Restarting Studio 88’s newsletter gave us a chance to look back at 2025 and the first half of 2026. This period marked a time when Studio 88 began to take on a wider role.
Artists continued to come to Doi Saket for time, space and the chance to focus on their work. Alongside the residency itself, however, there were more exhibitions, collaborations and opportunities beyond Chiang Mai.
It was also encouraging to see artists returning to Studio 88. Sara Wolman is one such example. We also welcomed back Jonathan Armour, whose relationship with Studio 88 led us to introduce him to NY20+ in Chengdu, opening up another opportunity for artistic exchange. These returning artists are important to us. They remind us that a residency can be more than a one-time experience.
The year opened with StoryScapes: Tales of Change and Connection, followed by Evolving Identities. Both programmes brought artists together around questions that have increasingly shaped Studio 88’s work: how we understand the places we live in, the stories we carry, and the changes that shape who we are. It gave us wonderful opportunities to collaborate with new and old friends in Chiang Mai along with international artists as usual.
One of the more significant developments was our first Extended Residency Programme in Singapore.
Sara Wolman, a returning Studio 88 artist, was the first to take part. Her work brings together art, nature and environmental education. In Singapore, she presented What Still Sings?, exploring migratory birds, conservation and changes in the natural world.
Singapore offered a natural continuation of her work. Located along an important migratory bird route, it gave these ideas a different setting and audience.
Thomas Triebe-Pay took part in the Extended Residency in October last year. His time in Singapore included visits to museums, galleries and other parts of the city’s art scene, including veteran award-winning artists from Taiwan.
The two residencies were different, as they should have been. Together, they helped us explore a simple idea: the experience of a residency need not be confined to a single location.
Our work in Asia also developed through our collaboration with NY20+ in Chengdu, through which Thai artists Natthawut Jaikla and Wuttinun Kotisathiankul (Wuko) were selected for a residency in China. It was part of our effort to create more opportunities for Thai artists to encounter new artistic environments.
We also introduced the Studio 88 Creative Research Stay, a new initiative for artists, curators, writers and other creative practitioners who need a shorter period in Chiang Mai to think, explore or undertake initial research. Not every visit needs to be a full residency. Sometimes a few days away from the usual environment are enough to gain a different perspective or work through an idea.
Our first Visiting Creative under this programme was Alexandra Kalinkina (Sasha), an art historian and cultural practitioner based in Bangkok. During her three-day stay in May 2026, she met resident artists, attended an exhibition opening and a lecture on artist residencies, and spent time exchanging ideas about artistic practice and the wider arts community in Chiang Mai. A few months later, Professor Michael Huang from Nanhua University of Taiwan became our second, along with his two students, on an exploratory visit. We look forward to their return in the near future.
Closer to home, Pattarine Fontaine and Rath Chun of Aglaia Docufilms joined the growing circle around Studio 88. Their presence brought filmmakers and artists into closer contact and opened up possibilities for future work across different creative practices. There is so much we can share about their work and what they have done for the arts community and us in the region; we will have a future article about that.
Art, nature and the environment also remained central to Studio 88’s programme.
Reviving Nature continued to develop, while Botanical Breath brought together artists, plants, traditional knowledge and questions around air quality and respiratory health.
These subjects can sound abstract until you live with them.
In northern Thailand, the effects of air pollution are difficult to ignore. Conversations around plants, health and the environment therefore felt rooted in everyday experience.
The first half of 2026 continued this work. Reviving Nature 2026 brought artists into contact with local knowledge and environmental questions in Chiang Mai, while a new edition of Evolving Identities returned to questions of memory, migration, culture and belonging. (Oh yes, Open Call for Reviving Nature 2027 is still ongoing but closing soon — hurry!)
Looking back, we are grateful.
There were artists returning to Studio 88. There were new programmes and exhibitions. There were collaborations in Chiang Mai, Singapore and Chengdu. And there was a growing willingness to see what Studio 88 could become beyond the familiar idea of an artist residency.
Studio 88 remains rooted in Doi Saket, and the artist residency will remain at the heart of what we do. But this is also part of a longer-term direction for Studio 88.
We want to become a place where more people can encounter art and the ideas around it. Not only through the work of resident artists, but through workshops, talks, gatherings and other events that bring artists and audiences together.
Over the coming year, we expect to develop more of these programmes and open Studio 88 to a wider audience. The residency gives us a foundation. What we are beginning to build around it is something broader: a place for making, learning, discussion and shared experience.
We look forward to sharing with you our ongoing journey, and we invite you to join us.
Reflection by Wong Koi Hin.
