Botanical Art World Wide 2025

Suvarnabhumi Heritage Crops
The Thailand 2nd Botanical Art Worldwide Exhibition
The 7th Botanical Art Thailand

Suvarnabhumi or "the Golden Land" as literally called by ancient world traders, is the land of rich botanical and culinary heritage. Encompassing present-day Southeast Asia, it has long been hailed as the "world's kitchen." Thailand, situated at the heart of this region, boasts a centuries-long agricultural history.

The 2nd International Botanical Art Exhibition in Thailand, “Suvarnabhumi Heritage Crops,” will showcase this history through botanical illustrations of ancient cultivated plants. From staple foods like rice, sugarcane, and various tubers to a wide array of fruits such as durian, coconut, mangosteen, and banana, as well as numerous herbs and spices, the exhibition will highlight the botanical diversity of the Suvarnabhumi region which has been carefully selected and passed down through generations of farmers for over half a century. Beyond food crops, the exhibition will also feature plants used for dyes, energy, weaving, and construction, such as indigo, bamboo, hemp, and teak.

The first International Botanical Art Worldwide exhibition was initiated by the American Society of Botanical Artists (ASBA) in 2018, with Thailand being one of the 25 participating countries. The exhibition was well-received by the public.

To align with the royal initiative of Her Royal Highness Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn, Princess of Thailand, to conserve plant genetic resources, the Department of Plant Science, Faculty of Science, Mahidol University, and Muban Chombueng Rajabhat University, in collaboration with the Sci-Art Network, will organize the 2nd International Botanical Art Exhibition in Thailand in May 2025, concurrently in the same theme and time with the exhibitions in 30 other countries worldwide.

The theme of the exhibition, " Suvarnabhumi Heritage Crops," aims to raise awareness and foster conservation efforts for the region's diverse cultivated plants. In addition to the selected botanical illustrations to be displayed at the Bangkok Art and Culture Centre, the organizing committee will produce a catalog featuring all the illustrations along with the plant information. A selection of the illustrations will also be displayed in an online exhibition accessible globally.

Artwork Requirements:

⤅ 2D botanical illustration.
⤅ Depiction of ancient cultivated plants from Southeast Asia (aka Suvarnabhumi).
⤅ White or no background.
⤅ Artwork should not include any animals.
⤅ Original Artwork only, no photographs or digital illustration allowed.
⤅ Artwork must not have been exhibited previously (either on-site or online) before the first day of BAWW2025 Thailand exhibit.
The artwork or its parts are not allowed to be presented in mass or social media before the final selection announcement.

General Guidelines: Botanical Style: Botanical illustrations have a distinct style compared to other fine arts. It is recommended to use real specimens as references. Avoid drawing containers or backgrounds. The current trend is to fill the entire page with the subject (minimizing white space).

Artwork Size:

⤅ Orientation: Vertical or horizontal, rectangular or square.

⤅ Dimensions: A1 to A4 size, approximately no larger than 60 x 84 cm and no smaller than 21 x 29.7 cm. For square formats, approximately no larger than 60 cm x 60 cm and no smaller than 29.7 cm x 29.7 cm. Noted that the width will be stated first, following by the height as width x height (WxH), for example an A4 portrait is 21 x 29.7 cm and an A4 landscape is 29.7 x 21 cm. Tip for the art dimension is 3 L’s: To make a Landscape, the Larger dimension is entered on the Left (https://www.frameiteasy.com/learn/how-to-measure-art-framing/).

Plant Subjects for the Exhibition:

The theme of the exhibition aligns with the global effort to conserve native plant species. Thailand’s exhibition entitled, “Suvarnabhumi Heritage Crops,” means focusing on plants that are selected and passed down through generations, and used for various purposes such as food, medicine, fiber, energy and construction materials and
• are native to Southeast Asia and/or
• have been cultivated locally in Thailand or Southeast Asia for at least 50 years and/or
• contributes to the genetic diversity of the region and should be preserved as a valuable resource.

Plant depictions should include useful parts such as leaves, flowers, and fruits.

1. Plant uses, for examples, basket weaving, broom making, firewood, tool handles, dyes, fragrances, and others, like rice, galangal, coconut, hemp, teak, rosewood, indigo, and ylang-ylang.

2. Plants developed through traditional methods of selection, hybridization, and propagation, including wild plants and ancient plants reintroduced into cultivation. For example, ‘Hom Mali’ rice, ‘Ok Rong’ mango, ‘Bang Mot’ mandarin orange, and ‘Nak’ banana.

3. Heritage crops: Plants with a history of home or community cultivation for at least 50 years, often with low yields and not suitable for large-scale industrial farming such as jackfruit, ‘Yammawat’ durian, and cha-muang (Garcinia cowa Roxb.)

4. Crop wild relatives: Native plants genetically related to cultivated crops and can be used for breeding of new varieties such as wild rice, La-mai (Baccaurea motleyana (Müll.Arg.) Müll.Arg.), Muang Mut (Mangifera foetida var. odorata (Griff.) Pierre), and wild durian.

5. Ancient crops: Plants cultivated for hundreds of years using traditional methods, for example, taro, ‘Kaeo’ mango, and ‘Bao’ mango.

⤅ List of plants grown in the Suvarnabhumi region (sample description - search by artist)

⤅ Guidelines for Selecting Plants According to International Themes (Presented in English by ASBA)

⤅ Check the name of plant (only with Thai names) such as Thai Plant Names

⤅ Check the plant names and natural distribution maps, such as: https://powo.science.kew.org/

⤅ Study the botanical characteristics and properties of plants.
https://www.dnp.go.th/botany/Herbarium/Archives/publications/Saranukrom_download.html
http://rspg.or.th/plants_data/index.htm
https://medplant.mahidol.ac.th/pharm/search.asp

Application and Submission of Artwork for the Preliminary Round:

● • Please read this announcement of rules carefully before starting to draw. You will need to apply and submit your artwork to participate in the preliminary round.

● • Prepare plant information to submit along with the image, including Thai name, common name, scientific name, botanical characteristics, natural distribution area, plant parts used, properties and/or chemical composition (if any). It is desirable to attach, along with the illustration, data or evidence of cultivation and/or uses in Southeast Asia for more than 50 years, such as records, notes, cookbooks, poems in literature, etc.

● • Each artist may submit no more than 5 images and participate in the exhibition with no more than 3 images, or as determined by the committee.

● Apply online (November 1, 2024 – January 5, 2025) by filling out the complete information on the BAWW2025 website of the Department of Botany, Faculty of Science, Mahidol University.

Send all image files to sciartnetwork@gmail.com with the subject line as BAWW2025-the artist's English surname, such as BAWW2025-Chakkaphak. The registration fee will be paid only after the image is selected for the exhibition.

Scanned Images for Selection:

• Digital files of the artworks in JPG format can be taken with a mobile phone, but must be clear and able to be zoomed in to view details at least at the size of the original image. The entire image should have uniform brightness and color.
• If the submitted image is blurry, dark, shadowy, or of poor quality, and cannot be zoomed in to see details, the committee reserves the right to exclude the image from consideration.
• File names should include BAWW2025-the artist's English surname and the plant's genus, such as BAWW2025-Chakkaphak-Nelumbo. If the artists submit more than one image of the same genus, please add the specific epithets or numbers, e.g., Image 1: BAWW2025-Chakkaphak-Nelumbo1 and Image 2: BAWW25-Chakkaphak-Nelumbo2.

Scanned Images for Exhibition and Publication

• Digital files in JPG format with a resolution of at least 300 dpi and a width x height (WxH) of at least the size of the original image.
• For large-sized images, please upload the image file to a cloud storage service like Dropbox or Google Drive and send the link in the email. Set the sharing to "Anyone with the link can view."
• Artists residing in Thailand can bring their artwork to be photographed for a high-quality printing after being selected, on February 8, 2025 (subject to change) at the Faculty of Science, Mahidol University, Phaya Thai . https://maps.app.goo.gl/MQs53vZLL2m3cqo98 (fees apply)

• By submitting the artwork files, the artists grant permissions for the organizers to use the selected files for international online exhibitions, catalog publication and promotional purposes during the course of the exhibition.

Confirmation of Participation in the Exhibition:

If your artwork is selected for the exhibition, you must confirm your participation by transferring the registration fee to the specified Thai Commercial Bank account and sending a photo of the transfer slip to sciartnetwork@gmail.com. Send all artwork files, using the same file names as in the selecting process, in a single email with the subject line as follows: BAWW2025-Artist's English Surname, e.g., BAWW2025-Chakkaphak. The deadline for the confirmation is January 31, 2025. Failure to meet this deadline will be considered a waiver of the right to participate. Please do include your full name in both English and Thai (if applicable) in the email.

Public Display:

The organizing committee reserves the right to use the selected image files for advertising, promotion, education, and/or display before, during, or after the event, solely in connection with this exhibition. Note that 40 image files will be selected for an international online exhibition. The selection results will be announced on February 15, 2025. The committee may consider an online-only exhibition in case of unforeseen circumstances, but the owners of the images will be notified before the registration fee payment.