What drove you to open a contemporary art museum?

My mom [the late Patsri Bunnag] and dad have collected Thai contemporary art for so many years. Now we just want to share it with others. We felt that Thailand has many galleries, but lacked a good museum to offer a retrospective of Thai contemporary art. When art lovers come to Thailand, there’s no way to get an overview of the scene. At Maiiam, they will be able to view pieces from leading Thai artists from the past 20 years.

Why did you choose Chiang Mai?

It’s part of our family history. We’ve always traveled to Chiang Mai and Chiang Rai to buy art. Luckily we found an old factory in Sankhampaeng that we could transform into this museum. Actually, this area has long been considered Chiang Mai’s art and crafts center due to the famous Bo Sang umbrella village. We didn’t plan it, though. It was just luck.

How is the art scene there?

Awesome. It has grown quickly in recent years but it’s not driven by money like in Singapore, where the government throws hundreds of millions of dollars at collecting Southeast Asian art. That’s a great idea, but here, it’s more organic. People create it by themselves. No one has received money from the government to invest and say, “Let’s turn Chiang Mai into a cultural city.” No. All this has happened because of artists, gallery owners, collectors and other people who live here. I also feel that people in Chiang Mai are proud of their culture and identity, and consider their city to be Thailand’s leading cultural center. 

How does the art scene in Bangkok compare?

I believe that in the next couple of years, an important museum will open in Bangkok that will make huge collections available to the public. I hope all the new galleries and museums opening will create a wider art market in Thailand, which still lacks art collectors.

What’s holding back art collecting in Thailand?

I’m still figuring that out. More and more rich Chinese people are becoming art collectors. First they might buy 10 Ferraris, but eventually they start collecting art. However, I don’t recommend collecting art as an investment. You should buy a piece because you have an emotional attachment to it. No one can forecast whether it will fetch a better price in the future. But you’re lucky, it might save your children when they need money to buy a house in 20 years’ time.

Do you think your museum will stoke more interest in the local art scene?

We’re still nervous about it. We just hope it will be an attraction that people visit when they go to Chiang Mai, like Guggenheim has placed Bilbao on the world’s art map. Even though our architecture isn’t as extravagant as that, we are proud of the brilliant job our talented architect [all(zone)] did with our limited personal budget. Our ultimate goal is to inspire younger generations of artists to dare to follow their dreams, as well as inspire more art collectors.

Why the name Maiiam?

It's a play on the name of Chiang Mai, meaning new city, and the abbreviated name of Chao Chom Iam, one of King Rama V,'s wives who raised my grandfather [Terd Bunnag] when he was young. We want to dedicate this museum to her.

What’s next for Maiiam?

We want to launch activities and workshops for people from a very young age. We might invite some international artists to show their works here, while we also want to work with our neighbors in Sankampaeng to showcase the beautiful handicrafts of the North.