expects in a Shakespearean production, it’s perhaps time to have more fun, especially now that the script connects well with us and we can almost believe that, like the title of Jan Kott’s seminal book, Shakespeare is “our contemporary.”

The running time of more than three hours showed that, like many other contemporary Shakespearean productions, some lines or scenes needed to be cut and the pacing, like in any comedy, should have been picked up. And if it’s going to take so much time changing scenes – notwithstanding Kaiwan Kulavadhanothai’s delightful transition music – the use of a neutral set might work better, especially as the Bard already wrote clearly in his script where the characters are and will be next.

In the meantime, let’s hope that this translated script is published so Thai readers as well as acting and directing students can finally have real fun with Shakespeare.

TOASTING SHAKESPEARE

Veteran director Dangkamon Na Pombejra’s new production of King Rama VI translation of “Merchant of Venice”, with professional and student actors, will be at Sodsai Pantoomkomol Centre for Dramatic Arts from February 7 to 17.

It’s in Thai, with English surtitles.

Tickets are Bt 600 (Bt 300 for students) at (081) 559 7252. Find out more at Facebook.com/DramaArtsChula.

THE THIRD phase of two-year physical theatre collaboration between South Korea’s Theatre Momggol and Thailand’s B-Floor Theatre “Something Missing” at the fourth floor studio of Bangkok Art and Culture Centre (BACC), brought the curtain down last night on its sixth Performative Art Festival.

From the start when a bicycle was ridden down the entrance ramp to the end when a body was left centre-stage covered with flowers, three Momggol members and four from B-Floor gave a riveting ensemble performance. It was so unified that it was difficult to work out who belonged to which company, unless you looked very carefully at the details of the movements in which the Korean guests slightly surpassed our Thai compatriots.

Aiming to explore “the theme of life experiences where something is missing, forgotten, discriminated or left behind”, B-Floor’s co-artistic director Teerawat “Ka-ge” Mulvilai and his Momggol counterpart Jongyeoun Yoon co-directed this work in such a way that the audience wouldn’t be able to tell which scene, moment or movement, was whose. Humour was more abundant than in the previous two versions seen at Thong Lor Art Space (TLAS).

With six scenes in addition to a prologue and epilogue, most of them adapted from existing literary texts, the English and Thai supertitles on the white back wall, onto which a performer sprayed red paint in one scene, more than handled the job. Moreover the Korean, English and Thai spoken by the cast members meant that if you understood all three of these languages you’d get the information three times. While some scenes, like one from “Waiting for Godot” and the “Nonthuk” episode from “Ramakien”, were new to “Something Missing”, others were revised from either the 2015 or 2016 versions at TLAS and in a new and larger space like this didn’t work as strongly.

What was never familiar, and hence always exciting, was Kamolpat Pimsarn’s sound design, in which some Korean elements were also heard and which perfectly balanced the live performance, by himself and on different instruments, and pre-recorded sound. I was seated house-right, the opposite side to where he was on the wide performance space and initially I thought all the sound and music were pre-recorded as they finely synced with the performance. It was the perfect example of how an effective design element always plays a supporting role and never draws too much attention to itself.

It should also be noted that this third phase of their collaboration was supported by our Culture Ministry while its Korean counterpart has been involved from the first. And if such a well-established company as B-Floor still has problems in finding government support, then it’s probably hopeless for other smaller and younger ones.

In terms of cultural exchange, it would be interesting to see how these two companies, who think and work alike, can sustain their relationship now that they’ve found a match in each other.

BACC’s PAF#6 has wrapped for another year, after hosting four contemporary Thai theatre productions by different groups, a performance art workshop and lecture, in addition to one theatre and one dance festival in five months. It’s a reminder again that while visual arts take centre-stage at BACC, there’s plenty more for us to enjoy, and that also includes good coffee and delectable ice-cream.

RAISING EYEBROWS

B-Floor Theatre’s next work is “Sawan Arcade”, a solo performance by award-winning actress Ornanong “Golf” Thaisriwong originally scheduled for Bangkok Theatre Festival last month. Thanks to special attention from the military junta, her previous solo “Bang Lamerd” was a big hit.

It runs from January 8 to 20 (except 16) at Democrazy Theatre Studio (MRT Lumphini station)

Tickets are Bt 550 (Bt 480 for students) at (094) 494 5104 and BFloorTheatre@gmail.com.

Check it out at http://www.BFloorTheatre.com.

SPRAY-PAINTED in murals, wielded on anti-war banners, and even once hung as a tapestry at the United Nations, Pablo Picasso’s “Guernica” might be the |world’s most famous political artwork.

Now organisers of a new initiative are inviting art lovers to revisit the iconic black-and-white painting, using the latest imaging technology and releasing a trove of previously unseen documents to chart its turbulent history.

“Guernica is a source of never-ending artistic material and it’s a privilege to be part of this exhibition as an art historian,” says Rosario Peiro, head of collections at Madrid’s Reina Sofia modern art museum.

She is part of the team behind “Rethinking Guernica”, an interactive exhibition about the work.

“Putting all of this together allows you to rethink the history of the painting,” Peiro says.

“Guernica”, conceived in the depths of Spain’s devastating civil war, shows the bombing of a Basque town on April 26, 1937 by German and Italian air forces under the orders of future Spanish dictator Francisco Franco.

Hundreds died in an aerial attack on civilians that shocked the world and set a precedent repeated often by German and allied forces in World War II.

Pablo Picasso’s “Guernica” became a political symbol, to such a degree that it appears as an emblem in any episode of violence or the vulnerability of civilians.

Frantic telegrams

Picasso, then living in France, was commissioned by the struggling Spanish Republican government to produce a work depicting the bombing for the 1937 World Fair in Paris.

That commission and hundreds of other documents |concerning “Guernica” are |now available online for the first time.

They tell the story of a hugely well-travelled work, with stops in Scandinavia, Britain and the United States, where it spent decades on loan at New |York’s Museum of Modern Art (MoMA).

There are papers relating to its trip to Venezuela in 1948 that was cut short due to a coup d’etat, and a frantic telegram sent by MoMA collections director Alfred H |Barr Jr informing the artist |that his works were safe after a |fire tore through the museum in 1958.

“Clearly it is a political painting because it was requested by the government for a propaganda purpose,” says Peiro.

“The truth is during all these years of travel and being in different places, the work was depoliticised.”

Researchers took thousands of images using visible and ultraviolent light as well as infrared reflectography and high-definition x-rays to create a “Gigapixel” rendering that allows users to browse a 436-gigabyte composite of the work.

Telefonica’s Fernandez de Alarcon, right, and Reina Sofia Museum’s Manuel BorjaVillel, left, poses during the presentation of the project “Rethinking Guernica”. /EPA-EFE

Details of its restoration, individual paint strokes and even rogue hairs from Picasso’s brushes can be seen still stuck to the original canvas. Residue from a 1974 act of vandalism is visible in the form of barely perceptible reddish discoloration across central areas.

“For me what is interesting to see is the geography of the painting, its surface, as if it’s a kind of history map,” says Peiro.

The Reina Sofia currently dis

plays dozens of black-and-white war images alongside “Guernica”, many captured by legendary Catalan |conflict photographer Agusti Centelles.

Some critics credit the photos for Picasso’s decision to eschew his usual vivid colours in the piece.

As Catalonia’s independence crisis exposes Spain to its deepest political turbulence since returning to democracy in 1978, Peiro however insists the current installation isn’t about politics.

“We do show a lot of Barcelona photographs but that’s because the best Spanish photojournalist of |the time was Catalan,” she |said.

Peiro hopes the new project |will provide new perspectives on |one of the 20th-century’s defining images.

“‘Guernica’ is the most important work, physically and symbolically, for the museum so we have to keep on working on it,” she says.

“It’s the least we can do.”

If you are looking for distinctive furniture, Yothaka by Suwan Kongkhunthian is a great choice thanks to its use of natural materials like water hyacinth. The company has designed and produced handcrafted furniture for export to Europe for nearly 30 years and has more than 200 items on offer. Yothaka has won several awards, among them All Great Design I-Design Magazine, Good Design Award, Design Excellence, Thailand Designer of the Year, Asian Design Award winner, Prime Minister’s Export Award Thailand, Outstanding new modern furniture, Good Governance Award, the Silapatorn National Award, Bai Po Business Award, Innovative Craft Award, and Designer of the year.

For striking designs, check out Kenkoon, a brand known for outdoor furniture made with Swedish techniques and a unique mix of Asian and Western styles. The design is modern and simple, and the materials used are durable, such as teak wood and stainless steel. The brand has received numerous awards such as Design Excellence Awards (DEmark) in 2011, 2014, 2016 from Department of International Trade Promotion (Thailand), Design for Asia Awards (DFA) 2009 from the Hong Kong Design Centre, and Best Outdoor Accessories Design Awards at the International Casual Furniture Fair 2006 (Chicago USA).

Galvanii makes furniture with galvanized steel as the key material. Through its expertise in hot-dip galvanizing, along with cutting-edge design and durable material, its products are modern and unique, suitable for all lifestyles. Galvanii won the Demark Award in 2015.

Looking for cool lighting? Pin’s owner Saruta Kiatparkpoom turned her thesis project into a real business by using leftover steel from her family business to create cool items such as furniture and home decor items in Thai-inspired shapes such as the chedi andkrathong. Pin has attended international design fairs such as Maison & objet in Paris four years in a row as well as design fairs in Denmark, the UK, Japan, and Indonesia and the brand is recognised throughout Asean.

For a touch of retro and classic, check out Agal, which comes up with new products that look like vintage items, inspired by various eras. Main materials include teak wood, brass, and steel and the range includes chairs, tables and beds.

Discover these and many more in the Event Hall on the third floor of Central Chidlom daily between 10 and 10. Special deals are available for Central The 1 credit card members.