KHON+FUTURE
Gallery-goers and art collectors are warmly invited
to a special, charitable exhibition
5 October 2021 – MOCA BANGKOK is delighted to announce the launch of KHON+FUTURE, its first collaboration with the SUPPORT Foundation of Her Majesty Queen Sirikit and UNESCO Bangkok. This charitable exhibition features works created by the collaboration of ten Thai Khon artists from the SUPPORT Foundation and three fine art photographers: Kit Bencharongkul, William Barrington-Binns, and Kanrapee Chokpaiboon. KHON+FUTURE will be on view from 9 October through 6 November, at Temporary Exhibition Galleries 1 and 2, MOCA BANGKOK, G Floor.
The exhibition is intended to help establish an unprecedented art scholarship programme in Thailand for young artists and artisans. The production of high-quality fine art photography for this show is made possible by several distinguished partners, namely WBB & Co., Sulwhasoo, Thammasat University’s Faculty of Fine and Applied Arts, FujiFilm, Srishti Digilife, ARRI, Brandlink and HYENA Studio.
The exhibition celebrates Khon masked dance, a classic art form in Thailand that has been enjoyed by generations for centuries, and has received praise internationally since its inscription to UNESCO’s Representative List of Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in 2018. In addition to raising awareness about this cultural tradition, the exhibition is serving as a charitable fundraiser, namely to assist, with the collaboration of the SUPPORT Foundation, young and underprivileged artists and artisans in continuing their education and launching their early careers. As noted by Dr. Duong Bich Hanh, Chief of the Culture Unit at UNESCO Bangkok, ‘Intangible cultural heritage survives and thrives only where it continues to be practiced and passed on by vibrant communities.’ UNESCO has been assisting in setting up a scholarship programme for a new generation of Thai artists and artisans.
‘Khon dance drama is performed each time not only by dancers, but also by musicians, ballad reciters, composers, mask and regalia makers, weavers, embroiderers, and set and prop makers, as well as master choreographers and ceremonial officiants’ says Dr. Anucha Thirakanont, Assistant Producer of the annual Khon performance organized by the SUPPORT Foundation. ‘These cultural practitioners are the most vital resources to the survival of Khon in the present day’.
KHON+FUTURE, now open to the public, provides a special opportunity for art collectors and many others in the private sector for supporting the long-term UNESCO-SUPPORT scholarship programme, namely by purchasing works on view. Interested parties should contact MOCA BANGKOK for further information.
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Exhibition on view: 9 October – 6 November 2021
For more information about ‘KHON+FUTURE’, download the press kit accompanied with social media artworks: bit.ly/KhonFuture
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For more information please contact
TQPR Thailand
Titichayapon Angsuwapattanakul