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IntroducinG Elevations Laos

Elevations Laos is a non-profit contemporary art initiative funded by the Spellbrook Foundation (https://www.spellbrook.org.au/) aiming to support and stimulate mobility and exchange in Laos through annual programming with artists, students and the public.
 

Elevations Laos organises or contributes to contemporary art exhibitions to raise the profile of contemporary art and artists in Laos.

The inaugural exhibition was held at the i:cat gallery in Vientiane between November 2018 and February 2019.
 
In February 2020, Elevations Laos facilitated an exhibition by Luang Prabang based Hmong artist Tcheu Siong at the Niagara Galleries in Melbourne, Australia.  Spellbrook subsequently funded the acquisition of one of Tcheu Siong’s works by the National Gallery of Victoria.
 
In 2019, Elevations Laos collaborated with the National Institute of Fine Arts (NIFA) in Vientiane to organise contemporary art awareness programs for students from Years 2 to 4.  These programs included a seminar to over 100 students and a field workshop with over 30 students. 
 

During 2020, Elevations Laos commenced student mentoring programs with students from NIFA.  These programs have variously involved Lao and international contemporary artists. 

Students and former students that completed the mentoring program went on field trips to Chiang Mai in Thailand in October 2022 and October 2024 to visit contemporary art galleries and artist studios and participate in workshops.

The Elevations Laos Art Space was established in 2020 at STELLA’s offices and shares spaces (www.thestella.org) for students and recent graduates to use and to host workshops.

In 2023, Elevations Laos commenced its first artist in residency program with the acclaimed, Thai installation artist Som Supaparyna.

Som met with local artists, students, alumni and teachers from NIFA and travelled to Champasak and Luangprabang to conduct research for a new art project.

Som also conducted two seminars to discuss her work. The first seminar was hosted at NIFA with 32 students from year one to year three classes. The second workshop was hosted at Institute Francais du Laos Exhibition room where 30 youth and young artists joined for her talk and Q&A.

In 2025, Thai artist and teacher Jedsada Tangtrakulwong started a mentoring residency with NIFA alumni that comprise The Lost Jigsaw collective and NIFA students.

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COLLABORATION WITH THE NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF FINE ARTS (NIFA)​

Following the 2018-19 Exhibition, the management team commenced a review of the strategy and a round of consultations.  It was agreed that Elevations Laos would focus its activities on encouraging the next generation of Lao contemporary artists through a collaboration with the students and teachers of the National Institute of Fine Arts (NIFA) in Vientiane.

The student program is voluntary and focused on Years 2-4 students undertaking a Bachelor of Arts degree.  The program comprises extracurricular teaching, seminars and field trips led by Lao and international artists and teachers.

The program commenced in October 2019 with a seminar and two-day workshop led by Savanhdary Vongpoothorn, a prominent Lao-Australian artist resident in Canberra and Dr Sophie McIntyre, the Course Coordinator & Lecturer at the Faculty of Creative Industries, Queensland University of Technology (QUT). The students also received guidance on the preparation of formal applications and portfolio submissions.

These inaugural seminar and workshop were very successful with over 100 students attending the seminar at NIFA and over 30 students attending the workshop at Panhug Organic Farm.

A student mentoring program commenced in early 2020.  The program mentored students on how to present their works and to encourage discussion and consideration of the influences on, and the subject of, their work.  These workshops were led by Bounpaul Phothyzan and Ton Disattha, both teachers and contemporary artists from inception to the end of 2022.  Bounpaul’s work was included in APT9 and the Elevations Laos Exhibition in 2018-’19.

The mentoring program has continued with new groups of Year 4 students through 2023 and 2025 with workshops led by Thai artist and teacher Jedsada Tangtrakulwong.

Previous mentoring programs culminated with field trips to Chiang Mai in October 2022 and October 2024. The field trips were coordinated and led by Som Supaparinaya, a Thai installation artist, and STELLA.

Both field trips comprised visits to various gallery and exhibitions, art spaces and Chiang Mai University and a workshop.  The students ended the field trips with a reflection workshop and feedback on their learnings.
Nov 2023 field research trip for the artist residency
Nov 2023 field research trip for the artist residency
Nov 2023 field research trip for the artist residency
Nov 2023 field research trip for the artist residency
Nov 2023 field research trip for the artist residency
Nov 2023 field research trip for the artist residency
Nov 2023 field research trip for the artist residency
Nov 2023 field research trip for the artist residency
Nov 2023 field research trip for the artist residency
Nov 2023 field research trip for the artist residency
Nov 2023 field research trip for the artist residency

ARTIST RESIDENCY

Artist in residence, Som Supaparyna.
Artist in residence, Som Supaparyna.

The purpose of the residency program is to encourage and facilitate the exchange of contemporary art ideas in Laos through the interaction of the artist-in-residence with practising artists, students and the public in Laos. 

The initial residency saw Elevations Laos host the acclaimed, Thai artist Som Supaparyna.

Som has developed a unique form of video-making that blends documentary and experimental methods, commonly involving intensive filming on location. Through her work, she points to the plights written out of mainstream history and weaves together the complexity of peoples, cultures, ethnicities and beliefs that have shaped modern Thailand.

There were three periods of residency.  The first two periods were in 2023 and the third period was in 2024.  As part of the 2023 program, Elevations Laos and Som organised a seminar at the National Institute of Fine Arts which was attended by teachers, students and recent alumni and an evening seminar at the French Institute in Vientiane as part of a broader arts event organised by STELLA which was open to the public. 

Som will use research from the residency to create an original work.  Students and alumni were part of the support team for Som’s research.  
an initiative of The Spellbrook Foundation

About Elevations Laos

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