Imagining new cities

Published on January 25, 2008

While urban planners, developers, politicians and big business have been the dominant powers behind the shaping of the Asia-Pacific's emerging metropolises, artists, designers and architects have also played roles in the quality of life in our skyscraper-festooned cities.

To offer a fresh perspective on these concrete jungles, the British Council has teamed up with London-based multimedia organisation Onedotzero to host "Re-imagining the City", a three-year audio-visual project that explores how artists are both influenced by, and can help shape, cities. Making use of the current technologies, the project aims to give artists a voice in how cities are planned and experienced while addressing issues of creativity, community and connectivity, identity, planning and sustainability.

 "The UK has seen artists play an increasingly important role in urban regeneration," says David Elliott, director of Arts and Society of British Council (Bangkok) who is a project coordinator for East Asia. Gates cites London's south bank, Newcastle/Gateshead and Liverpool as European City of Culture 2008 as examples of cities where urban planning and artistry intersect. "There are lessons to be learned from both sides," he says.

The three-year project has focused on 11 burgeoning, increasingly cosmopolitan cities in eight countries across the Asia-Pacific region. Starting in October 2007, Auckland was the first city and then came Seoul. Projects started last week in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City, then Bangkok and Chiang Mai. Other cities to be re-examined will be Kuala Lumpur, Melbourne, Brisbane, Taipei and Bandung, Indonesia.

To broaden the notion of re-imagining the city, the project present three events: collaborative live performance by British and local artists, "Graphic Cities" film screenings about urbanisation and the discussion, "How Creative Talents Shape Our Cities".

At each stop on the "Re-imagining" tour, the British art group D-Fuse collaborates with local artists. In Bangkok, D-Fuse and the Thai collective B.O.R.E.D. will film and record aspects of the city over three days before interpreting the results in a live, multimedia performance. Each city is therefore a unique event, with D-Fuse adapting its approach and learning from the myriad of artistic talents it encounters. The end result in each city will be a work called "Surface", which will seek to capture the essence of urban expansion on film and in sound across the region in a unique and vital way.

"Bangkok is a great place," explains Mike Faulkner, the creative director of D-Fuse. He's been a frequent visitor to Thailand. "Surprisingly, during the past five years, I see how technology has been changing this city."

D-Fuse has spent three days working with the Thai cultural guild, B.O.R.E.D., an acronym that stands for Band of Radical Experimental Design. This multidiscipline design collective includes graphic designers, interactive designers, illustrators and animators who share the same design perspectives. Formed in 2003 out of boredom from their routine jobs and the commercial system, the group aims to produce graphic works and multimedia with a "fine art" approach. On the local scene, B.O.R.E.D. has collaborated with the Fat Festival and created visual concept for concerts like "Tiger Translate: Tonic Tube Moving Forward".

B.O.R.E.D. has led D-Fuse on a safari of Bangkok's cityscape. They will film, record sound and edit what they collect.

"They want to see the lively local markets, lives along the river as well as construction sites," says designer Pongpassakorn Kulthirathum, member of B.O.R.E.D. who joined D-Fuse in Vietnam for a few days. "Among these places are fresh markets in Yaowarat and the Phahurat cloth markets, the night market at Saphan Put near King Rama I bridge along the Chao Phya and construction sites around town, where they will see lifestyle of workers," he adds.

While the British artists benefit from the experience of the locals, they put the city in a different perspective for the Thais.

"Working with D-Fuse is a great experience, they make us see the city in different angles," says Pongpassakorn.

Focusing on "in-process" instead of the end product, the Bangkok version of "Surface" will reveal observations by both British and Thai artists. They will showcase live performances featuring audio-visual works at 7pm tomorrow at Playground on Soi Thong Lor. D-Fuse will also show their previous projects in Auckland, Seoul, Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh.

"Each city is different. Seoul is so organised, while Vietnam is quite restrictive. However, we got a good feeling of the city and enjoyed our time there," Faulkner says. 

At the end of the tour, "Surface" will have captured the essence of urban expansion across the region in a unique and vital way.

Like D-Fuse, Onedotzero sees how artists are reflecting the rapid changes in Asia's cities. Onedotzero's "Graphic Cities" is a series of short films, animation, graphic motion works and art films exploring new interpretations of the urban environment. Among the artists are Neutral, Ed Holdsworth, Richard Fenwick, Light Surgeons and many more. Although the films are created in different cities - New York, Tokyo, London and Berlin - by different artists, the works share similarities, such as the overload of glass towers and speedy urbanisation. Interestingly, many artists portray a balance between concrete buildings and nature.  

Shane Walter, Onedotzero's director, will be in Bangkok for a discussion on Sunday at the Thailand Creative and Design Centre and in Chiang Mai on Monday. Artists and city planners will debate the role of artists in shaping the cities.

Says the British Council's Elliot: "I hope that Thai audiences of the panel debate on Sunday will look at Bangkok afresh. Should we really just be leaving the shaping of cities to urban planners and politicians?"

Re-imaging the City is being held in Bangkok and Chiang Mai until Monday. Admission is free to all programmes.

Graphic Cities

College of Art, Media and Technology (CAMT), Chiang Mai University

Curated by the London-based multimedia organisation Onedotzero, this innovative moving-image work explores artists' interpretations of the urban environment. Today, 5pm. See www.onedotzero.com.

Surface

Playground, Soi Thonglor

London-based artists D-Fuse collaborate with the Thai art collective B.O.R.E.D. to showcase their audio-visual works. Tomorrow, 7pm. See www.dfuse.com or www.boreddesign.net.

The Role of Artists in Shaping of Cities

Thailand Creative and Design Centre, sixth floor, The Emporium and Chiang Mai University Conference Hall

The programme starts with films selected by Onedotzero, with Onedotzero's director Shane Walter talking after the screening. Sunday, 1.30pm to 3pm. From 3.30pm, there will be a debate. Panellists will be Walter, members of D-Fuse and B.O.R.E.D., a representatative of the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration; Paravi Wongchirachai, deputy managing director of TCDC; multimedia artist Wit Pimkanchanapong and Pratarn Teeratada, managing editor of art4d.

The programme shifts to Chiang Mai on Monday, at 5.30pm, when debate panelists will be Walter, D-Fuse, Chatchwan Nilsakul, Ajarn Komson Teeraparbwong and Aracha Boon-long.

Phatarawadee Phataranawik