Foreword

Thailand’s Art Ecosystem was an impromptu gathering of several like-minded individuals to form a Facebook page that offers a neutral platform for people in the art profession residing in Thailand or overseas (whose work is related to Thai art or artists) to share their knowledge and experiences in Thailand’s art field as well as to better understand different roles within the ecosystem.

What was obvious from day one is the lack of general statistics of the overall picture of the Thai art industry. Curious to explore the makeup of the individuals who exist in this art ecosystem, we created a survey and asked the page members and the Thai art public (those who identified and concerned themselves as having to do with the Thai art landscape) to participate. 406 people responded to the survey between April and June, 2020, largely during the Covid-19 lockdown.

The survey includes both quantitative and qualitative research methodologies. Not without technical flaws, its strength lies in the time, thought and focus that the respondents gave to their responses in significant numbers and in a short period of time. We hope that this report paints a broad picture of the Thai art field, providing a baseline for the industry to look at itself, to start a conversation, and to use it as an example to build to a more detailed survey that looks forward to the future.

Atinuj Tantivit Nim Niyomsin Shane Suvikapakornkul