Introduction of Chiang Mai City of Crafts and Folk Art
Vision & Mission of Chiang Mai City of Crafts and Flok Art Assoc. Prof. Dr. Woralun Boonyasurat Chiang Mai Creative City of Crafts and Folk Art Director Chiang Mai Creative City of Crafts and Folk Art emphasizes and focuses on ‘building creative economy’ at both regional and local levels. Aims to provide a foundation for this, economic opportunities backed by knowledge base technology, innovation and creative development on crafts and folk art. Chiang Mai Provincial Administration Organization in coordination with Chiang Mai University have created this platform of ‘Chiang Mai Creative City of Crafts and Folk Art’ in order to build collaboration between public and private sector to highlight the value of cultural assets including intellectual, art and cultural heritages. This platform aims to (1) encourage local people and entrepreneurs in using creative idea towards creation of craft and folk art (2) build capacity of local craft communities and local entrepreneurs (3) build creative network of crafts and folk art cities and (4) create understanding of creative concept among government agencies, craft masters, members of young generation by allowing them to participate in workshops, events and showcases of crafts and folk art which supported by the project.
Chiang Mai is located on a wide basin plain bordered by highlands. The Old City is situated at the foot of the eastern slope of a mountainous range that stretches westward, and is surrounded by urban communities which extend north, south, across the river to east, and to the foothills in the west. The history of Chiang Mai’s conception and founding is based on the story of an alliance formed between “The Three Kings”. This unique city would later be considered the most outstanding representation of Tai-Dai culture and pre-eminent reflection of the concept of the “Living City’, a city constructed in accordance with the surrounding natural environment and from which the traditions of its people – a characteristic, local fusion of Buddhist and Brahmin beliefs – are inseparable, passed down from generation to generation. The history of Chiang Mai is divided into six main periods: 1. Pre-history (5000 – 2000 B.C.) 2. Pre-Lanna (4th - 13th century A.D.) 3. The Lanna Kingdom (1296 – 1558 A.D.) 4. The Burmese Empire (1558 – 1774 A.D.) 5. The Seven Dynasties, or The Age of Regeneration (1774 – 1940 A.D.) 6. Chiang Mai, or Nation States era (1940 – Present) Chiang Mai is a profound reflection of the concept of a “Living City” - a synergy between the way of life, spiritual beliefs and cultural traditions of its people, mix of Buddhist and Brahmin faiths, natural surroundings, and physical elements of the city itself to create a perfectly harmonious environment that ultimately determines the ideal layout and overall composition of the city.
Chiang Mai City and Its Expression of Values, Customs, Traditions, Culture and Crafts From past to present, Chiang Mai has always been a city of multicultural values, home to a great diversity of ethnic groups, beliefs and faiths as distinguished by its characteristic local culture, traditions, architecture, and art. This coalescing of various different influences has made Chiang Mai the unique city it is today, a lucid expression of the way of life of its inhabitants, and why the city is affectionately known as the “Living City”. Chiang Mai possesses a particularly distinctive identity in terms of local culture, traditions, handicrafts, fine arts, and architecture. This distinction is a testament to the great diversity of ethnic groups that have co-inhabited the city for many centuries, exchanging elements of different cultures between themselves in the city’s urban areas, as well as with other ethnic groups from surrounding localities. The result is a unique shared culture and local identity all their own, unlike anywhere else. Chiang Mai has always been considered “a city of ethnic and cultural diversity”. From the past to the present, Chiang Mai has been a centre for the interchange of various cultures and traditions, a melting pot of different ethnic groups and peoples, such as the Tai Yuan (native population), Tai Lu, Tai Shan, Tai Khun, and Tai Lao, characterized by their distinct ways of life, livelihoods, languages, culinary habits, and cultural traditions, despite inhabiting similar environments. Although lacking any significant historical relationship,
many people belonging to these different ethnic groups migrated to Chiang Mai, bringing their cultures and traditions to merge not only with other communities from the plains, but also with migrants from high-altitude areas of neighbouring countries, including Myanmar, China, and Laos, who settled in the mountainous regions surrounding the city. Together, this collection of distinct identities forms the unique culture of Chiang Mai, which clearly reflects the diversity, individuality and way of life of its people, and from which novel and refined techniques and styles developed within the creative and inventive fields, such as architecture, art, music, performing arts, and culinary arts, whilst clearly retaining the characteristics and influences of the cultures from which they originated. This multicultural co-existence, interchange, and development is what instils the city of Chiang Mai with its distinct allure and charm – the melding of various different lifestyles, cultures, heritage, and people. Despite being almost 720 years old, the heritage of Chiang Mai continues to be preserved, expressed, and cherished through the culture, values, traditions, arts, crafts, architecture, and way of life of its inhabitants, well into the present day.
Chiang Mai as a Reflection of the “Living City” Chiang Mai is a city with a long history and rich heritage that has been preserved over many generations, maintained by the spiritual and cultural connection that exists between the city, its citizens, and the surrounding natural environment through the fusion of Buddhist and Brahman spiritual beliefs, traditions, values and culture which are reflected in the three key elements of the city. Urban Planning & Design (Value of Town Planning) The main urban planning concept is based on the principal of achieving harmonization of the city with the surrounding natural environment. The overall composition, construction and orientation of the city, and axial direction of infrastructure elements such as roads and water management systems, is determined relative and according to the significant physical features of the area, such as Doi Suthep Mountain and its foothills, the Ping River and its plains, the Mae Kha Canal, and surrounding agricultural areas. Buildings & Architectural Elements Reflecting Urban Design Concepts (Value of Town Architecture) Buildings and architectural elements include the city’s defensive walls, pillars, gates, fortresses and moats, along with temples and other spiritually or historically significant structures and sites, which are located and oriented according to principal urban planning concepts.
Cultural Beliefs, Customs, Traditions and Practice by Citizens (Value of Town Culture) The sense of cultural importance which binds people and reinforces the spirit of adoration for their homeland is maintained through their customs, traditions, and rituals, such as veneration of ancestral and guardian spirits of the city. These aspects contribute to the profound spiritual connection that people have with Chiang Mai, recognizing it as “Living City”, a sacred entity that requires care, protection, respect, and reverence in order to preserve its essence and prolong its existence. When misfortune, danger, suffering, or discontentment befalls the land, the citizens conduct a “city life prolonging” ceremony to help ensure the survival, safety, and security of the city. These cultural beliefs, customs and traditions have been an integral part of Chiang Mai ever since the city was founded during the time of King Rama I, and continue to be up to the present day.
Importance of Cultural Heritage at a City Level Chiang Mai is a city that profoundly reflects the concept of a “Living City”, preserving the spiritual and cultural connections between its physical elements, surrounding natural environment, and way of life of its people through the fusion of Buddhist and Brahmin faiths, traditions, customs, and spiritual beliefs which guide the urban planning process – the composition, structure, and orientation of the city and its elements – to produce a harmonious whole. Cultural heritage, therefore, is an integral part of the physical constitution of the urban environment, and the principal foundation for maintaining an authentic reflection of the essence of the city, its integrity through totality, practical functionality, and continued role as a “Living City”, providing social and communal solidarity, transcending changes and developments to either physical form or social context, and preserving its defining spirit. The cultural significance of Chiang Mai is fundamentally based on intangible heritage, but it is the tangible elements, such as forms and styles, ways of life of the people, places and principal elements of urban planning, that are the clearest expression of values and beliefs. Collectively, these elements form a cultural heritage that relies on the interconnectivity of its constituent parts, akin to a living organism, and upon which the preservation and continuation of the life of the city depends. The following are examples of tangible symbols that express the cultural heritage of Chiang Mai.
Heritage that Reflects Family, Kinship, and Community Values
Heritage that Reflects the Values of the City and Cultural Landscape
Cultural heritage that reinforces peoples beliefs from a household level to a city-wide level provides a common connection for people in the community, creates a social foundation upon which everyday life can operate, and helps to unite the city of Chiang Mai.
Heritage sites reflect the values, beliefs, and faiths of the people in the city - whom possess diverse ethnicities, religions, and lifestyles - providing common connections between citizens and facilitating a harmonious community.
Intellectual Heritage: Arts and Crafts Intellectual heritage is one of the major elements that has helped preserve the life of the city. The handicrafts and folk art of Chiang Mai are a way of life and means of subsistence for many citizens, a unique expression of both their creativity and everyday lives that has been honed over hundreds of years, and of which the techniques and knowledge still continue to be taught, shared and inherited. These local arts and crafts draw from countless sources of influence and inspiration, including the actual physical characteristics and nature of life in the city itself, and cultural interchange between Tai ethnic groups and other communities. The exchange of cultural influences over many centuries has refined the local arts and handicrafts into distinguished, inimitable styles that form part of the unique identity of Chiang Mai. Such types of local handicrafts that can be found include: • Bamboo weaving & wicker crafts • Textiles • Pottery • Wood carving • Metalwork • Paper crafts (such as decorative umbrellas and flowers)
Event History – Chiang Mai City of Crafts and Folk Art Since its inception, the initiatives and objectives of the Chiang Mai City of Crafts and Folk Art four-year project (2014 – 2017) have centred around driving and promoting Chiang Mai as part of the UNESCO Creative Cities Network in Crafts and Folk Art.
2014 • Opening ceremony of the project for driving and promoting Chiang Mai as part of the UNESCO Creative Cities Network in Crafts and Folk Art, ‘CC Initiative Opening (Chiang Mai Creative City Initiative Project Opening) • Product design contest: ‘Prototype Product Training’ • Seminar: ‘Crafts with Heart’ • Seminar: ‘Prototype Product’ • Chiang Mai Creative City Initiative Project Crafts Product Training
2015 • • • • • •
Creative Workshop: ‘Twist-Bunch-Bind-Pn’ Indigo Dye Workshop Creative Workshop: ‘Scrape-Cross-Trace-Sculpt-Mould’ Ceramic Workshop Creative Workshop: Natural Tie & Dye Workshop Activity: Community Crafts Tour Seminar: Manufacturers and Users of Handicrafts International Exhibition: Chiang Mai Crafts and Folk Art Forum 2015
2016 • Creative Workshop: Chiang Mai Phasin Teen Jok Skirts • Creative Workshop: Embroidery of Chiang Mai • Chiang Mai Design Week 2016: Talk with Crafts
2017 • • • • •
Creative Workshop: ‘Silk Embroidery Creative Design with Heart’ Creative Workshop: Hmong Batik Candle Line Creative Workshop: ‘Love of Lisu @ Chiang Mai’ Lisu Twine Knotting Creative Workshop: Chiang Mai Creative City Chiang Mai Crafts Fair 2017
Chiang Mai City of Crafts and Folk Art
http://chiangmai-cityofcrafts.com Chiang Mai City of Crafts and Folk Art cm.cityofcrafts@gmail.com