ALL EYES ON ART
The Bangkok International Performing Arts Meeting (Bipam) is back with a myriad of extraordinary activities to be held at many different venues across Bangkok over five days from Oct 16-20.
Held under the theme “Eyes Open”, this year’s festival will bring a total of 25 rounds of seven showcase performances by Thai and international artists.
Highlights include Damage Joy, a participatory theatre experience by B-Floor (Thailand), which will take the audience to explore a dark circus world; In Ter’s View x New Cambodian Artists, which addresses the dancing experience and personal life of a group of Cambodian dancers; and Violent Event, which presents the issue of violence in quite raw yet dispassionate forms. The other performances will be The Grand Balcony by New Yangon Theatre Institute Ensemble; Women/Inside; a double bill by university students; a play reading of The Optic Trilogy by Thai and Filipino actors; and Sadub, a hearing-based performance by Noise Theatre.
Many artists and producers will be speaking at 15 talks and discussions at Bangkok Art and Culture Centre. Topics include “Becoming Pradith Prasartthong”, “Sustainability Of Long-Standing Theatre Companies In Southeast Asia”, “The Young Generation Of Performing Artists”, and “Thai Performing Arts Festivals”.
There will also be many interesting workshops by local and international artists, including B-Floor Theatre, Billinger & Schulz, and Nuttarote Wangwiyoo; a Bipam networking night; and table meetings.
The main locations for this year’s event will be the Bangkok Art and Culture Centre at the corner of Pathumwan intersection and the newly established Host BKK, which will open its doors for the first time for Bipam.
Other venues for the performances will be Saeng Arun Art and Culture Centre, Goethe-Institut, Chulalongkorn University Museum, and Alliance Francaise.
Tickets cost 500 baht for a day pass, 1,500 baht for a meeting pass and 4,000 baht for all-access pass (2,400 baht for students and 3,200 baht for early bird ticket buyers).