How We…Ran An Art Gallery and Curated Exhibitions in Bangkok, Thailand
The SPACE, Bangkok
Ten years ago, we curated, managed, and ran an art gallery on the Chao Praya River in Bangkok, Thailand. With regular film nights, a curated show almost every month, dinners and dances, and co-working events it was a lot of fun where we learned a lot.
The Space, Bangkok.
Both sets of lettering were by KIMES, one of Bangkok’s notorious graffiti writers. SRK was the creative studio we ran and did up until 2017.
Running an art gallery takes a lot of time and needs a combination of creativity, business acumen, and people skills. It is challenging and rewarding but it is a lot of work and there were a lot of takeaways for us.
Location. We were in an area of Bangkok that was not easy to visit, especially for tourists. It was fine for those that knew Bangkok and the area, but it was difficult for us to generate foot traffic.
Curating. Choosing artists that reflected what we were about was a big focus. We were back then still making books but we also ran a creative studio. We had access to a lot of artists who trusted us and sent their work through. Some sold, some didn’t but the experience of curating, framing, and hanging artwork is a skill we still use today.
Omer and Bow hanging a XEME piece.
3. PR/Marketing. As well as online listings and old-school flyering at bars, cafes and restaurants, Facebook was key at the time and became a powerful tool for us. Today we would use various social media and probably even consider working with influencers, bloggers and media outlets to increase our reach. But you can never underestimate how important PR and marketing is.
Running an art gallery in Bangkok was a challenging but rewarding experience. We supported a lot of local and regional artists and contributed to the city's vibrant arts scene and we developed a huge range of skills that we apply still today.
In the end, we shut for a variety of reasons.
We found being locked into one location tiring. Managing a large space is never easy and the pressure to entertain, contribute and make the most of our position was stressful. At the time we were also shooting more commercials and needed to be nimble and the responsibility to put on events and be tied into the community was something that was becoming a drain.
Now we’re running Soi Books full time (and not running a creative studio), we’ll be looking at collaborating with other galleries and continue promoting and supporting the art we enjoy and love.
