CREATING PERFORMING ARTS TO PROMOTE CREATIVE TOURISM ACTIVITIES BASED ON COMMUNITY ARTISANS LEARNING IN NAKHON PATHOM PROVINCE

Abstract

The current research was aimed to firstly, study the craftsmanship in Nakhon Pathom Province at Wat Lamut Subdistrict Community, Wat Lamut and Phrong Maduea Subdistrict Community, Wat Phrom Maduea as well as Jirawan Benjarong, Rai Khing Subdistrict, Sam Phran District including Wat Sai Temple, Tha Krasap Subdistrict, Nakhon Chai Si District leading to the integration of creativity. The second aim was to create performing arts for promoting tourism based on community artisanship learning in Nakhon Pathom Province. A mixed-method study was employed, Research instruments included interviews, focus group discussions, performance evaluation forms, and tourist questionnaires. The research sample consisted of 20 community members, being purposively selected, including entrepreneurs, workers, and cultural inheritors related to local artisanship as well as 400 general tourists. The evaluation results were found that 280 audiences, being calculated at 70.0% obtaining from accidental sampling, were most satisfied with the performance for promoting tourism. Data collected from documents, literature, and research instruments were analyzed using descriptive statistics and content analysis. The research findings were revealed that Nakhon Pathom has possessed diverse artisanal heritage, with four outstanding traditions selected for study: mural paintings at Wat Lamud, handwoven textiles of Phrong Maduea community, Benjarong ceramic craftsmanship of Chirawan artisans, and architectural works of Wat Sai ceremonial structures. Based on these cultural assets, four creative performance sets were developed as follows: The first performance was Cultural Imagery of Wat Lamud representing its folk songs about tourist attractions and culture. The second performance was Fon Phusa Bucha – Lao Khrang of Wat Phrong Maduea, presenting the weaving process. The third performance was Benjarong Dance – Wat Thaput, and the fourth one was Architectural Aesthetic – Monastic Pavilion of Wat Sai. The highlight was about promoting "Therot Ple", an ancient toy. These results highlighted the potential of integrating local artisanship into performing arts as a strategy to enhance cultural tourism and foster creative tourism development.