Pawin Ramingwong

During the last days of 2024, I travelled to Phayao and met Pawin “Pong” Ramingwong, an artist and educator deeply involved in the local art scene. At the time, he was organising cultural projects in the city and working with Sophirat Muangkum on the Phayao Photography Biennale, which they both organised.

For the portrait, Pong took me to Arcade Market, one of Phayao’s older markets. Upstairs, he had rented an abandoned unit and was turning it into Artcade, an art space intended to bring exhibitions and creative activity directly into the market. He told me the building had been struggling as shopping habits moved online.

As we walked through the stalls, Pong mentioned that the market had been struggling because of online shopping. Even so, people greeted him warmly, offering us food and stopping to chat. It was clear they appreciated his vision for a new kind of “art market”. Whatever Artcade might become, Pong already seemed woven into the place.