Thailand - case study 1 泰國 - 個案研究 1

E-Lerng Project, is an ongoing community-based project founded in 2007 by Nawarat Waewployngam, a young artist who grew up in  Nang Lerng community, a slum area in the heart of Bangkok. Along with her friends, Nawarat wants to improve the life of people in the neighbourhood (urban community) by integrating different branches of knowledge  to create practical and sustainable community development projects covering every aspect of life. Nang Lerng has been in existence since the early Bangkok period. The community is known for its good street food and rich local heritage such as Lakorn Chatree (one of the traditional dance forms). It was also home to one of the first cinemas in Bangkok.  

Since their initiation in 2007, E-Lerng’s projects have adopted a multidisciplinary approach. The group has worked with artists from all disciplines and connected them with the local  community.  They have been working side by side with architects, university professors, volunteers and Nang Lerng community on city farming for a sustainable community for over a year. Their projects range from exhibitions, artists in residency programs, workshops and tourism. During the Covid outbreak, the group worked to serve the community, taking care of their health care, as well as their daily food service.  Their projects I would like to nominate are the E-Lerng Video Art project, Artists in Residency Program and the Lakorn Chatree project.