National European Institutes in Bangkok: What Kind of Co-operation?
By Maria Ek

The creation and implementation of the EU cultural policy in Thailand could be linked to what can be considered as the development of some collaborations between national European institutes in Bangkok. Indeed, if the principle of an EU cultural presence in countries such as Thailand most likely lies in unity and common effort in order to propose more ambitious projects in terms of cost and visibility, the national European institutes' lack of similarity in terms of identity seem to make the ambition of complete common co-operation difficult. National European institutes in Bangkok are, as expected, developing some collaboration between them, as cultural representatives of their European country but local factors had already led them to work together.

In order to have a glimpse of the work carried out by these institutions the term 'common' must be taken with precaution. Recent projects such as the Thailand New Media Art Festival have been made possible with the common participation of three institutes (the British Council, the Goethe Institut and the Alliance Francaise) without, however, depending on their common initiative, organisation and sole material support. Moreover, co-operation and common projects carried out between two of the three institutions have been a more frequent habit in the past than a three-way co-operation to form a project. Existing individually, these three national institutes have been brought to co-operate over the last decade, without necessarily being tied by recent obligations related to the EU cultural policy but solely because co-operation has been a means to initiate or provide local projects with much needed support.

The national European institutes in Bangkok have been actively present in the city through the services they offer in terms of language classes, libraries, exhibitions and workshops. The Alliance Française (AF) has been in Bangkok for almost a century, first opening in September 1912. From a small 'club' of French speaking members meeting and sometimes organising events as well as offering free French and literature classes, the structure has expanded to over a thousand students, developing the site to include a cafe and an auditorium for cinema screenings and conferences. Relying on donations, membership contributions, government grants and the resources brought by classes, the organisation of events or conferences, the tradition of the institution's autonomy has prevailed over the years. As the oldest institute of the three in Bangkok, the Alliance Française benefits from a long-established reputation, appreciated amongst the young generation of artists and students for its efforts to develop the International Art Centre, the project of Artist Residencies and support for local artistic projects.

An institute in the forefront

The British Council, which is the largest national institute in terms of its material presence in Bangkok, was established in 1938 and founded on a mission of the creation of long-term partnerships and collaboration in the area of culture, creativity and languages between the UK and Thailand. Considering the growing importance of the English language, the British Council was immediately successful in offering classes to students as well as professionals, and has expanded to several offices in the 1950's. Now working in four offices in Bangkok, the British Council is known for its efficient and modern services, offering to the Thai public the latest trends and information in fields such as design, computer networking and opportunities to qualify in English with a wide range of examinations.

The most recent of the three institutes in Bangkok, the Goethe Institut, was opened as part of the project launched by the 1976 German Government Agreement, setting up a network of cultural institutions worldwide to promote the German language and to "encourage international cultural exchange". The Goethe provides educational advice, language classes, facilitates cultural events and regular film screenings and prides itself in its accessibility for the local Thai population. Most of the Goethe's income is provided by yearly grants from the German Foreign Office and from the Press Office even if self-generated income and contributions have increased over the last few years following the Federal Government's budget restrictions in 1998.

The cultural impact of foreign institutes

The cultural significance of these three institutes in Bangkok can somewhat be measured in terms of what has been a very scarce cultural scene in the city. Until only very recently, Bangkok's cultural actors, artists, musicians among others suffered from the lack of institutions to turn to for material and/or moral support. The lack of financial support as well as inappropriate infrastructures combined together to make the realisation of a cultural project practically impossible. Over the past few years, the national European institutes have been pointed out as culturally active institutionsable, when deemed possible, to give their support to certain projects - i.e, material and communication support for the opening of small and independent galleries or just providing a venue in their own building for an artist to show his work. A dance and theatre company such as the B-Floor Theatre, working with the AF who has been supporting them since 2001, would otherwise have had difficulties finding an affordable venue to perform in, or financial support for stage and costume expenses as well as communication equipment.

As an Asian capital city, Bangkok holds its share of modem cinemas and shopping malls while only very few infrastructures exist for dance and music events. Independent art galleries exposing photography and contemporary art, such as Tadu Contemporary Art Gallery, have been developing over the last few years thanks to private funding or patronage. While the Ministry of Culture, which was set up in Thailand in 2002, became the first governmental structure with the means to patron and support cultural projects, its actual active role is still to be developed given the novelty of this political body. An independent structure such as About Art Related Activities has also been an important cultural actor in terms of event organising, debates, screenings and contemporary art exhibitions, as well as in providing a space and a contact for local artists in the city.

Therefore, the long-established presence of the European institutes in Bangkok has forged them a solid reputation of cultural references and their joint efforts can be expected to produce a certain impact on the cultural scene of the city. The co-operation of the Alliance Française and the Goethe Institut in the development of the Artist Residencies project has broadened an initiative that could have remained an individual one. In a combined effort, the two institutes have allowed French, German and Asian artists to live and work in Bangkok and produce significant projects such as Eric Sadin's "Times of the signs", focusing on the urban landscape of the city and its impact. The two institutes have also worked together since 2002 to co-organise, along with local structures, events such as the International Day of the Disabled. Structural similarities between the Alliance and the Goethe seem to allow them to co-operate on a local level, while the British Council concentrates on its role as an educational structure.

The emerging cultural scene in Bangkok is lacking so much support that, however different their priorities, the three institutes are regularly appealed to give whatever support they can. A project such as the 2004 Thailand New Media Art Festival, one of the rare projects re-uniting the Alliance Francaise, the Goethe Institut and the British Council, shows the precious support of these institutions. However, each institute can confirm that their support is material and that the initiative and organisation comes from elsewhere. In the case of the New Media Art Festival, the three were approached by an independent organiser, proposing an idea and a project to which they were, individually, asked to contribute. The three institutes provided venues, communication and technical material which allowed the event to happen in Bangkok, from the 20 to 28 March, 2004. Despite this effort of collaboration on one project, it remains quite clear that without the initiating person not much would have happened.

The EU delegation's initiative

In order to initiate common projects between the three, a single communication and framework would be necessary, such as the one that exists for the EU member states. In terms of common cultural collaboration and organisation, the Delegation of the European Commission is a reference in Bangkok with its three main events, the European Film Festival which had its first edition in 1994, the European Street Festival which started last year and the Music in the Park event this year. The Delegation meets for cultural affairs on a monthly basis, and the EU members discuss their involvement in existing events or plan future projects. Participants to these meetings are the cultural representatives of each memberstate present in Bangkok, who are for the most part diplomats from their respective embassies. The Goethe Institut and British Council directors represent the cultural presence of their respective country, while the Cultural Counsellor of the French Embassy's Cultural Service represents France (not the AF).

When questioned, the Director of the International Art Centre of the Alliance answers: "We are neither the direct nor the official representatives of French Culture, but a local institution promoting the richness of France's culture and language." While the Alliance Française is indeed a French cultural institution, France is the only European country in Thailand to have a complete Cultural Service as part of its Embassy, thus distinguishing local and official, although the majority of Thai people, visitors or students, seem to neither understand the difference, nor even know that there is one. In terms of EU cultural policy and partnership, the Goethe and the British Council are both considered as the representatives of their country's cultural policy, filling the gap of a cultural diplomatic body that the Embassies of Germany and Great Britain do not have. A common collaboration between the Alliance, the Goethe and the British Council on a given EU project thus appears to be somewhat complex considering that while the Goethe and the British Council are the sole cultural representatives of Germany and Great Britain, the Alliance is not concerned by European led projects in common, leaving these issues to the official structure, the Cultural Service of the French Embassy. Nevertheless, it is only in the frame of the EU partnership that projects have been commonly organised.

Maria Ek
Graduated from the Institute of Political Studies, Lumière University, Lyon, France.

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