WORK

Participating Artists:

Sakarin Krue-on, Michael Shaowanasai, Nipan Oranniwesna, Prateep Suthathongthai, Imhathai Suwatthanasilp, Kanokwan Sutthang, Asmawee Karee

​

Date: 14-17 May 2026

Opening Reception: 14 May 2026, 17:00 - 20:00 hr.

​

Venue:

PRESKOP Paardenmarkt 56, 2000 Antwerpen, Belgium

​

"BANGKOK is not BELGIUM: A Contemporary Art Exhibition from Thailand", a project by mARTarello, is an unprecedented exhibition by 7 prominent and awarded Thai contemporary artists in wide-range of age spanning from 1960s to 2000s to be presented at Antwerp Art Weekend OFF Program.

 

The exhibition reflects a long-standing relationship between the two countries (Thailand and Belgium), yet exchange in contemporary art, especially conceptual art, has not been explored and exposed among Antwerp art scene and art lovers. 

​

“BANGKOK is not BELGIUM”, curated by Chattiya Kate Nitpolprasert and artistic director Tarandeep Anand (co-founders of mARTarello), will reflect a juxtaposition in the characteristic of the two geographic locations - Bangkok and Belgium, which is similar in terms of their population of 11 million people. Bangkok is the most and only cosmopolitan city in Thailand. Thus, the mismatch of Bangkok (as city) and Belgium (as country) is used as a parody of two societal differences. The exhibition aims to initiate conversation between artists and audiences on the superficial and underlying differences and similarity of geographic location (Bangkok/Antwerp), diversity (ethnic and cultural), people’s attitudes, and their belief systems through photography, painting, and mixed-media and video art.