The Land of Forum

On Friday, Saturday and Sunday I attend The Land of Forum in Chaing Mai. 'Land of Forum is part of the One Year Project by the land foundation with the following scopes of learning: Self-knowledge through Vipassana Meditation, Natural Farming and Globalization, Media and Art. The talks and discussions will be given by experts in each of these fields and also highlight, art and culture in everyday life, farming, globalization and contemporary art in Thailand.' The Land provide us non Thai speakers with a translator. The theme of the talks this weekend is contemporary art in Thailand. I find the discussions and presentations engaging and fascinating. Themes of the talks were: 'Art and Society- Art only responds to people with money there should be something more we can do. ' 'Cultural Knowledge, Succession and Sustainable development: Lanna Wisdom' 'A History of Thai modern art. Is this illusion? ' . . . with a final thought that 'the artist is the thief who stole from the village' . I enjoyed the weekends mix of art, activism and sustainable knowledge systems some pertinent and challenging questions and issues were raised. A highlight for me was the Labour Sans Frontiers Project. This art project highlights the plight of migrant workers within Thailand. Female migrants make paper mache dolls called Kunjing representing migrants within Thailand. These large dolls travel the country to wherever they are invited they have attended conferences, bars and have even traveled to Singapore, London and Spain. The Kunjing have time to travel as they do not need to work to make a living and are free to cross borders as they do not need visa's or passports.