Bangkok Art Biennale 2022 CHAOS : CALM Announces First List of 20 artists, 7 venues including BAB Virtual Space Third edition opening 22 October 2022 – 23 February 2023

Bangkok, 16 November 2021 – The Bangkok Art Biennale Foundation is delighted to announce the first twenty artists and seven venues for the third edition of the Bangkok Art Biennale (BAB). Organised in collaboration with Thai Beverage Public Company Limited (ThaiBev) and public and private sectors, BAB 2022 CHAOS : CALM will take place from 22 October 2022 to 23 February 2023 at various locations across Bangkok as well as BAB Virtual Space, which will showcase a number of innovative artworks specifically created for the digital realm.

Under the theme CHAOS : CALM, this edition invites artists to contemplate the tumultuous conditions of the world around us as communities recover from the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as the urgency to address the climate crisis and socio-political uncertainty around the globe.

Selected by BAB 2022’s curatorial team, participating artists and collectives range from the emerging to the established, with representation from across Thailand, Asia, Europe, Oceania and America: Marina Abramović (Serbia / USA), Jake and Dinos Chapman aka “the Chapman Brothers” (UK), Jarasporn Chumsri (Thailand), Tiffany Chung (Vietnam / USA), Jitish Kallat (India), Kimsooja (Republic of Korea / USA), Rachel Kneebone (UK), Robert Mapplethorpe (USA), Nawin Nuthong (Thailand), Be Takerng Pattanopas (Thailand), Amanda Phingbodhipakkiya (Thailand / Indonesia / USA), Alwin Reamillo (The Phillippines), Arin Rungjang (Thailand), Pinaree Sanpitak (Thailand), Chiharu Shiota (Japan), Wantanee Siripattananuntakul (Thailand), Myrtille Tibayrenc (France), Uninspired by Current Events (Thailand), Xu Zhen (China), and Kennedy Yanko (USA).

                      Nawin Nuthong (Thailand)                                                   Jarasporn Chumsri (Thailand)

“Art is a path of hope in this chaotic world. We hope to find happiness and power through art at the Bangkok Art Biennale,” comments BAB 2022 artist Marina Abramović, who returns to BAB for the third time.

“Seeking a sense of calm in the midst of turmoil is a journey that offers knowledge and opportunity. Experiences of stillness and tranquility can still be found in this post-pandemic world of seeming upheaval. The Bangkok Art Biennale invites artists to explore the dichotomy of CHAOS : CALM and express the nuanced tension between these two concepts that are seemingly at odds, yet continue to coexist in our daily lives,” says Prof. Dr. Apinan Poshyananda, Chief Executive and Artistic Director of the Bangkok Art Biennale.

Since its inaugural edition, the Bangkok Art Biennale has continued to push boundaries and make art accessible to the public at sites across the capital city. At BAB 2022, visitors will be able to enjoy the exhibition throughout the urban area at venues including: Bangkok Art and Culture Centre (BACC), Queen Sirikit National Convention Center (QSNCC), as well as experience contemporary art in traditional heritage sites including Wat Phra Chetuphon Wimon Mangkhalaram Rajwaramahawihan (Temple of the Reclining Buddha or Wat Pho), Wat Arun Ratchawararam Ratchawaramahawihan (Temple of Dawn or Wat Arun), Wat Prayurawongsawat Worawihan (Temple of Iron Fences or Wat Prayoon), and Museum Siam: Discovery Museum, a museum dedicated to the history and culture of the Thai people.

The 2022 edition will also launch the BAB Virtual Space as a new venue edition, which will showcase a number of innovative artworks specifically created for the digital realm. In the post-pandemic world, technology has been a critically important tool to support accessibility in contemporary art and the creative industries, while also offering artists new mediums to create and share their work. Moreover, BAB 2022 will continue presenting its rich digital programme of talks, symposiums, live performances and virtual walkthroughs to allow the international community to engage with the Biennale online.

Bangkok Art Biennale has also launched its Open Call for Artists program on November 1, 2021. They received an overwhelming response from young and professional artists from around the world, who submitted portfolios to be considered for exhibition in the Biennale. The panel will review and interview applicants, and announce the results in January 2022.

AIA Thailand Teams Up with RISE to Launch ‘AIA x RISE Accelerator’, Bringing Together World-Class Startups to Develop Innovations to Strengthen Its Leadership Position

Bangkok, November 5th, 2021 - AIA Thailand reinforces its status as the Number One Insurance Company*, teaming up with RISE, the corporate innovation powerhouse, to launch “AIA x RISE Accelerator” to seek out the best start-ups from around the globe. The finalists will get a chance to collaborating with AIA Thailand in designing innovations that will drive the organization 360 degrees into the future. This is to elevate Thailand’s Insurance industry by delivering an all-around superior experience to the customers, employees, and agents under its pledge to help people live “Healthier, Longer, Better Lives.”

Commenting on this partnership, Mr Kris Chantanotoke, Chief Executive Officer of AIA Thailand, says, “AIA has been a longstanding leader in life insurance industry trusted by customers for over 83 years. We never cease to invent, innovate, and develop products, technology, and service provision, all with Customer Centricity approach, to provide comprehensive coverage that can response to the demands of all stages of life. Our collaboration with RISE is considered an important step that we take to drive the organization forward into becoming an organization of the future in every way through the utilisation of innovations in corporate context to further expand and deliver the best experience to AIA’s customers. We have RISE, an expert in corporate innovations and technology, to help bringing out the full potential of each of the finalist start-ups in developing innovations and technologies that will become new solutions for Thailand’s insurance industry, in compliance with AIA’s goal to being the number one in innovations that deliver maximum benefits to customers and all Thai people.”

Dr. Supachai Parchariyanon, CEO and Co-Founder of RISE, states, “We are honored to have been trusted by AIA, the number one leader in life insurance industry, to drive forward AIA x RISE Accelerator that will soon be taking place. For RISE, as an innovation accelerator that has worked with more than 400 leading organizations throughout Asia and with its network of more than 20,000 start-ups worldwide, we aim to deliver tangible results from the cooperation between AIA and start-ups in developing new innovations related to insurance industry for Thai people and to lead the organization to its intended destination.”

AIA x RISE Accelerator is considered as South East Asia’s first project that emphasizes on the development of innovation and advance technologies that will answer to the specific demands of the life insurance industry, with the focus on adopting innovations that are relevant to the needs of customers in the digital age. This also includes the adoption of innovations to further enhance operational performance and convenience to employees and agents, with the ultimate goal to deliver service and experience of the highest degree to customers all over the country and to drive the organization 360 degrees into the future to prepare it for becoming the Digital Insurer that answers to the new generation’s novel ways of working, and with a swift customers service that can response to the fast pace of the digital world through collaboration with start-ups, both international and domestic, in order to bring out their potentials to develop innovations with AIA. This is considered a key step for AIA in developing innovations that will not only response to the demand of the customers and businesses, but will also inspire tangible cooperation to support start-ups and new generations with cutting-edge solutions to further support and elevate the health and quality of life of the Thai people under AIA’s brand promise to help people live “Healthier, Longer, Better Lives.”

Out of more than 200 start-ups around the globe who participate in the program, AIA and RISE have selected start-ups with the criteria of having the most interesting presentation of innovations and technologies that are compelling, contemporary, and with possibility of adoption into organization to develop innovations that serve to all dimensions of demands, namely Customer Journey, Customer Reach, Customer Needs, and Deep Tech. The start-up finalists to make it to the final round to jointly develop innovative solutions with AIA are:

  

• GoalsMapper (Singapore) Will be developing with AIA the technological apparatus that will help elevate the capability of insurance agent to become an insurance counselor and professional investment advisor to meet the requirements of different lifestyles and needs of different individuals.
• Autify (Japan) Collaborate with AIA to developing a test automation that allows companies to speed up their release cycle. Autify is a no-code software testing solution; therefore, anyone can do the test without involving a tester/QA.
• Lightwork (Thailand) Developing tools with AIA with the use of Robotic Process Automation (RPA) in the insurance reviewing process, from policy issuance to the process of making a claim and compensation payment.
• Vulcan Coalition (Thailand) Will be developing with AIA data scientist team a solution that makes customers data labeling systematic and economical by well-trained disabled people, enabling AIA to identify and categorize data, then bring the labelled data to enhance the capability of machine learning.
• Vonder (Thailand) Developing online educational and training medium under the concept ‘Microlearning’ that employs gaming technology for an enjoyable and continuous learning experience.
• Tetherfi (Singapore) Developing technological innovation that will facilitate remote working for telesales to offer the best experience to the customers, with speed, quality, and precision in every step of the process.
• Smarten Spaces (Singapore) Developing an intelligence Hybrid Workforce management solution provider trusted by 300+ brands across 100+ cities. Its solution suite ranges from space management to hybrid workforce management and employee safety. It has just won COVID Management of the Year award from the Singapore Business Review 2020.

All finalists will receive the chance to win the prize with a combined value of up to 1 million baht from AIA and an opportunity to receive investment fund of up to 3 million US dollars from SeaX Ventures, a US-based Venture Capital with Southeast Asia portfolios focused in advanced technology start-ups. The AIA x RISE Accelerator will provide an incubation period of 3 months in which innovative solutions will be developed, after which the finalists will be showcasing their innovations at the Demo Day Event in early 2022.

For more information and updates on AIA x RISE Accelerator, please visit aia.riseaccel.com

Note: *Number One in Market Share and Gross Premium (Source: The Thai Life Assurance Association Jan-Aug 2021)