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From The Nation, November 21, 2002
Performance Asia
Suan Santichaiprakarn will turn into an art space tonight for 40 [performance artists from Europe and Asia. At 7pm, well-known performance artist group Black Market International will kick off the fourth Asiatopia Performance Art Festival, which is being hosted by various Thai artists.
More shows will be taking place at several venues around Bangkok over the next week.
"We have succeeded in contacting the very influential international performance artist group Black Market International, coordinated by Boris Nieslony from Cologne, Germany," says Chompon Apisuk, the festival organiser.
The group has been performing throughout Europe and America since 1985, and many members are presently senior lecturers in performance art and art history at various Western universities. Eight of the 20 members of Black Market are participating in this year's festival.
Asian themes are taking centre stage at this year's festival. Performing artists will be focus on responses to the social and political development in their own countries, particularly when it comes to regional responses to the rising tide of globalisation. Mimi Fadmi will share here experience in "Post-Crisis Art in Indonesia", and Yuan Mor'O Ocampo will share his observation on "Filipino Spirituality".
Noted art critic and writer Thanom Chapakdee focuses his talk on his long time association with the artist group Ukabat, and will share his ideas on "Revelation in Conflict".
Outside the capital, other festival activities will take place at such venues as Chiang Mai Contemporary Art Museum and the Ratchabat Institute in Nakorn Ratchasima.
Since its establishment, Asiatopia has helped talented artists in many countries go beyond their borders in seeking audiences and opportunities to exchange ideas on performance art. Asiatopia began its outreach programme in Vietnam in 1998, Burma in 1999, helping artists from these countries share their art.
In 2000, Asiatopia joined forces with NIPAF in Japan and other artist networks in Asia to form the Performance Art Platform of Asia, representing a network of performance artists in the region. The regional network is coordinated by Japanese artist Seiji Shimoda, who is also currently the director of NIPAF.
Among Thai performance artists are Montri Termsombat, Nuts Society, ML Saksin Kasemsanti, Surapol Panyavacheera and Ukaabat Group led by Thanom Chapakdee.
The festival runs at Suan Santichaiprakarn until November 29, when it moves to Tha Pae Gate, Chiang Mai.
