International Academic Symposium “Tang Chang: Reading / Reading: Tang Chang”
Saturday 2 May 2026, 10.00 – 18.00 hrs.
At Multi-function Room, 1st floor, Bangkok Art and Culture Centre
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Program Curator: Nawapooh Sae-tang
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How should we study an artist? This question is not merely about revisiting the narrative of a life or reaffirming the greatness of the past. Rather, it is about seeking new possibilities for approaching the artist’s identity and intellectual legacy in a more comprehensive and critical manner. In collaboration with the Tang Chang Private Museum and the Education Department of the Bangkok Art and Culture Centre (BACC), we are pleased to invite audiences to the International Academic Symposium “Tang Chang: Reading / Reading: Tang Chang,” held on the occasion of the launch of the Tang Chang Private Museum. This symposium proposes a mode of reading that moves beyond viewing the artist solely through biographical accounts or grand narratives. Instead, it explores the dynamic relationships between the artist Tang Chang, his works, and the social contexts in which they were produced. These contexts are themselves constantly changing. The symposium therefore seeks to open new possibilities for studying the artist not as an isolated figure but as one element within broader networks of social and historical relations.
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“Tang Chang: Reading / Reading: Tang Chang” features dialogues by leading Thai and international scholars who engage in a "reading" of the life and work of the late artist. While the artist has passed, his invaluable legacy endures through the management of his estate by the succeeding generation. Through processes of collection, interpretation, and systematic organization, “Tang Chang” ceases to be a static "object" of study. Instead, his work possesses the power to gaze back and challenge the frameworks of modern thought. The symposium also considers the management of the artist’s legacy while exploring the many thresholds that surround the artist, including the relationship between life and work, the dialogue between art and poetry, the crossing of cultural boundaries, and the shifting dynamics of history. These intersections suggest that understanding Tang Chang’s intellectual legacy cannot be reduced to a fixed conclusion. Instead, it remains an ongoing process that invites us to read and reread his work, uncovering new meanings within the shifting contexts of time.
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“Management of The Artist Estate”
Nawapooh Sae-tang, Director of the Tang Chang Private Museum
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“Tang Chang’s inventory project: Artworks, Archives, and Writings”
Sheryl Gwee and Onpimon Imsamran, Researchers of the Tang Chang Private Museum
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Keynote Speaker I “Bringing into Play Tang Chang’s (1934–1990) Oeuvre and Archive: An Overture”
Dr. Yin Ker, Independent Art Historian
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Keynote Speaker II “Loose Canons: adventures in contemporary art's disorderly history”
Assoc. Prof. Dr. David Teh National, University of Singapore
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Panel Discussion I “On Tang Chang and Asian Modernism”
Panelists:
Asst. Prof. Dr. Chanon Kenji Praepipatmongkol, McGill University, Canada
Assoc. Prof. Dr. Sarena Abdullah, Universiti Sains Malaysia
Dr. Simon Soon, The University of Melbourne, Australia
Dr. iola Lenzi, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore
Moderated by Worathep Akkabootara, Chiang Mai University
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Panel Discussion II “From China to Thailand, From Translation to Free Verse and Concrete Poetry”
Panelists:
Dr. Liang Jing Henan, University of Science and Technology, China
Assoc. Prof. Dr. Kornphanat Tungkeunkunt, Thammasat University
Asst. Prof. Dr. Apiradee Charoensenee, Chulalongkorn University
Dr. Isara Choosri, Independent Scholar
Moderated by Asst. Prof. Maythawee Holasut, Thammasat University
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– English with Thai Translation
– Free admission & Registration required
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Registration via Google Forms: https://forms.gle/bhHYEHJ1XHqhBVrr5
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For more Information, please contact:
Education Department, Bangkok Art and Culture Centre
Tel: +66 (0) 2 214 6630-8 ext. 519
Email: education@bacc.or.th
information provided by event organizer
