Social Contributions
To most people Thawan Duchanee may earn a lot of money from his paintings and drawings. To
him, however, money is not everything. It does not lead to any substantial change. He is the same old
person who enjoys a life of simplicity. He is very modest and frugal. Most of his time is spent on
drawing and painting. Most of the proceeds he received from his works are spent on promoting art
education and creative art. He hopes that one day Thai society will attach the importance it deserves to art
and aesthetics. He spends much of his time on building an art house, commonly known as Ban Dam
situated at Nang Lae in Chiang Rai Province, his hometown. He wants it to be a place where one can
study national art and culture in the art museum setting. Built on a plot of land covering more than 100
rai, the museum consists of more than 40 buildings of pure and applied northern architectural styles. It
exhibits folk art of local artists from past to present together with a large collection of cultural artifacts
from all parts of the world. These artistic and cultural collections are a result of more than 30 years of
hard work. The museum is open every day to the public.