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Showing posts with label Chiang Mai. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Chiang Mai. Show all posts
Tuesday, May 4, 2010
LIST OF LOCAL PRODUCT in Chiang Mai
Wednesday, February 10, 2010
Charms of Tribal Cultures
Charms of Tribal Cultures
- Published: 5/02/2010 at 12:00 AM
- Newspaper section: Realtime
After portraying the incredibly rich and varied music of the mountain people of Southeast Asia through an interactive exhibition in Bangkok last year, American filmmaker/musician/researcher Victoria Vorreiter is back with a photographic exhibition celebrating the tribal cultures of the Golden Triangle.
Entitled "Patterns, Passages & Prayers: Traditional Cultures of the Golden Triangle", the exhibition is running at Tamarind Village, Chiang Mai, daily from 11am-6pm until April 30.
On display are more than 50 images and a number of fascinating tribal artefacts, together exploring the rich diversity of tribal peoples in the region through their costumes, textiles, rituals and spiritual beliefs.
Vorreiter, a classical violinist by training and a lecturer at DePaul University School of Music in Chicago, Illinois, turned her attention to the primal role of music in traditional cultures more than a decade ago.
Her passion for the subject inspired the next phase of her life's journey, taking her on treks to remote parts of Thailand, Laos, China and Burma in order to document and study the little-known music of the region's tribal peoples.
Last year, a beautifully illustrated archival book, Songs of Memory, was released along with a CD of ancestral songs. An interactive exhibition by the same name opened at the Jim Thompson Art Center in Bangkok earlier in 2009 to great success.
The "Patterns, Passages & Prayers" exhibition offers a different perspective from Vorreiter's earlier exhibition, focusing on the beauty of simple, daily activities such as weaving, harvesting crops and tending livestock, and on rites of passage such as birth, courtship, marriage and death, as seen through her lens.
Colourful descriptions and insights drawn from her meticulously kept journal accompany the images, bringing the subjects to life in intimate and insightful ways.
The ‘‘Patterns, Passages & Prayers: Traditional Cultures of the Golden Triangle’’ exhibition sees images and artefacts that reflect the rich diversity of tribal people at Tamarind Village, Chiang Mai, until April 30.
In addition, rare objects such as Mien sacred texts, Karen ceremonial dress and a dazzling collection of children's caps highlight a number of themes such as identity, Shaman rituals and the role of festivals in courtship.
The exhibition's striking images of quiet dignity, joyful exuberance and grace bear witness to the value of these fast-disappearing cultures and the importance of preserving their time-honoured traditions.
When asked about the importance of her research in the face of rapidly changing technology and global communications advances, Vorreiter replied: "Indigenous peoples in the inaccessible hills of the Golden Triangle have depended for millennia on oral tradition to transmit knowledge, history, and beliefs. How long these customs can continue, is in doubt. The aim of my work is to help preserve the majesty of these tribal rituals before they disappear."
A series of in-depth documentary films created by Vorreiter and set for release in 2011 and 2012 will further serve this goal.
The upcoming art exhibition is part of Tamarind Village's ongoing efforts to foster knowledge and awareness of northern Thai culture and bring its appeal to a wider audience.
For those who missed Vorrieter's "Songs of Memory" travelling exhibition in Bangkok last year, they have another chance to witness the integrity, creativity and beauty of tribal cultures when the show reruns at the Chiang Mai City Arts and Cultural Centre from Feb 12-April 30.
A dynamic conference on tribal cultures, history, and beliefs will bring the exhibition to life through a series of concerts, presentations, demonstrations of traditional practices and a food festival.
Admission to both exhibitions is free of charge. For more information, please contact Tamarind Village, Chiang Mai, tel 053-418-896/9 or visit http://www.tribalmusicasia.com.
source : Bangkokpost.com
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