Chulalongkorn University Museum not only proactively builds networking with other offices and departments within the university and internationally, but also seeks new means to transmit bodies of knowledge in the arts to the public both on-site and online. BIM (Building Information Modeling) and Metaverse are two technologies that are integrated as presentation means of the arts.
The proactive approach for networking has been in practice by Chulalongkorn University Museum since 2018, through which it reached out to various university offices and departments and international organizations inside and outside Thailand with the ideas it had for events to solicit collaborations from interested parties. As the purposes, processes and target organizations have been carefully and strategically planned, the term ‘Knocking on the Doors Strategy’ has been officially used.
“We ‘knock on the doors’ of our co-organizers.
Hunsa Khamlion, Director of Division of Museum and Art Gallery
Basically, we approach them with our ideas to see if they would be interested.
It doesn’t matter who they are—Faculty of Arts, Institute of Asian Studies,
or Faculty of Architecture.
..Then we use BIM and Metaverse technologies that are already used in our on-site exhibition, and apply them in an online form
to make the exhibition fun and interesting, and keep us trendy.
This way our exhibitions are more accessible and approachable by the new generation who mainly consume information online.”
As ways of lives are everchanging, people of all ages are more open and familiar with the online world, new technologies are being developed in a fast pace. Some of these technologies can be utilized in exhibitions. Division of Museum and Art Gallery, Office of Art and Culture, in collaboration with Department of Thai, Faculty of Arts, Chulalongkorn University, offered an exhibition ‘Words’ as part of the National Thai Language Day observation during July 29 to September 27, 2022, in a form of Metaverse.
The exhibition was divided in to three parts: 1) ‘Words, People and Nation’ presented the linguistic of Thai words through a storytelling on how new words were coined during the modernization period of Siam (a former name of Thailand used until 1939); 2) Vernacular Thai Words, a thought-provoking presentation of the diversity of vernacular and complex Thai words; and 3) ‘Words Build People’ presented relationship between words and identification of various groups of people in the society, especially those in sub-culture who continue to create intriguing linguistic phenomena.
All the content in the exhibition was compiled and verified by leading linguists and faculty members from Thai Department, Faculty of Arts, Chulalongkorn University. The presentation of the exhibition was designed by an artistic team from Division of Museum and Art Gallery.
For the National Thai Language Day, Chulalongkorn University collaborated with Ministry of Culture in hosting a discussion panel ‘Thais and the Thai Language’ on July 29, 2022, at Music Hall, Art and Culture Building, Chulalongkorn University. The discussion panel was broadcasted live on Facebook and YouTube. The number of views at the time of writing this article, September 2022, is over 30,000.
Also under the strategy ‘Knocking on the Doors’ during the first half of 2022. Office of Art and Culture enlarged its circle of networks and organized two exhibitions:
- Through a collaboration with Institute of Asian Studies, Chula Museum offered a exhibition of contemporary Persian art ‘Musing Shahnameh: A Journey from Persia to Siam’ by Arash Groyan, a Persian artist. The exhibition was installed at Chulalongkorn University Museum during February 23 to Marh 31, 2022.
A Fun Art video clip was produced with a detailed demonstration of Persian drawings.
- Through a collaboration with Department of Industrial Design, Faculty of Architecture, Chulalongkorn University and The Korea Society of Ceramic Art-KSCA), Chulalongkorn University Museum offered 2022 Korea-Thailand Contemporary Ceramics Exchange Exhibition at Nitas-Stan, Art and Culture Building, Chulalongkorn University. Ceramic works by 85 Korean and Thai artists were on display during April 18 to June 10, 2022. The purposes were to exchange ceramic techniques, co-create ceramic works, and learning from artists from both countries. A workshop on Buncheong Pottery Techniques was also offered to the public free of charge.
