The new Jim Thompson Centre for Textiles and Arts, a 2-storey building, located in the property of the Jim Thompson House and silk museum, is an interesting source of knowledge. Built by the James H. W. Thompson Foundation to host Thai textile and cultural exhibitions in Thailand, the Jim Thompson centre hopes to invite leading art historians and academics to speak on various occasions in the new center for textiles and arts in Bangkok, Thailand.

Through the establishment of the new Jim Thompson gallery, the foundation, under the patronage of HRH Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn hopes to further contribute to the preservation, dissemination and broader understanding of Thailand's rich cultural heritage, silks and textiles.

The Jim Thompson Centre for Textiles and the Arts in Thailand is dedicated to noted Thai historian MC Subhadradis Diskul, the grandson of King Rama IV and past president of the foundation.

The first exhibition, titled "Power Dressing: Lanna, Shan, and Siam 19th Century Court Dress" is moderated by British expert Dr Susan Conway and focuses on textiles, dresses and regalia from the inland principalities of Lanna, the Shan states and the former coastal kingdom of Siam or Thailand. The exhibition runs in Bangkok until March 2004 and is open to the general public.

The Jim Thompson House is located on Soi Kasemsan II, opposite the National Stadium on Rama I Road in Bangkok Thailand and is open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

For more details visit http://www.jimthompsonhouse.com