29/12/2025
Congratulations Ajarn Karma Sirikogar (Art by Karma) for leading this large international project with DCD SUIC students :
This collaborative project is now officially released for the U.S. Consulate in Chiang Mai, and we’re proud to share the role that DCD students from Silpakorn University International College played in this international, multi-year commission.
Vibrant Voices, Flowing Scapes is a collaborative project by Bennington College, Vermont, in partnership with Art in Embassies, US Department of State, at the U.S. Consulate in Chiang Mai, Thailand.
The project explores the human voice as a form of communication and diplomacy. Following research into Thai history, geography, and culture, the Bennington team — led by faculty artist Jon Isherwood and Susan Sgorbati, Director of the Center for the Advancement of Public Action — conducted voice and poetry exercises in collaboration with first-year DCD students at Silpakorn University International College, under the guidance of Ajarn Karma Sirikogar.
At the time, these students were in their first year of study. Their artworks and poetry were later digitised and remixed by Bennington College students, forming the foundation for a mosaic installation, a series of glass circles, and a mixed-media work created by Ajarn Karma Sirikogar with curatorial guidance from Sarah Tanguy, tying together the public installations at the U.S. Consulate.
Now, several years later — and following the graduation of these students — the completed work has entered the Art in Embassies, U.S. Department of State Permanent Collection, highlighting how early-stage student work can meaningfully contribute to real-world, international cultural projects.
This project involved over fifty contributors, including artists, students, public art professionals, architects, landscape designers, and collaborators from Art in Embassies, Studio Ya, Wises Silp, Chiangmai Parts and Tools, and Chiangmai Temper.
All photography by Amanda Brooks.
