Economic Empowerment through Creative Work
Curated Conferences 2025
Economic Empowerment through Creative Work
In the Mekong region, artists and cultural practitioners face increasing economic challenges due to fluctuating markets, limited access to resources, and the need for greater visibility. Ensuring long-term economic sustainability is critical as creative professionals strive to position their work within local, regional, and global markets. As they face an evolving landscape, how can they secure long-term economic sustainability?
This series explores strategies for enhancing the value of creative work, promoting sustainable livelihoods through local, regional, and global markets. It also highlights the role of cross-border collaborations in driving economic empowerment for artists
Discussion will include:
- Economic challenges and opportunities for Mekong-based creatives
- Positioning creative work for market visibility and economic growth
- Diversifying revenue streams for financial stability
- Leveraging online platforms for sustainable income
- Benefits and challenges of cross-border collaborations
- Building networks to access broader market opportunities
- Financial strategies for long-term creative sector sustainability
- The role of artists in advocating for and shaping the creative industry
CURATOR
Sasiwimon Wongjarin (Aom) is the Director of Studio 88 with over 20 years of international arts management experience. She leads impactful artist residencies, cultural education programs, and strategic business planning for creatives, promoting global collaboration. Her work emphasises cultural diversity, sustainability, and social change, tackling environmental challenges, gender equality, empowerment, and inclusion. Aom holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Education and a Master of Museology, and has worked with notable organisations like the Asia-Europe Foundation, British Council Thailand and The Land Foundation.
Curated Conferences
The Curated Conference program is part of Meeting Point. The next Meeting Point will take place in October 2025, with an in-person gathering in Vientiane from October 16-18. The aim of this program is to create space for diverse practitioners working in or closely with art and culture to discuss and explore topics that concern them, and to be able to share the outcomes of their discussions with a wider public audience. There are two topics for this year’s conference program, The Citizens of In-Betweens, curated by Andrei Venal, DAKILA (Philippines) and Economic Empowerment through Creative Work, curated by Sasiwimon Wongjarin (Aom), Studio 88 (Thailand). Each group will includes 4-6 Fellows, who expressed interest in exploring these themes. From February until July 2025, the Fellows meet online approximately once per month, for a series of conversations facilitated by their Curator, starting from the prompt statement shared in the program overview, and evolving with the inputs of the group. During August and September 2025, the Fellows and their Curator will focus on preparing the content and format for the public sharing sessions they will host during the Meeting Point on Art & Social Action in October 2025.