At the mention of the northern province of Chiang Mai, most people think of a tourist hub filled with temples, coffee shops and a long walking street for shoppers. But deep inside, hiding around corners and turns are pieces of local art and design — both contemporary and traditional. To highlight and showcase these hidden works by local artists and craftsmen, as well as mobilising the creative industry to promote tourism, the Thailand Creative and Design Centre (TCDC) recently piloted its first Chiang Mai Design Week.
Yangnar Studio, which specialises in traditional wooden architecture.
"For a creative economy to work, we need a space for it to flourish — to give opportunities to people. So our Design Week steps in to create interaction within a real space between enterprises and designers," said Pichit Virankabutra, Events and Exhibition director at TCDC.
"We chose Chiang Mai because it is ready for us. There are already existing business potentials. Many local people are engaged in design works. The province also is not too big, which makes it easy to create a hub of artists and connect everyone."
Along Charoen Radj Road near Ket Karam Temple, different shops and galleries became design showcase venues where visitors were able to see the works of local artisans from ceramics, handwoven cotton, leather goods to home-made alcohol and coffee.
Art installations and tours were also held around the TCDC regional headquarters in the city's central area. At the launch of the eight-day event, which ended yesterday, local artists, guests and government officials filled the front of TCDC Chiang Mai with a colourful mix of styles — both serious and playful.
Lamorna Cheesman at Studio Naenna.
But it wasn't all about passive appreciation and no action. There were various workshops available across the province for visitors to get their hands dirty. From throwing pottery to working the saw at a woodworking studio, the events were diverse and free of charge. These were interspersed with seminars as well as business matching and networking programmes. There were also free posters designed by media artists — hundreds were gone on the first day alone.
"Design Week was about pushing the boundaries of ideas," said Pichit. "We wanted to keep it fun and interesting, hence we tried to avoid turning it into a trade fair. So we had a brief for our entrepreneurs and artists — we wanted to see unseen collections. We wanted them to present their new works here at Design Week. We wanted to create an impact."
Many locally-based artisans welcomed visitors into their studios for demonstrations, as well as exchanging ideas on adapting to changing trends and working with local craftsmen — something that seems quite common for designers in traditional trades.
The idea of embracing and meeting the local wisdom halfway seems to be a general practice among artisans. Dechopol Rattanasadjathum, an architect at Yangnar Studio which specialises in traditional woodwork, feels the best way to get the job done is to form mutual respect and understanding between the parties working together.
Dechopol Rattanasadjathum, an architect at Yangnar Studio.
"When I work, I view myself as the craftsmen's son or nephew or grandson, [feeling gratitude that] they pass on their knowledge to me," said Dechopol. "I don't go around pointing my finger at them and tell them to do what they're not comfortable with just because I designed the place. If they are used to working with chisel and axe, then I'd utilise the existing traditional craft and make it work. The architecture that we end up with is the result of local wisdom, as well as our attempt to move the knowledge forward."
This idea is shared by Lamorna Cheesman, who opened up her family's Studio Naenna, a textile shop and gallery, during Design Week. Fusing modernism and age-old weaving methods is what her mother, artist and historian Patricia, has been doing for a long time. Her mother is also the one who designed the intricate patterns on handmade cotton and silk that were displayed in their city showroom in Soi 1 on Nimman Haemin Road.
"We work with different weavers, but we would never try to interfere or modernise their methods," said Cheesman. "We only adjust the design of the textiles to better suit the market. True, we have heard the ideology that we should let the weavers have their own designs and all, but in practical terms, that can't always happen. If they produce a textile, but it can't be sold, they are the ones who would be faced with difficulties. Meeting each other halfway, they're happy, and we get the product that we want."
A wooden model at Yangnar Studio.
Having a Design Week meant local artists, craftsmen and entrepreneurs would have a chance to become better known on both the domestic and international level. And the organisers are hoping this will eventually put Chiang Mai's local crafts, as well as the Design Week itself, on the map in order to boost local tourism and the economy. It is hoped that arts and design will become new features and options for tourists who visit the area.
"Chiang Mai Design Week was not just a one-off thing," said Pichit. "It is a campaign, and it will happen continuously, either as a yearly or biannual event."
Works by ceramicist Jirawong Wongtrangan at InClay pottery studio, which held a workshop during Chiang Mai Design Week.
Intricate handwoven cloth on display at Studio Naenna.
Visitors stroll through an exhibition area.
Chiang Mai Design Week 2014 was a pilot campaign by Thailand Creative and Design Centre (TCDC).
