Get to Know the Creative Districts Ahead of BKKDW2024: Bang Mot

In the harmonious coexistence of nature, people, and a diverse culture, linked through the waterways of Bang Mot Canal.

If one were to ask about a creative district that is not only robust but also has been built from the ground up by the community itself, Bang Mot would likely be among the top answers. Rightly so, given its continuous area development for over 6 years, and the extensive list of varied creative networks that stretch long and wide.

Today, this formidable tourism community has finally decided to take another step forward by registering to be a part of the Bangkok Design Week festival. This represents the ultimate dream of many community developers who wish to be a part of the festival at least once.

How will Bang Mot transform the city into a ‘Livable Scape’? Discover the answer with Ajarn Nisakorn Pensomboon from the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, majoring in Street Art and Integrated Design, Dhonburi Rajabhat University, as the Co-Host of the Bangkok Design Week 2024 in the Bang Mot district.

The Coexistence of Nature and People

Ajarn Nisakorn explains that Bang Mot is one of the areas in Bangkok that still retains its original natural environment and richness. This includes the canal-side way of life, boat commuting, and the cultivation of plants in garden rows, such as coconut gardens and Bang Mot ant gardens, which are significant symbols of the area. Moreover, it is a multicultural land inhabited by Thai-Chinese, Thai Buddhists, and Muslims living together.

But more than that, what makes Bang Mot uniquely charming is the ‘loveliness’ of its people.

“The geography of the Bang Mot area involves the coexistence of nature and people in a traditional way. For instance, entering the area, you will see canals, gardens, and nature. People still commute by boats. There used to be rice farming, and it was famous for orange orchards, particularly the Bang Mot oranges. Now, the Bang Mot orange orchard is nearing its 100th year in the area. Additionally, coconut trees are grown, adapting from the challenging cultivation of oranges.

“In terms of culture, this place is multicultural. There are Thai-Chinese people, Thai Buddhists, with famous temples along the canal, such as Wat Phutthabucha, Wat Bua Phan, as well as several mosques along the canal. People live together in a multicultural environment.

“Ultimately, the uniqueness of the Bang Mot neighborhood is the loveliness of its people. The way of life here is like a close-knit family, creating an atmosphere that reduces competition and haste. Entering the area, one feels the essence of slow life, a space where people can relax. It’s like when you arrive in Bang Mot, you feel at ease.”

Collaboration in the Neighborhood Leads to Bangkok Design Week

As we all know, Bang Mot is an old district that has continuously formed networks and worked on community development for a long time. This involves many sectors, including Dhonburi Rajabhat University, King Mongkut’s University of Technology Thonburi, Arsom Silp Institute of the Arts, SAFETist Farm, Kienwad & Pappim Art Space café, Baan Rai Ariya Metaya, the Mod Tanoy Market multicultural group, various entrepreneurs, residents of the area, and many others. Ajarn Nisakorn explains that the strength of Bang Mot as it is today stems from the educational sector’s involvement with the community and their continuous effort to elevate outcomes through various activities.

“It’s a continuous process. It’s like we don’t just do it once and stop. We try changing methods, letting people come into the community or areas where they can have different experiences. Often, there are One Day Trip programs, boat trips, cultural walking tours, and discussions. We try different formats.

“The strength of the area comes from the educational institutions providing information and stimulating the community to realize that their assets have value. And when they repeatedly try to implement these in practice, people start to see possibilities. They begin to realize that it can stimulate income and economic circulation. They see their own potential.”

When the community is strong, Bang Mot’s next step is to elevate itself as a creative district for new challenges, including joining the Bangkok Design Week.

“Bang Mot has always been active in grouping and working together. For instance, we’ve already conducted the ‘Bang Mot Phase’ five times. In the past four phases, the community was the driving force behind the activities, and once it was in collaboration with the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration, making it a creative district last year. This year will mark the sixth time we are participating in the Bangkok Design Week.

“After last year, when we joined as a creative district of Bangkok, we discussed that our collaboration, experience, and network are sufficiently ready. So, this year, we thought about trying to participate in the Bangkok Design Week. Since we have a strong team and are already working with the area, it became the starting point for us to try joining the Bangkok Design Week this time.”

Turning Problems into Distinctive Features of the Area with Creativity

The key process in designing the activities for the Bang Mot area this time is to blend ‘solving urban problems’ with the ‘interesting aspects of the area’. They strive to take actual problems within the district as a starting point and design creative activities that can genuinely solve these issues while simultaneously enhancing the area’s identity.

“When we talk about the motto of this year’s event, ‘The More People Act, The Better The City,’ it encompasses the physical aspects of feeling good, exceptional design, and Bang Mot’s uniqueness. We took up the additional theme of Hack BKK, which is ‘Attractive Frontage, Transforming Canals into Frontages.’ This theme has a story. When we look at the real travel history of people in Bangkok, they used to travel by boat. But as the city expanded, this mode of transportation became obsolete. However, the Bang Mot area still maintains this maritime lifestyle quite extensively. Is this a highlight? Yes, but it’s also a disadvantage because it means access to the area is more limited. So, we took this as a point to solve in various programs.

“Or the fact that the area has a rural-urban lifestyle, meaning it’s quite quiet in the evenings. When it gets dark, everyone closes their homes, which is different from other areas in the heart of the city. Also, the lighting is not very bright. The community is quite dark, almost pitch black. Therefore, the nature of our programs focuses on making the area brighter, increasing the illumination for travel to various points during the festival and even for the daily life of the community members.”

Grow with the Flow

‘Grow with the Flow’ is the name of the concept for the upcoming program at Bangkok Design Week for this district. It beautifully suits the essence of Bang Mot, as this concept speaks to the development of the area in a flourishing way without haste or urgency. It symbolizes growth at a pace that is right for them, akin to flowing along the currents of the Bang Mot Canal with which they are familiar.

“The term ‘Grow’ here refers to development and flourishing. We think that the nature of our area is like a water current, as we are located by the water. It’s simple and straightforward. We feel that the concept of ‘Grow with the Flow’, flourishing with the current, is about the external world that might compel us to grow rapidly. But once you enter this area, it feels like you’re embracing a slower life. We plan the program so that people in Bangkok, inner Bangkok, or other areas can feel that Bang Mot is like a provincial area within Bangkok, where everyone can come to relax and let go of their stress.”

Ajarn Nisakorn says that the event will be located at various points along the 7-kilometer stretch of both sides of the Bang Mot Canal. These points will be accessible by walking or by passenger boats, which are also a part of the designed program. The activities include highlights such as:

“The ‘Glowing Walls’ program addresses the community’s issue of darkness. We, being street artists, usually see bright colors on the walls. But now, we will add glow-in-the-dark paint, which illuminates during dusk, the time when the atmosphere is quite dark. During the day, one pattern is visible, and at night, another. This not only adds color to the area but also partially solves the problem of darkness.

“The ‘Glowing Boat’ program is essentially a boat tour. We play on the word ‘glowing,’ as in illumination. As mentioned, we have problems with distance and connectivity between different points of the program, which spans 7 kilometers. We thought riding a boat itself could be an interesting experience. Therefore, we designed a program to decorate the boat’s canopy and sails with patterns depicting the lifestyle, incorporating art from the area into the designs on top, including lighting decorations. This turns the boat not only into a means of transportation between program points but also part of the art itself.

“Additionally, we have a program from the students of KMUTT (King Mongkut’s University of Technology Thonburi). They are working on a project that uses science – water levels, water density – to address the issue of water for fish habitat. It’s a collaboration between scientists and canal designers. Besides the scientific solution, it will also be presented as an art installation in the area on the same theme. We also have another interconnected program from a ceramic artist who grew up in Bang Mot. They say that there’s a lot under the waters of Bang Mot Canal, be it actual animals, objects, or memories carried by the water currents. They have transformed these into various ceramic shapes and exhibited them under a bridge in the Bang Mot Canal, like lifting valuable things from underwater for people to see.

“Concluding at SAFETist Farm, which is an organic farm with a pond in the middle featuring fish and full-scale agriculture. This time, they have devised an outdoor movie viewing over the pond

“At SAFETist Farm, which is an area for organic farming with a pond in the middle, complete with fish and full-scale agriculture, they have come up with an idea to watch movies over the pond. It’s an outdoor movie screening, but since we have a pond in the middle, it’s called ‘movie in the middle of the pond.’

“Another highlight of SAFETist Farm is the ‘Little Otters of Bang Mot Canal.’ Did you know that Bang Mot still has otters? Otters are a sign of prosperity, indicating that our area is fertile. So, we use them as one of the characters to represent the Bang Mot area, which still maintains its natural way of life. Those who come to watch movies might even get to see a real otter.”

Relax with the flow of the Bang Mot Canal and follow the next steps as a creative district at the Bangkok Design Week, the first for the Bang Mot area, from January 27 to February 4.

Get to know Bang Mot District better through its recommended programs:

Grow and Glow

www.bangkokdesignweek.com/bkkdw2024/program/70777 

Glowing Boat Journey

www.bangkokdesignweek.com/bkkdw2024/program/70848 

Scientist-Designer Collaboration: Sustalom

www.bangkokdesignweek.com/bkkdw2024/program/71570 

Little Otters of Bang Mot Canal

www.bangkokdesignweek.com/bkkdw2024/program/71157 

Click to see all the programs of the Bang Mot District here:

www.bangkokdesignweek.com/bkkdw2024/program?nbh=84251 

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Bangkok Design Week 2024

Livable Scape

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27 Jan – 4 Feb 2024

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