Apinan Poshyananda, PhD

CEO And Artistic Director, Bangkok Art Biennale

Industry : The Arts

After receiving his Master’s degree in Fine Arts from Edinburgh University, and a PhD in History of Art from Cornell University New York, Dr Apinan began teaching at the Faculty of Fine and Applied Arts, Chulalongkorn University, moving into administration as Director-General, Office of Contemporary Art and Culture, then Permanent Secretary and Acting Minister, Ministry of Culture. He is an award-winning artist in his own right, earning three medals from the National Exhibition of Art. On the international stage, he was a committee member of the Asian Cultural Council, Solomon Guggenheim Museum, New York; Board of National Gallery, Singapore, amongst others. He has been integral as the “missing link” between the Thai art world and conservative government agencies, admittedly by pushing the boundaries little by little. Curating such exhibitions as Montien Boonma: Temple of the Mind (2003-4) in the US and Australia, Thai Transience (2013) in Singapore, and Thai Eye (2015) at Saatchi Gallery, London, proved that he has been able to bring contemporary Thai art into the context of heritage. He has organised three editions of the Bangkok Art Biennale, with indications that three more are on the table, as well as a few book projects. Presently, he is the chairman of ThaiBev’s Art and Culture Committee.