“WONDERLAND” OPEN HOUSE | FREC BANGKOK & CREATIVE MIGRATION
Creative Migration & FREC Bangkok
Title: “WONDERLAND” FREC Bangkok Open House (3rd Anniversary!)
Artist Organization: Creative Migration
Presenting Partner: Ford Resource and Engagement Center (FREC) Bangkok
Category: EVENTIntroduction
Creative Migration recently launched an organization-wide Climate Policy, which features guidelines and recommendations for all our operations. This was informed by the completion of our first CIR for Artists Commit in July 2022.
Our flagship location in Thailand is Bangkok 1899, which is a part of a larger ecosystem called the Ford Resource and Engagement Center (FREC) Bangkok, which was designed to be a shared space for the local neighborhood. It is home to seven non-governmental organizations (FREC stewards) that run programs focused on food, environmental conservation, art and technology. Creative Migration is a FREC Steward, along with Na Projects, Love Wildlife, Precious Plastic Bangkok, Urban Studies Lab, Bird Conservation Society of Thailand (BCST) and Scholars of Sustenance Thailand - SOS Thailand.
To commemorate FREC’s third anniversary, we collectively organized a neighborhood open house (theme: WONDERLAND) with a variety of events to showcase our programs. Creative Migration screened the documentary film I Am Greta, in partnership with the Can You Hear Us? campaign, along with a talk between two youth climate activists.
Creative Migration’s contribution towards this larger event is twofold:
Climate storytelling and intergenerational conversations
Measuring the environmental impact of our work
Hence, we invited our fellow FREC stewards to join us in a larger, more reflective CIR. This will not only evaluate the event’s carbon footprint, but also influence on a larger scale how we all function and measure our impact as a campus.
Carbon Emissions
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Staff Travel (round trip) calculated
= 1,087.1 km total (with 19.6 km non vehicle)Creative Migration: 68 km (.25 km non-vehicle)
Susannah Tantemsapya - (walk) .2 km
Tommy Real (taxi) - 42 km
Bhoom Tansirimas - (family car) 12 km
SUIC students - (carpooled from campus) 14 km
FREC: 72 km
Nooknick - (rideshare motorbike) 24km
Nam - (taxi) 36 km
Earn - (rideshare motorbike) 12 km
Korn - (walk) .8 km
Pete - (walk) .8 km
Satang - (walk) .8 km
Na Projects: 113 km
Saks - (taxi) 30 km
Him - (own car) 50 km
May - (electric motorcycle) 17 km
Pin - (public transit) 16 km
Love WIldlife: 129 km
Jam - (own car) 23 km
Chompoo - (own car) 30 km
Oam - (public transit + taxi) 32 km
Nancy - (own car) 44 km
Precious Plastic Bangkok: 187.5 km (1 km non-vehicle)
Champ - (own bike) 17 km
Pin - (own car) 41.1 km
Gao - (own motorbike) 80 km
Mew - (public transit) 16 km
Noi - (walk) 1 km
Nut - (own bike) 10.8 km
Muk - (own car) 22.6 km
Urban Studies Lab: 126.8 km (14 km non-vehicle)
Rodmay - (walk) 2 km
King - (own car) 8 km
Prai - (public transit) 4.4km
Yu - (public transit) 5.4 km
Bell - (public transit) 11 km
Kao - (own car) 22 km
Yok - (own ev car) 36 km
Grace - (own car) 40 km
Bun - (bicycle) 12 km
BCST: 125 km (2 km non-vehicle)
Panumad - (walk) 1 km
Pinyalak - (carpool) 5 km
Khwankhao - (public transport) 20 km
Thitiporn - (walk) 1 km
Sasitan - (own car) 100 km
SOS Thailand: 265.8 km
Faii - (motorbike) 5 km
Ploy - (own car) 7.8 km
Earth - (public transport) 40 km
Yammy - (public transport) 25 km
Milk - (own car) 13 km
Ex - (public transport) 29 km
Kong - (own car) 2 km
Came - (motorbike) 9 km
Pak - (own car) 40 km
Noom - (own car) 12 km
Tong - (motorbike) 50 km
Arm - (motorbike) 33 km
122 visitors (x average distance 20 km round trip) 2,440 km
3,527.1 km TOTAL (does not include 19.6 km non-vehicle)
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Location: = 0.09 tCO2e
Bangkok 1899 was powered for 8 hours specifically for the event; we have calculated the total use of electricity by estimation. The entire building uses 1,500 KWh a month. This is 50 KWh per day.The FREC building was powered for 7 hours specifically for the event; we have calculated the total use of electricity by estimation. The entire building uses 4,120 KWh a month. This is 137 KWh per day.
Precious Plastic Bangkok: = 0.06 tCO2e
We planned to conduct the workshops as efficiently as possible by managing the operation of the machine. For example, using them for appropriate workshop periods/preheating the machines and arranging the number of people according to energy and time efficiency for each round.
For the part of the event that recycled plastic, Precious Plastic Bangkok used three machines:
Shredder machine - 2.20 kwh for 7 hours = 10 kgCO2e
Injection machine - 2.00 kwh for 7 hours = 10 kgCO2e
Extrusion machine - 4.20 kwh for 7 hours = 10 kgCO2e
For the comfort of the attendants, appliances were installed at the premises.
3 Fans - 0.3 kwh for 8 hours = Less than 10 kgCO2e
1 Ventilating fan - 0.07 kwh for 8 hours = Less than 10 kgCO2e
4 Lights - 0.8 kwh for 9 hours = Less than 10 kgCO2e
USL: = Less than 0.01 tCO2e
PB board game activities are organized in small rounds which are designed according to the number of participants, to optimize the energy usage (electricity) for each round according to the number of participants.1 Projector - 0.84 kwh for 4 hours
SOS Thailand: = Less than 0.20 tCO2e
Microwave - 0.10 kwh for 1 hour
BBQ electric grill - 0.10 kwh for 1 hour
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FREC: 43 km = .01 tCO2e
Via post within Bangkok
Via messenger (pick up materials) 6.3 km
Buying materials via messenger 36.7 km
Love Wildlife: = less than 0.01 tCO2e
Received fabric from a clothing factory in Wattana district by Grab Messenger via motorbike
USL: = 0.08 tCO2e
Pins and Map that were ordered within Bangkok (motorcycle delivery)
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Creative Migration:
Photo printing for Tommy’s exhibition
I Am Greta film screened three times (0.077 kwh x 5 hours = 0.385)
Photo Booth (live with lighting equipment - digital images only)
FREC:
Glue gun 4 hrs = .12 kwh
Emissions related to the production of materials or artwork: Student Camp & Decorations
Catalog or brochure printing : Passport, Posters, logo stickers
Live stream of talks: FB Live (0.077 kwh x 5 hours = 0.385)
Compost machine
Na Projects:
Emissions related to events, especially food
USL:
Emissions related to the production of materials Material printing of the event that PB
BCST:
Printing of photos
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Emission Calculation Methodology:
This was a collective effort to gather data between eight different organizations. Each organization's data is separated to show their individual impact and then consolidated in categories to show their collective impact.
We met beforehand to decide on what we were going to measure. We decided to concentrate on all staff travel and average the travel for our attendees within greater Bangkok. Some of the travel was by foot and bicycle, so we are not sure how the non-vehicle travel can offset the vehicles using gasoline, as well as how EVs affect our total calculated emissions. In this case, we did not count these in the final calculations, but did list to show the impact.
We used a watt to kwh calculator to have consistent calculations when possible. We referenced The carbon footprint of streaming video: fact-checking the headlines by George Kamiya, Energy Policy Analyst for the International Energy Agency (IEA), to measure the film screening and FB live streaming. We were not able to find a way to measure the kwh of the photo booth or the electric compost machine. Also, we don’t have data to measure the impact of photography prints and other materials to exhibit, so we listed these, hoping to be able to have tools to measure in the future.
Waste Report
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Waste Category |
Examples of Items |
Notes |
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Reuse:
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Creative Migration:
FREC:
Na Projects:
USL:
BCST:
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FREC:
USL:
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Repurpose:
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Creative Migration:
FREC:
Love Wildlife:
Precious Plastic Bangkok:
USL:
SOS Thailand:
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FREC:
Love Wildlife:
Precious Plastic Bangkok:
SOS Thailand:
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Storage:
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FREC:
USL:
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Refuse:
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SOS Thailand:
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Recycle:
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FREC:
Na Projects:
Precious Plastic Bangkok:
SOS Thailand:
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Precious Plastic Bangkok:
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Eliminate: waste diverted from landfill waste diverted from landfill
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Love Wildlife:
Precious Plastic Bangkok:
SOS Thailand:
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Precious Plastic Bangkok:
SOS Thailand:
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Landfill
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Creative Migration:
Na Projects:
Love Wildlife:
SOS Thailand:
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Love Wildlife:
Na Projects:
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Consumable:
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FREC:
Na Projects:
SOS Thailand:
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Na Projects:
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Compost: |
FREC:
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FREC:
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Supporting people
Through our dynamic ecosystem of organizations, we collectively support our community - here are some highlights on how we work together:
There is a long history of our local community of Nang Loeng and our location as a former school that was founded by Chao Phraya Thammakmontri, known as the Father of Modern Education in Thailand.
Creative Migration is driving to establish both Bangkok 1899 and FREC as role models for climate action and regenerative best practices.
FREC working to help wildlife and local environment (i.e. BCST) along with helping to increase animal welfare (Love Wildlife) * beyond people!!!
USL provides an environment for children to learn about democracy and the economy with their Participatory Budgeting Game.
Na Projects helps upskilling at-risk youth and urban refugees.
Both locations serve as support for Title 1 students - creating equitable education for low-income students.
Collective Action
Since 2021, Susannah Tantemsapya has served on the Convening Team of Entertainment and Culture for Climate Action (ECCA), a global collaborative initiative to unite the cultural sector on shared climate goals and solutions. Initially conceived by the President of the UN General Assembly, ECCA has brought together stakeholders in the film and television sector and will be gradually expanding to include all entertainment and culture including theater, music, performing arts and visual arts. ECCA is part of the Marrakech Partnership for Global Climate Action, a framework to support implementation of the Paris Agreement by non-State actors and advance ambition by strengthening collaboration between governments and key stakeholders, under the leadership of the High-Level Champions.
The launch of this initiative is supported by: the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) secretariat and the UN Education, Science and Culture Organization (UNESCO).
Governance: A Convening Team and Steering Committee composed of experts from entertainment and the arts, sustainability, and academia; and a General Assembly of +430 global members of the entertainment sector.
This is an initiative that would like to engage with Artists Commit when we start to focus on the art world.
Flyer for the event
Project Specific Sustainability Concerns:
Precious Plastic Bangkok:
The participants were not able to perceive the holistic purpose or ethos behind the PPB movement due to our in-person workshops having limited time to emphasize the magnitude of plastic waste pollution and its overall contribution to the climate crisis.
USL:
USL hosted a part of our PB Workshop through an online platform as a tool for participation to limit the use of printing/paper. In doing so, we have collected data to further develop our Participatory Budgeting Board Game. Though, it was a challenge to deliver our objectives across in a short period of time and more importantly to children.
BCST:
BCST hosts the event with other organizations via online platforms as we concern the travel and carbon emission. Moreover, the materials for games and exhibitions are all reusables to minimize waste management.
SOS Thailand:
SOS uses only surplus food (BBQ chicken) that we rescued from manufacturers which prevent these to be thrown into landfill and create carbon emission. Only chicken bones went to the landfill, while the package was washed and returned to the manufacturer to recycle it.
Closing Thoughts
FREC:
Designed to be a shared public space for the neighborhood to enjoy, FREC Bangkok is home to seven nongovernmental organizations that run programs focused on food, environmental conservation, art and technology. We created this ecosystem where we could pursue a multidisciplinary approach to the urban scene solutions from organic relationships formed within our space. As the generation of environmental conscious citizens.
Na Projects:
Our mission is to use food and beverage as a medium to make meaningful and sustainable differences in people's lives. We are committed to our zero waste practices and supporting local farmers by selecting local ingredients for our food and beverages.
Love Wildlife:
As a conservation organization, we take a climate change topic seriously. It’s remarkable that, when we developed the event, all partners tried their best to reduce carbon emission and minimize the waste produced throughout the whole event. Climate change is not a crisis a person can battle along. It requires all individuals to take actions. This report is a great example of what we can achieve when we work together.
Precious Plastic Bangkok:
Our goal of tackling plastic pollution which secretly causes climate change more or less, therefore, creating this report is what we consider significant measurement to validate our operation related to energy consumption, material recovery, and waste diverted from landfills.
USL:
Inclusive learning is one of USL’s mission to tackle issues in the urban realm. We believe that participation is a key approach to the learning process that emphasizes on the learners. We take pride in creating learning tools for participation which encourages learning by doing, using small groups, concrete materials, open discussions, and peer teaching. In most cases, we find participants immensely engaged in our activities. However, it can be a challenge for younger children and community members to stay engaged and to digest such a heavy information as Participatory Budgeting in short time. In hindsight, this leaves us rooms for improvement to create a suitable toolkit for the general public to participate in the future.
SOS Thailand:
Food equity is a fundamental right for all individuals, regardless of their income, gender, or social status. The mission of SOS is to achieve Zero Hunger where we have been putting the effort into creating a circular sustainable food system where we rescue the surplus food, turn it into nutritious meals and compost the inedible part.
Flyer for the event
Credits
Creative Migration is a women-of-color-led, international arts organization based in Los Angeles and Bangkok. Our mission is to bring together cultural and climate diplomacy with a special focus on collaborative community building through intersectional practices. Our programming is defined through three primary strands: Artist Residencies & Creative Hubs, Site-specific Installations and Transmedia Projects. Since 2011, our nonprofit has employed environmentally regenerative practices throughout our projects and day-to-day operations.
Creative Migration was founded in 2005 by our Executive Director Susannah Tantemsapya in California. She expanded operations to Thailand in 2018 to open our largest project to date, Bangkok 1899, a cultural & civic hub established through funding from the Ford Motor Company Fund and The Rockefeller Foundation.
Bangkok 1899 curates an international artist residency program, hosts locally/globally themed events, has a public garden and houses a social impact cafe run by Na Projects.
Our historic location, Ban Chao Phraya Thammasakmontri, originally built in 1899, was designed by Italian architect Mario Tamagno. His most famous work includes Ananta Samakhom Throne Hall, Neilson Hays Library and Bangkok Railway Station (Hua Lamphong). For the very first time, this landmark is open to the public.
Our goal is for Bangkok 1899 to be a light-hearted atmosphere where everyone feels welcome. The open space encourages individuals to pursue the lost art of leisure, unburdened by consumerism. Our hope is that the public can come together, experience art, have discussions and discover new avenues of creativity.
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This report was prepared by Susannah Tantemsapya with the support of the eight different organizations.
Link to exhibition page: https://fb.me/e/41un5XtmF