Nitaya Ueareeworakul reflects on Womanifesto's beginnings

In 1989 I graduated from Chulalongkorn University. I established Studio Xang Gallery, which also offered children's art activities in Bangkok, which was a co-partnership with Pantini Chamnianwai from 1994 to 2000. 

During that time, I got to know a lot of socially active Thai artists like Chumpol Apisuk, Vasan Sittiket and the Uk-Ka-Baat group, Jittima Pholsawek, Surapol Panyawatchira, Phaptawan Suwannakudt and Mink Nopparat. Chumpol had established Concrete House, an alternative art space which focused on performance art events. We regularly gathered around exhibitions and art events at his space. 

Later, Chumpol selected women artists with same interests to form a women’s art exhibition in his place. Myself, Jittima, Mink Nopparat and Phaptawan began to settle a women’s art exhibition, 'Tradisexion', in 1995, which involved some women writers and included Chantawipa Apisuk, the director of Empower Foundation. 

This resulted in the idea to continuing to show women’s work. The three of us, with the connections we made to some international women artists made at Chiangmai Social Installation 1995, started to write the proposal to involve international women artists to participate in the first exhibition, Womanifesto, which was presented in 1997.  

I organised Womanifesto projects in Thailand between 1997 and 2008 and have continued as a co-founder and organiser to today.