'Where the Art Community Meets' is the slogan on the brochure promoting the newly opened ArtSpace on 7, a collaboration between four local artists.

January, 2008

     On arrival at the conveniently located ArtSpace on 7 off Sirimankalajarn Road, the first thing that caught my eye was a bold painting of one of my heroes, Aung San Su Kyi. The bright and colourful painting appropriated the iconic feminist character from the 1942 'Rosie the Riveter' poster, replacing the image of Rosie with a portrait of Aung San Su Kyi flexing her muscles below the text 'We Can Do It!'

     The artworks that hang in the ground floor exhibition at ArtSpace on 7 are not only aesthetically attractive, they tell a more profound story of a group of young entrepreneurial musicians, designers and artists, with a passion for the arts and art education, who are informed and inspired by events and development in the region.

     ArtSpace Chiang Mai was originally conceived by New York artists Laura Spector and Chadwick Gray who moved to Chiang Mai six years ago. The pair, who met at undergraduate art school in the States, have worked collaboratively as artists for 14 years, predominantly on their 'Museum Anatomy' project in which they recreate paintings from museum storage spaces onto the human body.

     On arrival in the north in late 2001, Laura and Chadwick took out a lease on a former ice cream factory on Kamphaengdin Soi 3 which they quickly converted into an art studio. While re-establishing their own artistic practice, they were commissioned to create murals and sculptures for the Around the World in 18 Holes mini golf course, located behind Carrefour, a project they say provided an interesting combination of art and the physics of a golf ball.

     Recently Laura and Chadwick have begun an exciting new partnership with musician Bradley Dean Whyte and Aek Sutiavanich, a fashion designer from Bangkok. The four friends share a mutual enthusiasm for the arts and a strong interest in providing opportunities for cultural community development and interdisciplinary collaboration between art, fashion and music.

     The first step in the evolution of this new venture has been the establishment of the new, multi-purpose 'Art Space on 7'. The conveniently located 3-storey shop front houses exhibitions on the ground floor while the rooms above are used for children's drawing and music classes, adult life drawing classes, school holiday workshops, and Saturday morning Community Art Sessions.

     While Laura and Chadwick are well known members of the local artistic and expatriate community, Bradley's enthusiasm for music is contagious and it's easy to see how young children would be inspired by his energy and zest. He reminded me very much of Jack Black's character Dewey Finn from the movie 'School of Rock'. Bradley, a self-proclaimed 'School of Rock' fan, says his approach to teaching musical appreciation isn't too different from that of Dewey Finn's.

     The ArtSpace team have put together an exciting calendar for 2008 including new art/music combo classes for children and a range of events which invite artists and musicals in the local community to come together to collaborate. The ArtSpace team are particularly interested in cultural community development and the evolution of local culture at a grassroots level.

     In February, the 'Square by Square' project invites artists in the local community to submit two dimensional artworks on panels. This collaborative exhibition aims to build the sense of community between local visual artists. Another exciting initiative is the 'Band-In-A-Day' project in which local musicians (and music lovers) are called to participate in an all day musical extravaganza and then perform and party in the evening.

     The team at ArtSpace on 7 promises to deliver an exciting year ahead.

     For more information on classes, school holiday programmes or upcoming events and projects contact artspacecm@gmail.com



"Band-In-A-Day"

Saturday, February 2nd

     The day begins with a morning meet-and-greet "Band Breakfast" at ArtSpace on 7 where a core group of musicians and many others will participate in all aspects of putting together a music concert for the community later that same evening.
     There will be no time to waste! Rehearsals begin at 9:45 a.m. sharp and will culminate into the big performance gig at 9 p.m. where all fans and groupies are invited. Backstage after-party to follow! Musicians, singers and back-up singers, songwriters, make-up artists, a choreographer, equipment, photographers, technicians, and helpers that are available for an entire day from 9 a.m. to 11 p.m. are needed. "Come and burn out big and bright; witness the birth and death of a band in one day and make rock-n-roll history in Chiang Mai!" Contact Bradley at ArtSpace no later than January 19th.