About the Forum ｜Chia-Nuan Chen

In this Tawan-Thailand Art Forum—“The Dissents in Art,” the focus will be on the conflicts and survival conditions artists in Thailand have been through in order to fight for a free zone under a restricted and confined political environment. These dissents within the art field are often on the fringe of laws and regulations; however, it is exactly in these gray areas where things stay undefined, and subversive freedom finds room for its very existence. These aesthetic perspectives derived from “unsubmissive” dissents have surmounted restrictions and developed into a way of creating platforms and media of expressions, displaying the creative energy of the multitude.

This forum shall discuss the dissent dimensions of alternative spaces, images, multitude, and small theaters in Thailand. With these four dimensions as topics, four speakers of respective fields are invited to share the dissent art within their own fields. Henry Tan, the co-founder of Tentacle Art Space will take us on an exploratory journey that travels through the rigorous conditions alternative spaces in Thailand are facing under the harsh pandemic. Ruby Hsieh (Hsieh I Hsuan), a researcher and a film critic, will give a talk on how Thai movies and film productions cope with the strict measures of political censorship and the suppression on the freedom of speech. Curator Soifa Saenkhamkon will share what she has witnessed in people’s creativity of expression, and her personal experience of the diverse culture in Thailand. Lastly, stage actor APom Kijreunpiromsuk shall speak on the development and dilemma of the small theater he has dedicated himself to for many years.

At the same time, we’ve also invited Taiwan scholar Chieh-Hsiang Wu, art critic Sheng-Hung Wang, and theatrical composer Si-Ni Wen as respondents, who shall also share relative experiences in Taiwan. Through this forum, we will witness how Thailand uses art as a detour and an alternative path of resistance, expressing objections to the current restrictions and limitations. Furthermore, we shall also explore the possibility of further Taiwan-Thailand mutual support and collaboration.