The Womanifesto II exhibition took place between 13 March and 4 April 1999 and was held in Saranrom Park in Bangkok, Thailand. The exhibition brought together the work of 32 artists from Thailand, Japan, Indonesia, India, Vietnam, Korea, Singapore, Pakistan, Australia, and the USA to work together.
Artists: Amanda Heng, Chen Qing Qing, Dawn Laddawan Passar, Dounghatai Pongprasit, Jarunun Phantachat, Jittima Pholsawek, Kanya Charoensupkul, Khaiseang Phanyawatchira, Kim, HeaSim, K.O., Ko Hyun-Hee, Mayumi Hamada, Mella Jaarsma, Morakot Ketklao, Nguyen Dam Thuy, Nguyen Thi Chun Giang, Nilofar Akmut, Nitaya Ueareeworakul, On-Anong Klinsiri, Pinaree Sanpitak, Sanja Ivekovic, Saraswati Gramich, Sermsuk Thiensoonthorn, Sriwan Jenhuttakarnkit, Surojana Sethabutre, Tari Ito, Varsha Nair, Virginia Hilyard, The Wandering Moon, Watcharaporn Srisuk, Yuvana Poonwattanawit
About Womanifesto II
Pantini Chamnianwai Nitaya Ueareeworakul, Studio Xang, June, 1999, Womanifesto.com
'We co-founded Studio Xang and have always believed that art should be a medium to raise awareness of social issues. This, combined with the outcome of Womanifesto I, was the driving force behind the second Womanifesto, an international women’s art-in-the-park project in Bangkok.
In 1998, Dr Kraisak Choonhavan, advisor to the Governor of Bangkok and an artist himself, eventually pushed the project through. It cannot be forgotten that our present Governor Dr Bichit Rattaku is the first governor to truly care for the quality of life of Bangkok people and is also a great lover of art. The organisers were proud to join the BMA in celebrating His Majesty the King’s 72nd Birthday (5th December 1999). The BMA’s sponsorship enabled us to invite 32 artists from 13 countries to work together in the Saranrom Park for the Womanifesto II.
Womanifesto II had the objective to use Bangkok as a place for Thai and international artists to meet, exchange experience and present their art works with the freedom to express themselves culturally, politically and socially. This objective was fulfilled. Moreover Thai and foreign artists were delighted that the Bangkok Governor showed enormous interest. This was a great help in boosting awareness of public art and the status of women artists in Thailand and other countries. The success of this event has led to the planning of a women artists archives centre which will be the first in South East Asia." Read more...
Varsha Nair, 'Womanifesto: A Biennial Art Exchange in Thailand', Southeast of Now: Directions in Contemporary and Modern Art in Asia, vol. 3, no. 1, March 2019.
"Driven by the confidence gained at the first event, Womanifesto II (1999) took the form of a more ambitious outdoor exhibition that incorporated an even larger number of artists.
The participants for this and following events included some who had presented at previous events. We asked them to tap into personal networks and recommend others—artists introducing artists.
A determined effort was made to include some of Thailand’s emerging women artists and recent graduates; also considered were individuals who, having heard about Womanifesto, contacted us and showed interest to join in our future projects.
The second event received some support from the Bangkok Metropolitan Authority (BMA), which had started to fund projects in public places, in the aim of bringing art into the open and making it accessible to a wider audience.
Initially planned as a two-week workshop culminating in an outdoor exhibition, due to insufficient funding the event was reduced to one week of talks by artists, work installations and an exhibition staged over one weekend in March 1999.
The BMA offered the use of Saranrom Park, situated opposite the Grand Palace in the historical part of Bangkok. A rare patch of green, Saranrom Park was a popular spot where jogging in single file on designated paths was popular and where a daily pulsating aerobics session on a vast open stage starting at 6pm sharp was well attended.
For the 33 participating artists—17 from Thailand and 16 from Korea, Indonesia, China, Austria, Vietnam, Japan, USA, Pakistan, India, Australia, Croatia and Singapore—the location provided a ready audience." Read more...
Images from Womanifesto II
Further Reading
Opening ceremony of Womanifesto II
Varsha Nair, 'Womanifesto: A Biennial Art Exchange in Thailand', Southeast of Now: Directions in Contemporary and Modern Art in Asia, vol. 3, no. 1, March 2019. https://muse.jhu.edu/article/721050
Womanifesto II on Womanifesto.com http://www.womanifesto.com/events/womanifesto-2-1999/
Material related to Womanifesto II on the Asia Art Archive https://aaa.org.hk/en/collections/event-database/womanifesto-ii-the-second-international-womens-art-exchange
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