Operating arts and Culture Work in the Context of Thai Society : Synthesis of Obstacles and Solutions from Experiences of Art and Culture Operating

Abstract

This article presents problems and solutions of art and culture operations in the Thai social context. Currently, a synthesis of data from the experiences of 10 cultural activists,
it is found that problems or obstacles to the development of art and culture work operating include 1) the definition of art and culture is limited to a single set of discourses, 2) Government organizations or agencies can formulate the development policy, including limiting the knowledge area of ​​the Thai education system that is reproduced with the knowledge set that cannot be changed, lacking severe and ongoing support from the government, political change and lack of space for art and culture work operating,  3) internal operation includes presenting the artist's work that is not interesting and political interference or conflicts of interests, 4) the Thai socio-cultural context does not support children, adolescents and people in society learn about themselves, and their works are inconsistent with people's lifestyles and social contexts, and 5) the unique qualities of the artist, including lack of management skills and the work presented, are difficult to access.

The solution to sustainable development consists of 1) supporting the learning process and cultivating children and adolescents' cultural values, 2) Government organizations take the roles to operate the art and culture work based on the understanding and seriousness,
3) the art creators have to understand the Thai society and culture context, the needs of the target audiences, and social tastes, and  4) the operation must arise from the collaboration of all sectors with the context understanding, accessing the problems, providing the freedom of creativity, resulting in the sustainable development of art and culture in Thai society.