Women Staff Artists Exhibit Art That Gives Back: Proceeds Supporting Women’s Charities

In celebration of International Women’s Day 2026, I had the privilege of curating the intimate exhibition “Women, Art & The Spirit of Giving” as part of The Art of Giving: Art, Craft, Enterprise & Equality event on 1st March presented by the Australian Alumni Association (Thailand) at the Bangkok Art and Culture Centre.

Featured within the Art of Giving Gallery, the exhibition showcased the work of nine women artist-educators, business staff and leaders from our Teachers as Practitioners (TAPs) continuing professional learning programme at Bangkok Patana School. It highlighted the spirit of reciprocity at the heart of our community — giving to self, to one another and to the wider community through purposeful creative practice — aligning with the 2026 theme ‘Give to Gain’, with selected artworks on sale in support of women-focused charities.

Showcasing Patana’s Women Artist-Educators

The exhibition featured the work of the following TAPs programme staff artists:

• Cindy Adair
• Marie-Claire Redman
• Tidarat Tonasut (Gung Gaew)
• Duangporn Turongratanachai
• Areeluck Songsirikul (Nina)
• Pimpakarn Abhinoraseth (Jam)
• Kate McClenaghan
• Sathitha Kitchareonthumrong (Khun Waree)
• Purnima Ghogar Ruanglertbutr

Each brought a distinct voice, yet together their work reflected shared values of advocacy, reflection and raising awareness of wider societal issues. The exhibition celebrated women’s voices and showed how creativity can meaningfully contribute to conversations around equity, wellbeing and empowerment.

I am incredibly proud of these women for their generosity in sharing their work on a public platform.

Purchase with Purpose

Selected artworks from “Women, Art & The Spirit of Giving” are still available for purchase, with proceeds supporting women-focused charities in line with the ‘Give to Gain’ theme.

View the exhibition catalogue here to explore the works and pricing.

If you are interested in purchasing an artwork and contributing to the nominated causes, please contact the TAPs Project Lead, Purnima Ghogar, at pugh@patana.ac.th.

Inauguration Performance: “Give To Gain”

The day began with my inaugural spoken word performance poem, “Give To Gain: The Art of Giving,” written in response to the 2026 International Women’s Day theme.

In the poem, I reflected on the idea that both art and giving require intention, discipline and cultivation. Giving — whether knowledge, opportunity, visibility or protection is a practice. The poem asked a simple yet powerful question:

If equality is the outcome we seek, what are we willing to invest?

It was an honour to open the event in this way and to contribute creatively to a day centred on enterprise, advocacy and community impact.

‘Envisioning Positive Change’ Workshop

As part of The Art of Giving programme, I facilitated a workshop titled “Envisioning Positive Change: Women’s Voices Through Creative Journalling and Collage.” It was heartening to welcome both Patana staff and parents as we explored values, purpose and visions for positive change through guided reflection, poetry and collage. The openness around the table affirmed how transformative creative spaces can be when people feel safe to share. The workshop planted seeds for continued exploration, encouraging participants to use writing and visual art as tools for clarity and affirmation in shaping positive change in their lives.

Moderating “Giving Voice: Art, Storytelling & Advocacy”

Additionally, I had the honour of moderating a panel discussion titled “Giving Voice: Art, Storytelling & Advocacy.”

Joining me were:

• Wanassanan “Aom” Krainara, festival owner and curator of The Living Art
  
• Carolyne Thornton, special education and art teacher at the Dove Centre ELC
  
• Dr Naputsamohn Ib Junpiban, lecturer and service designer for wellbeing at Chulalongkorn University
  

Our conversation explored what it truly means to give voice — and the responsibility that comes with a platform. We discussed how creative spaces, classrooms and wellbeing systems can be intentionally designed to amplify underrepresented voices within Thailand’s growing creative and educational sectors.

The key message was clear: growth alone does not ensure equity; representation and inclusion must be consciously embedded in the spaces we create.

Where Professional Learning Creates Public Impact

The intimate TAPs exhibition and associated events showed how professional learning at Bangkok Patana can extend meaningfully into the wider community. When we practise in our daily work what we teach — voice, empathy, inclusion and reflection — the impact reaches far beyond our classrooms and workspaces.

I am grateful to all the artists and participants who made this International Women’s Day celebration so purposeful, and to the Australian Alumni Association (Thailand) for the opportunity to collaborate.