Meeting & Seminars

International Academic Symposium “Tang Chang: Reading / Reading: Tang Chang”

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Organised by: Education Department, Bangkok Art and Culture Centre in collaboration with the Tang Chang Private Museum
Principal Corporate Supporter: Thai Beverage Public Company Limited
Education Program Supporter: The Siam Commercial Bank Public Company Limited

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International Academic Symposium “Tang Chang: Reading / Reading: Tang Chang”
Saturday 2 May 2026, 10.00 – 18.00 hrs.
At Multi-function Room, 1st floor, Bangkok Art and Culture Centre

Program Curator: Nawapooh Sae-tang

How should we study an artist? This question is not merely about revisiting the narrative of a life or reaffirming the greatness of the past. Rather, it is about seeking new possibilities for approaching the artist’s identity and intellectual legacy in a more comprehensive and critical manner. In collaboration with the Tang Chang Private Museum and the Education Department of the Bangkok Art and Culture Centre (BACC), we are pleased to invite audiences to the International Academic Symposium “Tang Chang: Reading / Reading: Tang Chang,” held on the occasion of the launch of the Tang Chang Private Museum. This symposium proposes a mode of reading that moves beyond viewing the artist solely through biographical accounts or grand narratives. Instead, it explores the dynamic relationships between the artist Tang Chang, his works, and the social contexts in which they were produced. These contexts are themselves constantly changing. The symposium therefore seeks to open new possibilities for studying the artist not as an isolated figure but as one element within broader networks of social and historical relations.

“Tang Chang: Reading / Reading: Tang Chang” features dialogues by leading Thai and international scholars who engage in a “reading” of the life and work of the late artist. While the artist has passed, his invaluable legacy endures through the management of his estate by the succeeding generation. Through processes of collection, interpretation, and systematic organization, “Tang Chang” ceases to be a static “object” of study. Instead, his work possesses the power to gaze back and challenge the frameworks of modern thought. The symposium also considers the management of the artist’s legacy while exploring the many thresholds that surround the artist, including the relationship between life and work, the dialogue between art and poetry, the crossing of cultural boundaries, and the shifting dynamics of history. These intersections suggest that understanding Tang Chang’s

intellectual legacy cannot be reduced to a fixed conclusion. Instead, it remains an ongoing process that invites us to read and reread his work, uncovering new meanings within the shifting contexts of time.

“Management of The Artist Estate”
Nawapooh Sae-tang, Director of the Tang Chang Private Museum

“Tang Chang’s inventory project: Artworks, Archives, and Writings”
Sheryl Gwee and Onpimon Imsamran, Researchers of the Tang Chang Private Museum

Keynote Speaker I “Bringing into Play Tang Chang’s (1934–1990) Oeuvre and Archive: An Overture”
Dr. Yin Ker, Independent Art Historian

Keynote Speaker II “Loose Canons: adventures in contemporary art’s disorderly history”
Assoc. Prof. Dr. David Teh National, University of Singapore

Panel Discussion I “On Tang Chang and Asian Modernism”
This panel examines Tang Chang’s position within the broader context of Asian modernism. Bringing together leading art historians from the region, it moves beyond canonical recognition to open up new perspectives on the complexity of his practice, highlighting how his work is deeply entangled with wider social and historical conditions.

Panelists: 
Asst. Prof. Dr. Chanon Kenji Praepipatmongkol, McGill University, Canada 
Assoc. Prof. Dr. Sarena Abdullah, Universiti Sains Malaysia 
Dr. Simon Soon, The University of Melbourne, Australia 
Dr. iola Lenzi, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore 
Moderated by Worathep Akkabootara, Chiang Mai University

Panel Discussion II “From China to Thailand, From Translation to Free Verse and Concrete Poetry”
This panel examines Tang Chang’s role as a Sino-Thai artist, highlighting the influence of Chinese cultural and intellectual traditions on his practice through the lens of his writings and poetry. His engagement with the translation of Chinese philosophical texts and literature shaped his understanding of the relationship between language and art, leading to the development of free verse and concrete poetry—an essential part of his intellectual legacy.

Panelists: 
Dr. Liang Jing Henan, University of Science and Technology, China 
Assoc. Prof. Dr. Kornphanat Tungkeunkunt, Thammasat University 
Asst. Prof. Dr. Apiradee Charoensenee, Chulalongkorn University 
Dr. Isara Choosri, Independent Scholar 
Moderated by Asst. Prof. Maythawee Holasut, Thammasat University

Agenda

– English with Thai Translation
– Free admission & Registration required

Registration via Google Forms: https://forms.gle/bhHYEHJ1XHqhBVrr5

For more Information, please contact:
Education Department, Bangkok Art and Culture Centre
Tel: +66 (0) 2 214 6630-8 ext. 519
Email: [email protected]