Of art, an 85th birthday and Chiangmai

SOMETHING special happened on the evening of February 20 (Friday) at the Wattana Art Gallery in Chiangmai. Owner and senior artist Wattana Wattanapun celebrated his 85th birthday and launched a solo exhibition entitled “Women in Art”. It features an array of pieces on women, many with his signature traditional fabric designs. At least one piece dates back to 1966. His address centred on why he focused on women, something he had not revealed until that evening. I plan to write a piece on this later. 

On my part, I felt deeply honoured and privileged that he invited me to share the limelight with him—to showcase 12 pieces of my “Lanna: Symbols in Focus—Contemporary Photographic Reflections”. Read here. 

Among the luminaries who attended the show were 92-year-old Inson Wongsam (a National Artist in Visual Arts, who presented the two of us with a very nice book each); senior artists Surasit Saokong, Sriwanna Saokong, and Peerapong Doung Kaew; and Prof Pongdej Chaiyakut and Prof Rossalin Garst.

As per tradition at Wattana Art Gallery, the event featured great food and music.

For more on the art scene of the region, read Three Passages to Lanna. Click here. I came across it after I made a presentation on “Art & Storytelling” at Wattana’s gallery in January 2025.