XI. Heritage as currency
Part 11 of an international solo on ”Lanna“ by Lim Siang Jin. This online exhibition, comprising 20 parts, is from May 6 to June 5, 2025
LANNA stands where culture becomes product. Sacred rituals turn into photo opportunities, craftspeople perform for tourists, and traditions become attractions. This shift—making heritage into merchandise—can’t be stopped. But selling culture isn’t always harmful if real meaning stays intact. Tourism money saves old buildings and supports local families. The real danger is losing humanity: when locals become background scenery, when crafts become just social media content, when meaningful traditions become simple entertainment. As products multiply, crafts may lose their soul. Local people get pushed out of their homes. Lanna’s true test: keeping human dignity alive when traditions become things to buy and sell.
The artist’s gamble
IN CHIANG RAI’S streets, artists balance freedom and uncertainty. Unlike factory workers, they set their own prices and hours, but this independence comes with risk. Tourist moods determine their income—bad weather or low seasons mean struggle. This man thrives on painting portraits, some from handphone images. He connects directly with visitors, creating moments of real exchange amid commercial transactions. Yet this lifestyle offers no safety nets, only the daily challenge of turning his skills into livelihood. He finds dignity in choosing how to present his wares, even as market forces push him toward redundancy.
Dehumanised cultural labour
BEHIND Lanna’s tourist facade, craftspeople both make and perform culture. Like this lady. Her skilled hands create products while her traditional methods become attractions themselves. Visitors watch and photograph her as “authentic” culture, yet she often receives a meagre share of tourism profits. She follows strict schedules and repeats the same tasks, her creativity limited by work demands. People like her help preserve traditions, yet they have little say in how their culture is packaged and sold. Their knowledge builds Lanna’s reputation while their needs remain largely under-appreciated. They have become living symbols whose personal dignity requires constant defence.
Success on local terms
IN BUSTLING MARKETS, entrepreneurs show how locals can thrive in tourism without losing control. This lady adapts her recipes to changing tastes while maintaining cultural integrity. As an entrepreneur, she lives a dignified existence—setting her own terms, building direct relationships with customers and keeping more of the profits her traditional recipe generates. Challenges remain—rising costs, changing trends, outside competition—but that’s the price to pay for dignity. She is one among many who aren’t just surviving in tourism but actively shaping it, proving that traditions can evolve without being diminished.
For more information, click on links: Stephen Menon, O Art Space Gallery, Lim Siang Jin and his art, here and here. For a detailed acknowledgment, click here