The making of the ‘Old Town Sakon Nakhon creative district’ in Thailand: A process evaluation study of the creative placemaking agenda through festivalisation

Abstract

This article looks at the creative district development process of a rural area in Thailand and sheds light on the transformative potential of utilising arts- and culture-based activities like festivals as a rural community development and regeneration strategy towards its creative placemaking agenda. Using Old Town District, Sakon Nakhon as a case study, this research investigates the application and implementation of the creative district concept outside of the usual urban centres and as a specific output of the development process. It utilises the logic model framework in evaluating the process and is further supported by interviews, focus group, observations, and document analysis in examining the various contexts surrounding its development and in analysing festivalisation as its main operational approach. Key findings highlight Thailand's political context and the selective community engagement as major barriers to the process. It also underscores the lack of authenticity and the quasi-coerced participation of the residents in the curation of the festival, reducing the locals' sense of place and belongingness instead of enriching it. This paper concludes that there is a shortfall in theory and implementation on the creative district development process of the Old Town District.