Brand new Museum of Contemporary Art - MAIIAM

#Art MAIIAM Contemporary Art Museum, Chiang Mai is a museum for displaying contemporary art and artworks that the Bunnag family has collected for more than 30 years. It is also a space for other artists to hold exhibitions. This museum was started by Jean-Michel Berdelay and Eric Bunnag Booze, his sons, who wanted to share their 30-year collection of contemporary art with the public and wanted people to have easier access to art, whether they were artists, art students, or even the general public. To pass on their inspiration, the couple started this museum project. The first thing we encountered when we entered the exhibition area was an exhibition room that told the biography of Chao Chom Aiem Bunnag, the royal concubine of King Chulalongkorn, through various pieces of art. Eric Bunnag Booze intended to create it to dedicate to his great-grandmother, which is also the origin of the name of this museum. The word ‘Mai’ refers to Chiang Mai Province, while the word ‘Aiem’ comes from the name of Chao Chom Aiem Bunnag. In the same area, there is also a movie screening room, which the museum has a project to screen alternative films that may be hard to find in the future. After walking around and seeing all parts of the museum, what we clearly noticed was the simplicity of the space, which is not decorated in any way other than each piece of art. This is one of the core values ​​of this museum. “The main idea is that the architecture must not overpower the artwork. When we go to some museums abroad, we get annoyed that we see the building more than the artwork. As an architect, we get annoyed because we think that some artwork is much cooler than that. The architecture should be a place that makes the artwork or artistic activities stand out. This is what both the owner and us want,” concluded Phi Aon. For us, the design of this building is not just about not overpowering the artwork. But this architecture, designed by a true art lover, would not be an exaggeration to be considered another piece of art.