FRANCISCO LÓPEZ | BANGKOK 1899
Title: International Artist Residency
Artist: Francisco López
Presenting Partner: Bangkok 1899
TYPE: Artist Residency/performanceIntroduction
Francisco López is internationally recognized as one of the major figures of the sound art and experimental music scene. For almost forty years he has developed an astonishing sonic universe, absolutely personal and iconoclastic, based on a profound listening of the world. Destroying boundaries between industrial sounds and wilderness sound environments, shifting with passion from the limits of perception to the most dreadful abyss of sonic power, proposing a blind, profound and transcendental listening, freed from the imperatives of knowledge and open to sensory and spiritual expansion.
Francisco López spent one month at Bangkok 1899’s International Artist Residency program from 8th September to 7th October, 2022 supported by the Embassy of Spain in Bangkok. Bangkok 1899 hosted four sold out experimental music performances from 10th-11th September. Then he and his partner, Barbara Ellison, traveled to five national parks all over Thailand to capture new field recordings. On the 6th October, he led an artist talk at Silpakorn University International College to conclude his one month residency at Bangkok 1899.
Francisco López, audio-artist and experimental musician, returned to Bangkok 1899 for two performances on 23 - 24 June 2023. These performances were the second section of a two-part residency supported by the Embassy of Spain in Bangkok. They were created exclusively with original environmental recordings of Thailand’s rainforests, which were recorded during the first part of the artist’s one month residency last September-October at Bangkok 1899.
During his residency, López utilized his philosophy of exploring the sensorial and ontological reality with a blind, profound and transcendental listening, reinterpreting what he calls an ‘anthropoEXcentric’ understanding of wilderness sound environments and sonic creatures. López’s new performances will creatively work with a myriad of these new original materials and live sound spatialization to expand our reality and give rise to a new and unique immersive experience of Thailand’s rainforests.
In addition to the performances, Francisco taught a Sound Masterclass in collaboration with the Princess Galyani Vadhana Institute of Music and joined our partner Na Projects for a Refugee Fundraising Dinner, where he provided live sounds of multiple rainforest recordings to accompany the seven-course dinner by Peruvian chef Santiago Fernandez Muñoz.
Background:
Bangkok 1899 is a cultural and civic hub established by Creative Migration, 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.
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. Since 2011, our nonprofit has employed environmentally regenerative practices throughout our projects and day-to-day operations. Throughout the years, we have accumulated knowledge and experience to create our organization-wide Climate Policy, which features guidelines and recommendations for all our operations.
Our historic location was designed by Italian architect Mario Tamagno under King Rama VI. Built in 1899, our hub is the former home of Chao Phraya Thammasakmontri, considered to be the father of Thailand’s modern education, and is centrally located in the city’s Old town neighborhood of Nang Loeng. Bangkok 1899 opened its doors in 2019 with founding support from the Ford Motor Company Fund and The Rockefeller Foundation.
Read Creative Migration’s Climate Policy here: https://creativemigration.org/Climate-Policy-2023
Artist talk, image courtesy of Creative Migration
Carbon Emissions - Part 1 (Residency)
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3 people:
Francisco López & Barbara Ellison (Cork to Bangkok)
Susannah Tantemsapya (Los Angeles to Bangkok)
Train:
Cork to Dublin (round trip) 266 km x 2 = 532 km tCO2e less than 0.01
International Flights (economy): tCO2e 7.83
Dublin to Dubai (round trip) 11838 km x 2 = 23676 km tCO2e 3.27
Dubai to Bangkok (round trip) 9808 km x 2 = 19616 km tCO2e 2.71
Los Angeles to Tokyo (one way) = 8773 km tCO2e 1.21
Tokyo to Bangkok (one way) = 4650 km tCO2e 0.64
Taxi: tCO2e less than 0.01
Airport to Bangkok 1899 (round trip) 31.1 km x 3 = 93.3 km
Bangkok 1899 to Silpakorn University International College (round trip) 4.9 km x 2 = 9.8km
Embassy of Spain to Bangkok 1899 km 10.6 x 2 = 11.2 km
Walk: tCO2e = 0
Bangkok 1899 to Embassy of Spain 7.7 km x 2 = 15.4 km
Car: 4984 km tCO2e 0.88
Bangkok 1899 to Khao Yai 174 km x 2 = 348 km tCO2e 0.06
Khao Yai to Nam Nao 368.2 km x 2 = 736.4 km tCO2e 0.13
Nam Nao to River Kwae 480 km x 2 = 960 km tCO2e 0.17
River Kwae to Khao Sok 733 km x 2 = 1466 km tCO2e 0.26
Khao Sok to Bangkok 737 km x 2 = 1474 km tCO2e 0.26
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On average, the building uses 1,500KWh of electricity per month, which is an average of 50 KWh every day. Therefore, the use of electricity for 3 days would account to 150 KWh, which is equivalent to 0.07 tCO2e
For the two performances the professional sound equipment was provided by Moonja Sound System:
Main PA (4 sets): = 8.8 KWh (less than 0.01 tCO2e)
MidHi: VL Audio Viva715D (15-inch, active) 1400 watt x 4 pcs.
Subwoofer: Yamaha DSR118W (18-inch, active) 800 watt x 4 pcs.
Mixing Console:
Proel M20 (20-channel/4-buss) analog desk x 1 pc.
(20-channel/4-buss) analog desk x 1 pc.
Graphic Equalizer (GEQ):
BSS 960 (30-band/dual-channel) x 1 pcs.
XTA Q600 (30-band/dual-channel) x 1 pcs.
Misc Items:
XLR cables, speaker poles, AC power lines, desks, etc.
For the comfort of the attendants, 3 fans were used at the premises, each consuming 0.0425 KWh of energy for 6 hours, which comes down to 0.01 tCO2e.
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Blindfolds - shipped within Los Angeles from local Amazon warehouse to CM HQ. Founder carried the item on a flight to Bangkok.
4 packs LA to Bangkok 13296 package 2 KG tCO2e 0.03
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Emissions related to events, especially food: Urban Refugee Kitchen by Na Cafe to supply dinner for 50 people per evening x 2 = 100
Staff commutes: Air (Ratchada), Aneel (Asoke), Noom (Klongthanon, Saimai), Jorge (Bang Rak), SUIC team (from CAT Tower)
Visitor travel performances: local Bangkok (50 + 56 = 106) → 0.02 tCO2e
Visitor travel artist talk: 5 people x 10 km= 50 km → 0.01 tCO2e
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Carbon Emissions - Part 2 (Performance/Event)
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2 People: Francisco Lopez & Barbara Ellison
Train: Cork to Dublin (round trip) 266 km x 2 = 532 km → less than 0.01 tCO2e
Flight:
Dublin to Munich = 2,762 km → 0.38 tCO2e
Munich to Bangkok = 17,600 km → 2.43 tCO2e
Bangkok to Manila = 4,406 km → 0.61 tCO2e
Taxi:
Airport to Bangkok 1899 (roundtrip) = 63 km → 0.01 tCO2e
Bangkok 1899 to Princess Gayani Institute of Music = 6.4km → less than 0.01 tCO2e
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On average, the building uses 1,500KWh of electricity per month, which is an average of 50 KWh every day. Therefore, the use of electricity for 3 days would account to 150 KWh, which is equivalent to 0.07 tCO2e
For the two performances the professional sound equipment was provided by Moonja Sound System (the same for Francisco’s first part of performances last year):
Main PA (4 sets): = 8.8 KWh (less than 0.01 tCO2e)
MidHi: VL Audio Viva715D (15-inch, active) 1400 watt x 4 pcs.
Subwoofer: Yamaha DSR118W (18-inch, active ) 800 watt x 4 pcs.
Mixing Console:
Proel M20 (20-channel/4-buss) analog desk x 1 pc.
(20-channel/4-buss) analog desk x 1 pc.
Graphic Equalizer (GEQ):
BSS 960 (30-band/dual-channel) x 1 pcs.
XTA Q600 (30-band/dual-channel) x 1 pcs.
Misc Items:
XLR cables, speaker poles, AC power lines, desks, etc.
For the comfort of the attendants, 3 fans were used at the premises, each consuming 0.0425 KWh of energy for 6 hours, which comes down to 0.01 tCO2e. Description text goes here
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Attendees Travel*:
2 Performances (56 ppl): 20 x 56 = 1120 km → 0.2 tCO2e
Masterclass (30 ppl): 10 x 30 = 300 km → 0.08 tCO2e
Na Projects Dinner (22 ppl): 20 x 22 = 440 km → 0.05 tCO2e
* Average travel distance of 20km for performance/dinner and 10km for Masterclass
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Performance, image courtesy of Creative Migration
Sound/food collab, image courtesy of Creative Migration
Waste Report - Part 1 (Residency)
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Waste Category |
Examples of Items |
Notes |
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Reuse: to be reused for the same purpose as the original use |
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Repurpose: to be kept, sold, or donated and used for a different purpose in the future |
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Storage: items sent to storage, but without a clear plan for immediate reuse or repurpose |
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Blindfolds can be used for a new performance by Francisco López at Bangkok 1899 in the future. |
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Recycle: items placed in the recycling bin |
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Landfill items sent to a landfill |
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Consumable: “consumed” during the exhibition |
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Part of Na Cafe’s Urban Refugee Kitchen program |
Waste Report - Part 2 (Performance)
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Waste Category |
Examples of Items |
Notes |
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Reuse: to be reused for the same purpose as the original use |
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Repurpose: to be kept, sold, or donated and used for a different purpose in the future |
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Storage: items sent to storage, but without a clear plan for immediate reuse or repurpose |
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Refuse: item was not used at all and therefore potential waste was avoided |
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Recycle: items placed in the recycling bin |
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Landfill items sent to a landfill |
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Consumable: “consumed” during the exhibition |
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Part of Na Cafe’s Urban Refugee Kitchen program |
Supporting people
An important aspect of supporting the local community and working with others who support climate action was the collaboration with Na Projects, a collaborative space using food and drinks as a medium to connect, inspire and create social impact. Programs that run through its café include: vocational training programs for at-risk youth; training and workshops for urban refugees; a monthly chef’s table; suspended coffee & beverage programs; and Zero Waste practices. During his residency, Francisco supported their Urban Refugee Kitchen, a project with Asylum Access Thailand (AAT). Through cooking authentic family meals by different families from multiple countries, the weekly urban refugee kitchen raises funds and awareness for refugees in Thailand. Most urban refugees in Thailand live a precarious existence: unable to work and provide for their families, send their children to school they are often financially stressed, dependent on ad-hoc charity to survive and at risk of exploitation, arrest and indefinite detention. Many have physical and psychological health problems resulting from the trauma that they have experienced in their home countries, compounded by their difficult living situations in Bangkok. Even if refugees obtain refugee status, their chances of being resettled outside of Thailand are low, and they face serious ongoing protection problems while they remain in Thailand. AAT is working to change this by advocating for refugees’ right to work, referring refugees to available resources and services in Bangkok and supporting them in their social and economic integration into Thailand.
Collective Action
Here are some of the ways the team contributed to collective action:
Share a Climate Impact Report at artistscommit.com.
Share what was learned in the Report to audiences.
Offer to be available to advise or support other artists or presenting partners who want to do a climate impact report for the first time.
Make sure all artists you work with know that the Climate Impact Reports is an available tool.
Use the report to refine future practices.
Share new practices adopted internally with your artists, or with your audiences.
Additional Thoughts
Francisco and Barbara reduced travel impact by walking 15.4km from Bangkok 1899 to the Embassy of Spain, reducing any tCO2e. Also, 10 students attending the artist talk at Silpakorn University walked to the event and reduced carbon emissions. Most of our audience used virtual tickets for the performances, therefore reducing paper waste. One audience member brought their own blindfold, which inspired us for the next performances to repurpose blindfolds and/or create our own reusable ones in order to reduce possible landfill waste. The absence of air conditioning in the performance room is not as comfortable, but our energy use was more efficient only using extra fans.
Our production coordinator learned how we can host an event with less printed out items such as tickets, posters etc., that would often just be thrown away after an event. She learned how to produce a climate impact report to help people understand the impact of their work and share these ideas along with the people who work in the creative field.
Comparing the two parts of Francisco Lopez’ residency, it is great to see that the overall emissions were reduced from 10 tCO2e to only 3.85 tCO2e in the second part.
There was a definite improvement in the waste report, as we implemented our reflection from the first part and used fabric to make our own blindfolds, which can be reused for future events or recycled, therefore preventing landfill waste.
Parts that might be added and improved for the second part are the impact of the dinner by Na Cafe, as we didn’t include emissions created by the food, potential food waste (as our compost system is currently not working), the impact of the A/C in the cafe space for 3 nights, or potential cooking energy usage. It was also difficult to estimate the emissions created during the Masterclass, where a projector, sound system, and AC were used. There was also a Facebook livestream happening, and the camera and equipment would contribute to the electricity emissions as well.
Credits
This report was prepared by Susannah Tantemsapya and Puthita “Air” Puthitanasoontorn.
All images courtesy of Creative Migration.
Total hours worked on this report: Part 1: 12 hours; Part 2: 13 hours
Link to exhibition page: https://bangkok1899.org/Francisco-Lopez