Food & Drink
8 Best Specialty Hot Tea Spots in Bangkok for Slow Sipping
Tired of matcha? Here are 8 specialty tea rooms in Bangkok for ...
Jay Spencer shares how WOOF PACK brings business, art and creative communities together while creating more space for Thai artists.
Can a business become a platform for artists?
We often think of business and art as separate worlds, one focused on making money and the other on making ideas. But art can be a business too, even if making a living from creative work is rarely simple. Artists still need places to show their work, meet people, find audiences and build opportunities. That is where a business can play a different role by creating the space, resources and connections that allow creative work to happen.
One place where this connection comes to life is Woof Pack, a creative mixed-use space in Bangkok where restaurants, galleries, offices and creative businesses share the same roof. It is also where I work, so I see the mix up close.
This time, I got to hear directly from Jay Spencer, the businessman behind it, who has spent years building places where people, ideas and creative communities can come together. We spoke about how business can support the creative scene, what makes a space genuinely useful to artists and how a successful business can also become a place where culture grows.
How Jay Found Creativity
Jay’s relationship with creativity started at home. Growing up between Thailand and England, he absorbed two different ways of seeing art and design, with his parents’ collection shaping his appreciation from an early age.
“I grew up in an art environment. My parents were collectors, so I developed an appreciation for art from an early age. Growing up between Thailand and England also gave me two very different perspectives on art and design.”
England exposed him to museums, architecture and centuries of art history, while Thailand offered a visual culture rooted in craftsmanship and Buddhism.
“England has a very long history of art. You see it in old houses, museums and architecture. Thailand is different. We have a strong tradition of craftsmanship, heavily influenced by Buddhism.”
Living between these two cultures gave Jay a broader lens on creativity and the role it can play in everyday life. His first career, however, was in property, far from the creative world. That changed when he joined the inaugural team at the Thailand Creative and Design Centre (TCDC).
“I sort of fell into it. I came from a property background, working on the unsexy side of property, like warehousing and distribution. Then I had the opportunity to join the startup team at TCDC, and that’s where I saw how creativity and design could change a space.”
Seeing how creativity could make a space more exciting and bring people together, he later brought that approach into his own projects with his partner and wife, Jareyadee “Ple” Spencer.
“When you add creativity to a venue, you make it more exciting and create deeper connections. That’s where it started. Then, with my wife and partner, we built projects like Barkyard and Woof Pack.”
Today, that approach runs through Woof Pack, where creative companies, restaurants and cultural spaces exist side by side.
Making Room for Art
Woof Pack has evolved far beyond a place that hosts exhibitions. Over the past decade, Jay and Ple have built a platform that spans exhibitions, events, creative education and consultancy. Their work ranges from branding and exhibition design to community projects, art events and charity nights, with each project shaped around the needs of the people and ideas involved.
“We just want to have our finger on the pulse of creativity.”
A big part of that work is giving Thai artists a chance to be seen. Around 90% of Woof Pack’s exhibitions feature Thai artists, with a focus on emerging names who are still finding their audience.
“We try to work with people who have just started out or are not yet at that level. We want to support Thai artists, give them exposure and help them get their work seen.”
Woof Pack has sponsored thesis exhibitions from institutions including Chulalongkorn University, King Mongkut’s Institute of Technology Ladkrabang and Srinakharinwirot University. The space gives young artists a central place to present their work and reach new audiences.
The idea is simple: bring the work out of the university and into the city. A thesis exhibition might attract a few familiar faces on campus. Put it in a central creative space, invite collectors and the wider art community and suddenly a student artist can meet someone who wants to see what comes next.
“I don’t want to gatekeep the space. I want to make art more accessible to the people who want to receive it, but also to the people producing it, because it’s their livelihood.”
Woof Pack also brings practical knowledge into the creative scene through free events such as Fashion Futures and Creative Futures. The conversations go beyond inspiration, getting into the realities of creative work: how to start, find funding, market your work and learn from mistakes.
“There needs to be a lot of real-world advice. How do you get started? How do you get funding? How do you market your products? What are the things you really need to know when you start a business?”
That openness has become part of Jay’s approach to the creative scene. Keep the doors open, give people a place to start and help connect the dots. Sometimes the most valuable thing a creative space can offer is simply the chance to be seen.
Building the Next Wave
Another project close to Jay is START, an art education programme for teenagers aged 14 to 18 who are beginning to think about creative careers.
“START is like a baby. We are trying to create a viable business around it, but it is also something that we think we can help support. The programme is aimed at 14 to 18-year-olds who are thinking about what career path to take in art.”
At the centre is access. Young people need opportunities to explore creativity before they decide whether it belongs in their future.
The same thinking shapes Happy Messy Kids, a programme Jay and Ple started around five or six years ago for younger children. Through clay, paint and other hands-on activities, the programme helps children see art as something approachable and fun.
“We want children to understand that art is approachable and can be done at any age. It doesn’t necessarily have to be high-end art.”
The point is to make creativity feel accessible before it becomes a career choice, a classroom subject or something reserved for people who already know where they belong.
Keep Creativity Moving
Jay sees a future where Thailand’s creative ecosystem feels more connected. Stronger links between artists, creative businesses and audiences could also open more paths to the international art world.
“I’d like to make our whole art ecosystem more connected and an exciting place for creativity, and help young Thai artists and people within the art scene have faith that there are people helping out. We will try to contribute as much as possible, with our abilities, our expertise, our space, whatever means we have.”
Part of that future will also happen through sound. Woof Pack is developing a podcast space inside its exhibition venue, adding another way to share ideas and conversations.
“With so much bombardment from TV, the internet and people on their phones, I think there is a need for more intimacy. Voices, being able to talk. I think a natural way is podcasts.”
The podcast space is set to launch towards the end of the year, adding a new format to Woof Pack’s creative ecosystem. It is another sign of where Jay wants the space to go: more conversations, more connections and more opportunities for Thai creativity to reach beyond its usual circles.
