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When the coalition government was being formed, the Culture Ministry was not on the list of top portfolios up for grabs, and this may relate to the fact that it is the least budgeted.

Less than a decade ago, when this new ministry was introduced, there was controversy over whether it should include "Religion" in its name. No need to readdress that issue here. But whenever the ministry makes headlines, often it's a matter of some cultural watchdog spotting "culturally inappropriate" behaviour like the wearing of revealing clothes or the inappropriate use of Internet cafes. On the positive side, it makes news in arts and culture pages when the names of National Artists and Silpathorn Award Artists - the selection process being carried out by the ministry's Office of the National Culture Commission (ONCC) and Office of Contemporary Art and Culture (OCAC) respectively - are announced.

Please do not ask me why the ministry has two cultural agencies. But right here we may have another major problem. Thailand's traditional arts persist and are in need of preservation as well as promotion. Yet, for many centuries we have been opening our arms to foreign cultures - Khmer, Indian, Chinese, European.

King Rama VII's comment to the New York Times during his state visit to the US in 1931 that, "Our slogan is to adapt, not to adopt; the Siamese people are an adaptable people" still rings true. Many of these foreign cultures have been adapted to fit the Thai lifestyle, and those that resist adaptation either fade away or have little significance.

Thailand has become a modern country rich with cultural heritage, and that's part of the reason why tourists love our country. An example of the relationship between the traditional and the contemporary is in downtown Bangkok. Two of the region's largest shopping complexes are right next door to, and towering over, a historic temple and a palace. And despite the land value, the temple and palace will never be razed to make way for condominiums or office buildings. Not many countries in the world have this kind of cultural harmony in such stark contrast.

Before the time of the long-overdue Culture Ministry, the ONCC was part of the Education Ministry. The OCAC was, and still is, a reason to be cheerful about, as it not only recognises but also promotes arts that are overlooked by the ONCC, such as design, photography, film and contemporary theatre, which may be deemed either too foreign or too contemporary, and not traditional enough. The budget allocated to the OCAC, however, has been a reason for disappointment, if not despair.

But should we still be satisfied by the fact that the latter has filled the void left by the former? Not really.

In many countries, younger artists who are hailed as "Young National Artists", or variations of such a title, can one day win the highest cultural recognition. That is not the case here in Thailand. The Silpathorn Award is for artists aged between 30 to 50 and whose exemplary works fit into one of nine "contemporary" arts genres defined by the OCAC. It is rumoured that an artist who receives this award is defined as a contemporary artist and may not qualify, three decades later, for "National Artist" recognition unless the genre, like literature, is recognised by both agencies.

Now we have the Honorary Silpathorn Awards for artists who are now over 50 years old. It is presumed that these awards are exclusively for artists whose works are too contemporary and foreign to be eligible for consideration for National Artist recognition, and yet deserve some recognition.

Another truth is at present there are a number of arts and cultural activities that cannot be pigeon-holed as either traditional or contemporary, but an interrelation of the two, which is similar to how we live our lives nowadays.

In fact, many contemporary artists do not simply adapt the styles or subject matter of foreign arts to better fit the Thai audience, but present traditional arts in ways that will never put us to sleep - most are both intercultural and intracultural works. And while major arts festivals around the world are highlighting both traditional and contemporary works, as well as their interrelationship, most of their counterparts in Thailand are either genre- or theme-specific, and do not support the interdisciplinary, intercultural, and intracultural nature of arts.

For many years now, works by Makhampom Theatre's Pradit Prasartthong, Patravadi Theatre's Manop Meejamras, and Life Works Company's Pichet Klunchun - all of whom, appropriately, have received Silpathorn Awards - have suggested ways in which traditional arts can thrive and live on into the future. Their efforts, often more recognised overseas than locally, where they are deemed contemporary, have helped bridge the gap between audiences of the two seemingly opposing, yet highly interdependent, sides of the coin.

A coin with an imprint on only one side may be expensive among collectors; it cannot be used in daily life.

The expansion of the Thailand Cultural Centre, the construction of venues that will better suit more arts genres, and the permanent move of the Culture Ministry - including the OCAC (now at a temporary office in Thon Buri, 45 minutes away from the ONCC) - to this area have been planned for years.

Let's hope that whoever is responsible speeds up the realisation of these plans, and let's not ever forget that what's more important than venues is the vision that operates them. A united force of traditional and contemporary governmental cultural institutions, as in most countries, may be an answer. If we're heading towards political and social harmony, let's aim for cultural harmony too. After all, the task here seems easier than in some other countries where there are many different cultures, languages and religions to provide for.