On the ideological flexibility of the cultural common(s): The many lives of Thailand’s Art Lane

The 'inappropriate BOOK CLUB' in conversation with Lee Anantawat critically examine the concept of the common, speaking from Thailand’s authoritarian, late capitalist context. The 'inappropriate BOOK CLUB' was a commoning initiative discussing art and politics, organised in Bangkok in 2021 in the setting of the Bangkok Biennial. At the core of this presentation is a critical approach that sees the common as a third domain of social organising next to the state and the market. However, experience suggests that this third domain of the common is not inherently ‘good’ or ‘inclusive’. Instead, we argue that the common is ‘ideologically flexible’, as it can support various positions. We make these arguments through a discussion of both counter-hegemonic common (art) initiatives, as well as anti-democratic initiatives that have supported the existing hegemony in Thailand over the past decades. In conversation with Lee Anantawat, art educator and common organiser behind the Bangkok Biennial and the We Take Care of Ourselves group amongst other things, we explore the consequences of these issues for Thailand. In the process, we will also reflect on the increasingly problematic role of art schools and institutions.