Bangkok 1899
1. Summary
Bangkok 1899 is supported by The Rockefeller Foundation and the Ford Fund, and is in partnership with the RSA (Royal Society for the Encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce). Bangkok 1899 is a new cultural and civic hub established by Creative Migration
Designed by Italian architect Mario Tamagno (under King Rama VI), our historic location (originally built in 1899) is the former home of Chao Phraya Thammasakmontri considered to be Thailand s father of modern education and is centrally located in the city s Old Town neighborhood of Nang Loeng. Ban Chao Phraya Thammasakmontri
Our initial two-year pilot program will develop a series of six activities to test, adapt and maximize our overall impact: 1. International Artist Residency 2. Public Events Series 3. Open Spaces (including a public garden and a social impact café) 4. Models for Sustainability (incorporating different types of environmental technologies along with a small urban farm) 5. RSA Fellowship Development 6. Flagship Event (annual event on social innovation, art and design) Bangkok 1899 will represent an intersection of art, design, urbanism and social innovation
2. Organizational Background
ART PUBLIC ENGAGEMENT SUSTAINABILITY Creative Migration is an international arts organization based in Los Angeles and Bangkok. Our mission is to advance cultural diplomacy through the three pillars of art, public engagement and sustainability.
Creates social capital by linking diplomatic theories to cultural practices Since 2005, our organization has continuously supported projects that interrupt the status quo of daily life. Our programming has three primary strands: 1. Transmedia Projects 2. Site-specific, Temporary Installations 3. Artist Residencies & Creative Hubs
3. Project Objectives
The objectives and deliverables for the first two pilot years of Bangkok 1899 are as follows: 1. To establish the cultural and civic hub 2. To engage with approximately 15,000 people through hub s programming and open spaces 3. To foster approximately 10 strategic partnerships and collaborations with local and national institutions that help deliver our outcomes 4. To articulate the value of the hub in Bangkok, and wider Thailand, securing funds for an additional five years of operation
4. Project Activities
International Artist Residency This multi-disciplinary residency program will be a place for experimentation, determined by the artist during their stay. The primary requirement is to create work with Thai artists and/or integrate themselves within the local community in Bangkok, facilitated by Creative Migration directly. This will be a point of connection for artists from abroad to create works informed by Thailand, and to develop global awareness and opportunities in the spirit of cultural diplomacy.
Public Events RSA public events program has a global reputation as a platform where thought leaders explore the present and future challenges that society faces, inspiring innovation and change. A parallel events program in Bangkok will disseminate the best ideas from thought leaders to new audiences and bring high quality Thai thinkers and actors to a wider global audience.
Open Spaces The hub will provide a convivial atmosphere for gatherings, performances, workshops and screenings. The space and café, Na @ Bangkok 1899, will open to the public, encouraging individuals to pursue the lost art of leisure, engage in spontaneous discussions, experience art and open up avenues of creativity.
Models for Sustainability The house will be converted, in phases, to incorporate different types of environmental technologies. Our expansive green space will be a natural meeting point, as well as an area for quiet contemplation. This fulfils a great need for Bangkok, where access to public parks is the lowest of any major city in Asia.
Fellowship Development The RSA s 29,000-strong Fellowship is a global social movement. The hub will work with existing RSA Thai Fellows and key partner organizations to recruit and support Fellows to become change-makers in their contexts. We are particularly interested in attracting people involved in social innovation with the aim to provide catalyst seed funding to further creative ideas.
Flagship Event The growth of social design is a global phenomenon, with Asia as a key region illustrating significant innovation. We will run one major event on social innovation, art and design, providing a powerful platform for disseminating a Thai approach to design thinking in tackling intractable societal problems
5. Partnerships & Support
The Rockefeller Foundation s mission unchanged since 1913 is to promote the well-being of humanity throughout the world. Together with partners and grantees, The Rockefeller Foundation strives to catalyze and scale transformative innovations, create unlikely partnerships that span sectors, and take risks others cannot.
Ford Motor Company Fund is the philanthropic arm of Ford Motor Company. Established in 1949, Ford Fund invests in transformational programs that advance innovation, empower people, promote social mobility and improve community prosperity. Ford Fund works with local and global partners to create opportunities in education, encourage safe driving, enlist employee volunteers and enrich community life. Ford Fund s signature programs include Ford Blue Oval Scholars, Ford College Community Challenge, Ford Driving Dreams, Ford Driving Skills for Life, Ford Next Generation Learning and the Ford Volunteer Corps.
The Ford Resource and Engagement Center (FREC) is a client-directed community center where people can learn new skills, obtain needed services, develop new talents and celebrate community. Made possible by grants from Ford Motor Company Fund. The Ford Resource and Engagement Center brings together non-profit partners to serve the surrounding community. Currently, Ford has launched FREC programs in Detroit, Michigan and Pretoria, South Africa. The new FREC is launching in 2019 in Bangkok, Thailand, next to Bangkok 1899.
This social change organization has pioneered progressive thinking and practical action for over 260 years. Its mission is to enrich society through ideas and action, which it achieves through combining a global platform for ideas, groundbreaking research and practical innovations, and a global Fellowship of 29,000 people who share its values and make change happen in their context. This triple play model of change blends the patient, detailed and conceptually rich work of system thinking with the dynamic, adaptive approach of the social entrepreneur. The RSA runs a civic and cultural space in the heart of London, putting on over 100 public events on social innovation every year and creating a space for collaboration between different groups in society.
Na @ Bangkok 1899 Na @ Bangkok 1899 café is a collaborative and creative space using food as a medium to both educate, connect and to create social impact. Supervised by Saks Rouypirom, a partner at the popular vegan restaurant Broccoli Revolution, founder of SATI Foundation and an RSA fellow, Na @ Bangkok 1899 will also be Zero Waste with an edible herb garden.
SOS-Global was established in The USA in 2014 by Bo H. Holmgreen. Thai-SOS was established in Thailand in March of 2016, and now also has operations in Indonesia, with upcoming plans to launch Cambodia and Myanmar in 2019. Scholars of Sustenance Foundation (SOS) The mission of SOS is to increase food security, while reducing food waste. This is done through the collection of surplus food from retailers, hotels, and commercial outlets, which is then delivered directly to communities in need at no cost. They also run composting programs with food scraps aimed at bolstering edible agriculture for small farms, education initiatives for both nutrition and to raise awareness around the issues of food waste and food scarcity.
Nang Loeng is located right next to Rattanakosin Island, arguably the birthplace of Bangkok and the epicenter from which development radiated out. This makes the neighborhood one of the oldest in the capital. Nang Loeng Community The presence of Nang Loeng Market, Sala Chaloem Thani stand-alone movie theater, old shop houses, and other hidden and marks indicate a once illustrious and colorful past that most outsiders are unaware of. To know the neighborhood s history, is to become emotionally invested in and appreciative of its evolution. Nang Loeng residents often speak proudly of a vibrancy that once filled its streets.
Thank You For more information, please contact: Jessada Folk Engkapatrangkul Hub Coordinator, Bangkok 1899 Creative Migration (East) Foundation Tel: (+66) 89-229-2020 E-mail: Jessada@bangkok1899.org