In the early 16th century (1511) the Portuguese were the first Europeans to arrive in former Siam, creating one of the region's largest foreign neigbourhoods in Ayutthaya, where a Dominican church can still be found - the church of São Pedro (Saint Peter's church) - which was restored in 1995 with the support of the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation. At the church entrance, there is a typicle Thai Spirit House but instead of Buddhist figures we come upon small statuettes of saints and popular artifacts of Portuguese provenance.

 

Futhermore, a Thai Sala (open pavilion used as meeting place) was inaugurated in February 2012, offered by Thailand to commemorate the 500 years of friendship between the two countries. This Sala can be found in the gardens of Belém. The sala was entirely built by hand in Thailand and it was inaugurated by Princess Maha Chakri Siridhorn.

 

These two landmarks of culture relevance establish a bridge between the two distance countries and a starting point for a project shered by ATTA Gallery in Bangkok and Galeria Tereza Seabra in Lisbon.

 

ATTA Gallery: 31 October 2019

Tereza Seabra

Tereza Milheiro

Paula Crespo

Pedro Sequeira

Marta Costa Reis

Catarina Silva

 

Galeria Tereza Seabra: 30November 2019

Taweesak Molsawat

Rudee Tancharoen

Tithi Kutchamuch

Yiumsiri Kai Vttanapindu

Panjapol Kulpapangkorn

Sarinya Prasertsan

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