Interweaving Cultures — a project that involved art professionals from Japan, Thailand and Europe — created a unique opportunity for curators and artists from different parts of the world to actively exchange their views and ideas.

For the project, five artists were invited to stay in Bangkok to conduct research on the Jim Thompson House and those aspects of Thai culture represented by the silk industry. The participating artists were Han Myung-Ok (Korea/France), Shigeaki Iwai (Japan), Alana Jelinek (UK/Australia), Kaoru Motomiya (Japan) and Sutthirat Supaparinya (Thailand); Sachiko Namba (Japan), Gridthiya Gaweewong (Thailand) and Ann Coxon (UK) were curators for the international contemporary art project. Their objective was to explore, question and supplement the story begun by Jim Thompson and his love for Thailand’s cultural heritage; respond to the unique cultural, social and historical context of the Jim Thompson House as well as the surrounding local community and present new works based on their in-depth, on-site research. Encouraging collaborative work with the local community as well as the house staff, the project invited the engagement of a wide range of local and international audiences including those who may not have previously visited the Jim Thompson House. The results of this collaboration were presented in the form of an exhibition at the Art Center at the Jim Thompson House in Bangkok from March 31 to June 30, 2005.