Bangkok April-May 2022

MANGO ART FESTIVAL 2022 ALL ABOUT
ART FOR A BETTER TOMORROW
Returning to reinvigorate the Thai art
scene, the Mango Art Festival will gather
a variety of art disciplines to bring happiness
to all art lovers and elevate the
country’s creativity.
To be held from 3 to 8 May 2022 at
River City Bangkok, the Mango Art Festival
2022 will be a space for freedom and
self-expression that unlocks humans’
limitless potential. With the theme of “A
Vision for A Better Tomorrow”, the festival
aims to use art to lead us all through
these challenging times of a global pandemic
and climate change to arrive at a
brighter future. Visitors will also experience
new aesthetics that have resulted
from technological advancement within
the festival.
At the festival’s press conference on
16 March 2022, Sermkhun Kunawong,
President of Mango Art Festival, remarked
that the Mango Art Festival 2022
would be one of the most interesting
events this year, recognizing that “the
new generation is interested not only in
the money matter but also in aesthetic.
So, this event matches the new lifestyle.”
“The theme of this year’s festival is ‘A
Vision for A Better Tomorrow.’ This future
has to do with what we give value to, like
equality and freedom, the right to live the
way we want. In this sense, art can be a
driving force that brings something better
to society, for today and tomorrow.”
The festival will consist of four main
zones at River City Bangkok, a shopping
center that is well known for art and its
success in having hosted several internationally
acclaimed exhibitions. These
zones are 1) Galleries, 2) Independent
Artists, 3) Product Designs, and 4) Craft
Accessories and Food & Beverage.
Beyond these exhibition zones, other
interesting activities include talks, performances,
special exhibitions, and music.
The festival will feature 66 booths with
more than a thousand artworks by Thai
and international artists, including those
from private collections, works by old
masters and contemporary artists as well
as NFTs.
According to Sermkhun, the talks will
revolve around today’s topics such as
“art trends and the soaring prices in the
art market. Another unique topic we’ll get
to discuss is business matching, how to
match artists with galleries. So, we’ll see
international galleries coming here to take
Thai artists to the international art market
and international artists being represented
by Thai galleries.”
Sermkhun added that “in times of
war like this, we may look regionally, not
globally. We’ll see more connections within
a region, with foreign collectors in the
region buying Thai art and Thai collectors
buying works within the region. The
Mango Art Festival is proud to be part of
this movement that uplifts the creative
economy.
As an art lover, Suchai Pornsirikul,
Co-founder of the Mango Art Festival,
said he expected to see the Thai art community
come together for this festival. “I
want Thai artists to see real artworks.
Chavalit Soemprungsuk (a National Artist
of Thailand for visual arts), whose trust
I oversee, once told me that if we get to
see a lot of great and original art, we can
create unique artwork of our own.” At the
Mango Art Festival, there will be a lot of
art pieces to see.
“The Mango Art Festival is the most
comprehensive festival in Thailand,” Phathaiwat
Changtrakul, the festival’s Artistic
Director, said confidently. “This event will
take the Thai art scene to another level,
opening a new platform for people
to connect with each other. The Thai art
scene has been very active in the past
few years. We have seen many shopping
malls and leading brands working with
artists. This trend will be even clearer this
year if we continue to support artists and
encourage people to go see art.” Without
a doubt, this festival will rival all the major
art events in Southeast Asia.
Suphita Charoenwattanamongkhol,
Fair Manager, stressed the festival’s goal
of supporting Thai artists, saying, “Countries
with high-quality society have art
festivals. If we work together, anything is
possible. Today, artists have found more
success and can sell their works at higher
prices, and collectors buy art with pride.
This festival is challenging on many levels.
It’s a gathering of people who are
passionate about art and design and
everything in between, but I believe that
through collaboration, “a vision for a better
tomorrow” is attainable.”
Following its success last year, the
second edition of the Mango Art Festival
has been both exciting and challenging
for the organizer. On selecting design
products to be included in the festival,
Lalida Leelayoova, Design Director, said,
“My intention is that every piece from every
brand must fit the festival’s concept. I
want the viewers to see the advancement
in terms of technique and craftmanship
from the designs that I selected”
As for the press conference, Ek
Thongprasert and Wishulada Panthanuvong
put on a performance in the form of
a fashion show with the concept of “From
Trash to Art Pieces”. The pair turned used
bras from the Wacoal Bra Day Project
into a special collection featuring 5 looks,
inspired by the industry to reduce waste
from its production and moving toward an
environment that is more sustainable.
Don’t miss the Mango Art Festival
2022 at River City Bangkok, located at
the heart of Charoenkrung Road, which is
a cultural landmark of Bangkok. This will
be the most well-rounded and exciting art
festival in all of Thailand, aiming to inspire
as well as stimulate the Thai economy by
turning the country into a travel destination
for art and design lovers from around
the world.
For more information:
Website: www.mangoartfestival.com
Facebook: Mango Art Festival
Instagram: Mangoartfestival
Twitter: MangoArtFest
Line Official: @mangoartfestival
Email:mangoartfestivalthailand@gmail.com