Running an Alternative Artspace in Bangkok
By Unchalee Anantawat

'My Own Words' is a monthly series which features personal essays by practitioners in the Southeast Asian art community. They deliberate on their locality's present circumstances, articulating observations and challenges in their respective roles.

When I first started running Speedy Grandma in 2012, I did not have much knowledge about other art spaces or the art scene in Bangkok. My background was in graphic design, and everything I knew about contemporary art came from the time I collaborated with my artist friends in Australia. The only reason for opening my own art space was because I wanted to create a place where people could come have fun and make friends while also seeing some art. I had this idea from the time I was hanging out at this newly opened alternative space in the middle of 2010 called Chez Lodin / Toot Yung at Saphan Wanchaat in Bangkok. It was the sort of place where I could meet new people easily each time and form relationships. After two years, it had to close and everyone moved on with their lives. I felt like I could try to continue this kind of spirit at Speedy Grandma.

Speedy Grandma’s previous space in 2019 during the ‘Office Hours’ project, right before closure. From left to right: Pongsakorn Yananissorn, Nawin Nuthong.

In the first two years, I felt like I had achieved my initial idea for this space. Most of the audience were travellers and foreigners who lived and worked in Bangkok. Speedy Grandma had garnered a reputation for its wild art opening parties and after-parties. I fostered many new friendships and collaborations. In late 2014 when more members joined the team, we started to discuss further the direction we wanted this project to move towards. The craziness of the foreign crowds had died down, and more young Thai students and fresh graduates started to hang out at the space. We finally decided to shift the focus to make Speedy Grandma into a space for young Thai people. I started to see that it could be much more than just a fun hang-out. We could create some sort of a small community who believe in the same thing, whatever it may be.

We hit it off quite well with this idea and hosted talks, discussions, workshops, live performances, experimental music, and residencies. It was a vibrant and meaningful time. Our discussions with the local audiences gave me new ideas about how to see contemporary art. At that time, we were the only alternative space to host so many events in such a short period of time, and with limited resources. Most of the events came out of our frustration towards issues in the art scenes, politics, and society. We saw Speedy Grandma as a place where we could pose important questions to the public and generate discussion.

“At that time, we were the only alternative space to host so many events in such a short period of time, and with limited resources. Most of the events came out of our frustration towards issues in the art scenes, politics, and society. We saw Speedy Grandma as a place where we could pose important questions to the public and generate discussion.”

Of course, nothing lasts forever and our peak period only lasted six to eight months. Everyone on the team was madly passionate about Speedy Grandma and unfortunately we could not separate the work and our friendships. There were some big fights which could not be resolved then, and some members left. I stayed on with the other co-founder, Thomas Menard.

From 2016 to 2018, I ran the space alone. Autopilot was my main mode of operation at the time. I was lucky to receive help from many friends around me to make each exhibition happen. No one was actually willing to commit to running the space with me, and I kept asking myself why I was still doing it. To keep it going, I needed to collaborate with others. Thinking and planning everything alone was not ideal.I tried to quit Speedy Grandma a few times. Obviously, I have not been successful at that... A new team for Speedy Grandma made their way to me. I took a break for a few months only to find myself coming back to running the space with them again. It was my plan since the beginning to run Speedy Grandma for a total of 10 years.

In 2020, there were many changes. We had our first ever patron who supported the rent. We moved to a new location. We had a few exhibitions at the new venue but due to limited gallery space, I questioned what the purpose of an art exhibition was and what I liked about Speedy Grandma. The answer is that I loved to meet new people and potentially try to spark future projects and collaborations.

Right now, the fourth-generation members and I have decided we do not need to exhibit artworks anymore. We want to interact with audiences in a different way. We plan to open more classrooms, host workshops, reading groups, and film screenings, and even offer our space for other groups to use.

After all these years, it is quite clear to me now why we need alternative/artist- run spaces in the city. We should have more space for people to come together, discuss ideas and start working collectively. In this city where there is not much free public space for gathering, house sharing is not a culture. A space to gather and form some sense of community is needed. I am satisfied with what Speedy Grandma has become and what we were able to achieve in the past decade. The name Speedy Grandma comes from an urban legend about the ghost of a grandma who used to feel like she needed to stay in a certain place. But now, the grandma ghost can be free and go anywhere she likes.

The views and opinions expressed in this article are the author's own and do not necessarily reflect those of Art & Market.

This essay was first published in CHECK-IN 2022, A&M’s second annual publication. Click here to read the digital copy in full, or to purchase a copy of the limited print edition.

Read all My Own Words essays here.

Note from Associate Editor Ian Tee

In May 2020, I wrote a two-part essay on independent spaces and artist-founded galleries across Southeast Asia. My goal was to consolidate the reasons why such spaces were established as well as how they have engaged with market forces. The piece was a testament to the imagination and resourcefulness of artists, and their ability to inhabit — and even flourish — in different roles. Revisiting the essay today, I am even more conscious of the overlaps between artistic practice and the daily operation of these spaces. Crucially, they are about the state of being independent.

In this collection of essays, three practitioners are invited to share observations and personal sentiments about their respective spaces. Unchalee Anantawat, co-founder of Speedy Grandma in Bangkok, reflects on the space’s decade-long run. She charts the evolving needs of her community and the different collaborators who have left their mark. Curator Van Do writes about her experience working with two independent art spaces in Vietnam: The Factory in Ho Chi Minh City and Á Space in Hanoi. She meditates on the interplay between site and space by mapping recent community-based projects. Engaging with the topic on an ideological level, Jason Wee, founder of Grey Projects in Singapore, issues a polemic for dissimilation.

Taken together, their essays help us think through what it means to make space for oneself and for one’s community, as well as the freedoms and sacrifices doing so entails.