Apichatpong Weerasethakul receives 2016 Prince Claus Award, plans studio construction in Chiang Mai

Thai filmmaker Apichatpong Weerasethakul has been honored with the 2016 Prince Claus Award, which comes with a €100,000 prize from the Prince Claus Fund for Culture and Development. The award presentation will take place on December 15 at the Royal Palace in Amsterdam. With the prize money, Weerasethakul intends to establish a studio in Chiang Mai to facilitate workshops and discussions among artists and filmmakers. This year marks the Prince Claus Fund's 20th anniversary, and they have recognized only six laureates, including Bahia Shehab and Vo Trong Nghia. The winners were announced by the Kurimanzutto gallery in Mexico. Weerasethakul's retrospective is currently at Maiiam Contemporary Art Museum in Chiang Mai until September 10 and will later move to Para Site in Hong Kong from September 17 to November 27. He is also a previous Palme d'Or recipient at Cannes. ArtReview will publish a review of the retrospective in October 2016.