Thailand as a festival hub

It is often said that arts and culture mirrors the level of sophistication achieved by a civilised society. Thailand entered its renaissance in the arts during the reign of King Rama VI from 1910 to 1925. The Western-educated monarch was a lover of the arts and is widely credited for introducing Western performing arts to Thailand. A versatile thespian, the King wrote plays and delighted his subjects with his performances on stage.

Fast forward to a century later and Thailand is seeking to carve out its place as the cultural centre of the region. Bangkok’s International Festival of Dance and Music concluded its successful 17th run in October and no retro aficionado worth his salt misses out on the thriving hipster scene in the capital and several other large urban centres. 

The burgeoning low-cost carrier market could not have come at a more opportune time either, with Thailand Convention and Exhibition Bureau director Jaruwan Suwannasat pointing out that lower airfares should spur art lovers to make their way to Thailand for festivals.

“There are many potential benefits to organising festivals, from creating new revenue opportunities to strengthening the Thailand brand as an international travel destination,” Jaruwan told the press and members of the European Festivals Association (EFA) in a briefing last week. 

Hugo De Greef, general coordinator of the EFA’s Festival Academy and an experienced festival organiser himself, concurred that the city and its people have much to gain from major arts festivals. De Greef was the general director of “Brugge 2002” when the former medieval city in Belgium was declared the European Capital of Culture that year.

“It was quite an exciting experience for me. There were many exhibitions and activities organised for the children and the community. The city now has a big concert hall as a result of the festival,” the Brussels-born De Greef said.

He was notably dismayed at the four-day lockdown imposed in Brussels during the manhunt for a suspect in the Pari-s terror attacks. “It was really a strange situation, it was very unusual to have everything closed,” he said, adding that he doesn’t feel the terror incidents on November 13, especially the targeted attack at the Bataclan concert hall that left 89 people dead, will greatly affect future music events and festivals.

“The cultural events in Brussels were cancelled on police orders. Those responsible for the events would have preferred to go ahead – they love doing their shows.

“More security measures will be introduced; that is normal. But the events will go on, the organisers, artists and the public will say ‘no, stopping is what they (the terrorists) want, so we will just go on and do our work,” said De Greef.

De Greef together with the EFA delegation made a quick stop in town and later departed to Chiang Mai for a site inspection. The northern city has been selected as the venue for the Atelier for Young Festival Managers running from December 1 to 7, 2016.

The atelier consists of an intense seven-day training platform addressed at emerging artistic festival directors aspiring to become involved in programming festivals. The event is spearheaded by The Festival Academy, an EFA initiative that offers training in festival management. More than 45 participants from some 20 countries are expected to sign up for the workshop.

De Greef was enthusiastic about holding the workshop in the very heart of Lanna’s cultural heritage. A line-up of artists including prominent architect Dr Chulathat Kitibutr and contemporary Lanna artist Khampha were scheduled to meet with the delegation during the site inspection tour.

“I hope to meet the artists and learn about their work process. We want to help them to prepare their presentations for the participants at the atelier next year.

“The participants will be coming from all over the world and will be arriving to a situation with which they are unfamiliar. The atelier will give them an opportunity to get to know Thailand,” said De Greef.

As a seasoned organiser of performing arts events, De Greef said he hoped to share with participants the value of festivals for society, the economic context of arts and culture and the importance of giving local artists an avenue to work.

Contrary to popular belief, he said the most challenging aspect of organising an art event was engaging the public, not the logistics.

“The public is like a partner in the process. It is important to give the artist the possibility to be there, to create and present his or her work to the public in the smoothest way possible,” said De Greef.