The event’s Artistic Directors and Curators will be operating based on the concept ‘The Open World’, inspired by a statue of Buddha in his ‘opening of worlds’ posture found at Wat Pa Sak in Chiang Saen District, Chiang Rai Province. The concept is meant to convey wisdom and enlightenment, along with an expansion of audiences’ awareness of art based on real-life issues. Through the use of contemporary art, this festival aims to raise the question ‘is it still possible for us to imagine a better future once more?’
The Thailand Biennale, Chiang Rai 2023 festival will allow audiences to ‘Open [their] World] to new art experiences through contemporary art, submitted by artists from Thailand and abroad, including Chiang Rai natives. The exhibited works were created by combining the historical knowledge of Chiang Rai’s past and present with each artist’s individual styles and perspectives. This includes a roster of notable international artists from around the globe, who will be presenting Chiang Rai from a different perspective, allowing others to see the city through unconventional lenses that aim to ‘Open the Worlds’ of both audience members as well as the foreign artists themselves. Attending international artists include the likes of Ernesto Neto, the Brazilian artist determined to explore the concepts of social standing and the natural world, often inviting audiences to take part in his works; Haegue Yang, the South Korean artist who utilizes common household objects in her art, separating them from their typical contexts and arranging them into abstract art; Tobias Rehberger, a German professor of Aesthetics at Frankfurt Städelschule, who has created many aesthetic cross-disciplinary works. The curatorial team hopes that these works of contemporary art can facilitate discussions among the audience, revealing new perspectives that allow observers to know Chiang Rai more intimately than before.
Those interested in attending the Thailand Biennale, Chiang Rai 2023 International Art Festival between the 9th of December, 2023 and 30th of April, 2024 at Chiang Rai Province can keep updated with the latest news at www.thailandbiennale.org and the Facebook page www.facebook.com/thailandbiennale .