{"id":27287,"date":"2026-05-15T17:53:16","date_gmt":"2026-05-15T10:53:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.koktailmagazine.com\/?p=27287"},"modified":"2026-05-15T17:53:16","modified_gmt":"2026-05-15T10:53:16","slug":"friday-future-lister-linda-builds-a-cultural-space-for-bangkok","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.koktailmagazine.com\/th\/2026\/05\/15\/friday-future-lister-linda-builds-a-cultural-space-for-bangkok\/","title":{"rendered":"Friday Future Lister: Linda Builds a Cultural Space for Bangkok"},"content":{"rendered":"

The story of how Linda Cheng has guided Bangkok\u2019s cultural landscape through access, art and institutions.<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Some of the most influential figures behind a city\u2019s cultural growth are not always the most visible. Often, they shape the systems around it, build spaces where art can exist, support institutions behind the scenes and connect culture with education and public life. Their influence becomes visible in how a city learns to experience creativity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Today, Linda Cheng stands as a key figure within Bangkok\u2019s cultural landscape, with a role that extends far beyond a single institution. As Managing Director of River City Bangkok, she helped transform the riverside complex into one of the city\u2019s key creative destinations. Her work also extends into cultural institutions and social advocacy, including her role as a Member of the International Artist Advisory Council at Mahidol University\u2019s College of Music. Across these roles, her focus remains on how culture can stay open, connected and accessible over time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Through Linda\u2019s journey, three dimensions emerge: shaping cultural spaces, working within creative institutions and extending cultural impact into wider society.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Courtesy of River City Bangkok<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Growing Up Across Cities<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Born in Hsinchu, Taiwan, Linda spent her early childhood in the city. At the age of 12, her family moved to the United States and settled in Southern California, where her father expanded the family\u2019s Christmas light business across the US and Latin American markets.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Knowing she would eventually join the family business, she studied Business Economics at the University of California, Los Angeles. After graduation, her family relocated to Bangkok following the expansion of their manufacturing operations in Thailand. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Courtesy of River City Bangkok<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The transition was not easy. At 22, she struggled to adjust to a new environment far from the familiarity of California. Her father later encouraged her to pursue an MBA at Sasin School of Management under Chulalongkorn University. That decision marked a turning point, as new friendships and local connections gradually reshaped her relationship with Bangkok.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Over the following two decades, Linda worked across the family businesses in lighting and ceramic tiles alongside her husband. The experience gave her a practical understanding of operations, negotiation and long-term brand development. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

A First Encounter with the Cultural Scene<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Linda\u2019s first major step outside the family business came in 2013 when she joined the College of Music, Mahidol University as Associate Dean for Marketing and Communications. Her role focused on fundraising, visibility and audience development for both the College and the Thailand Philharmonic Orchestra.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

During this time, she worked with leading international ensembles including the Berlin Philharmonic, London Symphony Orchestra and Tokyo Philharmonic Orchestra. The experience broadened her understanding of how cultural institutions operate beyond performance, especially in terms of audience access, international collaboration and institutional identity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After three and a half years, she joined River City Bangkok following an offer from the organisation, a role she continues to hold today. In 2024, she also returned to Mahidol University as a Member of the International Artist Advisory Council, reconnecting with an institution that marked her early entry into the cultural sector. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Art Begins to Enter the Room<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Her work at River City became the space where her business experience, cultural interest and understanding of audiences came together.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When she first arrived, renovation had already begun, but the space still centred on long-established antique shops. What stood out to her was not what existed, but what was missing. Despite its identity as an art and antique centre, contemporary art felt distant from the visitor experience. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

She saw an opportunity to shift that perception and make art more immediate and accessible, especially for younger audiences who often found difficulty in approaching it. For her, art needed atmosphere, interaction and curiosity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Courtesy of River City Bangkok<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This direction first appeared through immersive exhibitions. Up the River During Qingming, presented in collaboration with the National Palace Museum in Taiwan, transformed classical paintings into digital environments that visitors could walk through rather than observe from a distance. This was followed by From Monet to Kandinsky, where more than a thousand artworks unfolded through projection, sound and motion, turning viewing into an immersive experience. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Courtesy of River City Bangkok<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Even during COVID-19, her direction remained consistent. When the city reopened, River City presented Andy Warhol: Pop Art, showing original works by Andy Warhol in Thailand for the first time. The exhibition marked a return to physical artworks while maintaining the experiential approach that had reimagined the space.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Courtesy of River City Bangkok<\/p>\n\n\n\n