Arts centre will open with a bang, but what then?

But now the Contemporary Art and Culture Office (OCAC) is playing the role of superhero by putting the centre on the right track. This hard task is being led by Professor Apinan Poshyananda, OCAC's director. He now serves as the chairman of the Art Foundation of Bangkok committee, which will run the centre. Bangkok Governor Apirak Kosayodhin is the president of this non-profit organisation, which comprises artists, art lecturers and cultural experts.

Last weekend, OCAC moved its Art Mart project to the arts centre. Groups of artists and art students turned the small lawn in front of the centre into a lively art market selling paintings, sculptures and other objets d'art. Mini-concerts, live performances and painting demonstrations were also part of the Art Mart fair, which will continue every weekend until the centre opens its doors around August.

Apinan and the Art Foundation are saddled with the job of finding the right director, curators and professional management team before Apirak steps down in early September.

Finding these people is a tall order, because Thailand has few art-management professionals, and many of those who would be suitable are already happy in their jobs at private galleries or Royal museums. Some art professionals are concerned about how much freedom they will have if they make the leap to the arts centre, which is run by the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA).

So who will do it?

While going through its management-recruitment process, OACA and BMA are planning shows during the first six months of the centre's operations, as well as educational programmes linking audiences, including students in Bangkok, to the centre.

The debut will be an exhibition of photography by HRH Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn in August. The second show will be a nationwide event from September 20 to November 23, curated by Apinan, entitled Traces of the Siamese Smile: Art+Faith+Politics+Love", covering 3,500 square-metres on floors seven to nine at the centre. After four years of managing the OCAC and having to deal with lots of politics, Apinan is happy to once again wear the hat of curator, which is his passion. Funded by the BMA and the OCAC, the Bt20-million show will feature nearly 300 works by 80 Thai artists and 20 foreign ones. Blending the modern and the traditional, it will feature contemporary paintings, sculptures, installation art, photography, multimedia exhibits and treasures of the Kingdom from the National Museum, such as Ayutthaya-period Buddha statues. There will also be innovative works specifically created. All will be interconnected and tell the stories of the "Siamese Smile" through art, faith, politics and love, tracking the country's history through an artistic lens.

Apinan said that the OCAC had appointed respected curators to the committee selecting artists and their works, including Sansern Milindasuta of Bangkok University, Sutee Kunavichayanont of Silpakorn University and Songwit Pimpakan of Khon Kaen University.

Thai artists young and old will be represented, including Thawan Duchanee, Preecha Thaothong, Chalermchai Kositpipat, Chatchai Puipia, Manit Sriwanichpoom, Rirkrit Tiravanija, Jakapan Vilasineekul, Wisit Sartsanathieng, Apichatpong Weerasethakul, Yuree Kensaku and Arin Rungjaeng.

South Korean artist Choi Jeong-hwa, whose tsunami memorial was funded by the OCAC, has just returned to Bangkok to prepare new work for the show. Other international artists whose work will be on display at the exhibition are Louise Bourgeois, Nobuyoshi Araki, Yoshitomo Nara, Marina Abramovic, David Mach and Jean-Michel Basquiat.

Although Apinan is not calling this show Bangkok's first "International Biennial", it will serve as a soft launch for an international art festival that he is planning to establish here very soon. At least the Bangkok show is taking place at the same time as biennials in Singapore, Shanghai and Gwangju, South Korea. He hopes international curators, art critics and media outlets will use the timing to promote Thai art globally.

After Traces of the Siamese Smile the BMA will celebrate its 226th anniversary with an art exhibition depicting the capital's history.

The next step is getting funding for the centre. The BMA will support it to an extent, while the centre will survive on rental income from dozens of shops selling art-related products as well as an in-house café and restaurant. The foundation has confirmed that there will be no commercial art gallery on the grounds in order to avoid a conflict of interest.

The first steps seem positive, but we shall have to wait and see the proof when the shows open. However, these exhibitions are just a starting point and are temporary. The most important task is establishing long-term professional management. The "right" person is really needed to run this Bt500-million arts centre. There's no time to waste playing politics. The dream of such a centre has taken a decade and three Bangkok governors to materialise. Taxpayers want to a transparent organisation to run it and are looking forward to participating in well-run activities.