Museum of Popular History: Where Ordinary Stories Live and People’s Memories Breathe
Museum of Popular History: Where Ordinary Stories Live and People’s Memories Breathe
In the middle of October 2025, fragments of personal histories were assembled by the Museum of Popular History for a “Once Upon a Time 63” exhibition in Kinjai Contemporary to commemorate the 2020 political reform movement. Ranging from press armbands to boxes of shredded pork, the artefacts displayed conveyed a sense of the movement and the shared convictions of its participants, people from all walks of life.
“All of the items carry their own unique story,” museum founder Anon Chawalawan explained to visitors in the softly-lit hall. He moved about briskly, making last-minute preparations for the opening session. Artefact owners were already seated, ready to share their experiences.
His museum aims to foster an awareness of how ordinary people have been a vital force in shaping Thai democracy. Founded in 2018, it documents popular movements from the 1932 Revolution to contemporary youth-led protests, looking at Thailand’s political history through material drawn from grassroots actions.
The Beginning
The “Once Upon a Time 63” exhibition at Kinjai Contemporary
This is the museum’s 4th year of holding exhibitions at Kinjai Contemporary. To date, it has displayed a number of items donated by those who participated in past political movements.
Anon got the idea for documenting public involvement in politics when he was a high school student studying history. Entering college in the early 2000s, he and his peers had to pass a mandatory Thai history exam, covering events from the Ayutthaya Period through to the reign of the Chakri Dynasty’s Rama 7.
Contemporary history, which covered political developments from the 24 June 1932 uprising that ended the absolute monarchy through to the present day, was an elective subject.
“We were forced to study about ancient times, but learning about recent history - things related to our lives - was not compulsory. It should have been the other way around.”
Anon, having worked at the legal NGO iLaw since 2013, describes himself as a former part-time activist who wasn't really familiar with what the organization was doing at that time.
Initially, he conducted field observations, wrote human rights reports, and represented the organisation in public seminars and at international missions. After the 2014 coup d'etat, however, iLaw increasingly engaged with the UN and human rights mechanisms such as ICCPR and UPR. Through interviews and encounters, Anon gradually became familiar with the stories behind different social movements and began collecting items from various protests.
It was a hobby at first, pursued at his own expense, but along the way he found deeper passion.
To Anon, the histories of ordinary people are profoundly important; he feels that state narratives of political movements rarely keep enough space for such stories.
He raises examples: of participants in the Yellow Shirt protest against then-Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra which led to the coup in 2006; of the People’s Democratic Reform Committee (PDRC) whistle blowing protests before the 2014 coup and of the movement in support of the marriage equality law which passed last year.
“Change doesn’t come from kind politicians. It comes from people struggling to build a common goal, a brick at a time.” Anon said, “The Museum's collection shows that political change cannot take place without public participation.”
Collections with hope and trust
Anon’s persistence led to the growth of his collection of historical fragments. With it came responsibility. He started looking for funding to operate the museum properly.
“When people bring their collections to you, it’s an affirmation that they trust you to take good care of the items they donate,” he said.
Nobody pressured him but he felt the weight of their expectations. “The collection is not comprised of things you find on shopping platforms; the museum relies on people donating things.”
Some of the donors are activists. Regular protestors, they always appear whenever the Museum holds an activity. Some bring things to add to the collection.
Anon Chawalawan holding a t-shirt with a protest symbol used during the 2020 pro-democracy protests. The slogan at the bottom reads "Let it ends in our generation" - also often used during the 2020 protests.
“It’s not just because of the project. I have known many of these people for a while and have a bond with them,” Anon says. “We are building long-term relationships.”
In addition to eliciting these acquaintances' interests in each event, he put efforts to make them feel at home and take part in the activities.
Bringing in new audiences is not always easy. “The theme, the tone, the message in the exhibition affect audiences in different ways,” Anon admitted. A difficult problem, for him, is that elements which touched one generation may not resonate with the next.
The Museum’s exhibitions still draw walk-in visitors. On the day of the Kinjai event, students wandered in by chance, giving the team an opportunity to at least leave a lasting impression on them.
Preserving the unwritten, link beyond the board
Aside from collecting artefacts, the Museum is dedicated to preserving memories.
It recently co-organised an event commemorating the 49th anniversary of the 6 October 1976 Thammasat University Massacre. The exhibit included newspapers of the day, Red Star diaries and t-shirts with designs and slogans from period political movements.
A part of their work involved recording the memories of those who fled Thammasat to join the Communist Party of Thailand’s struggle with the Thai government. This included documenting the voices of those they located about why they joined, what they learned in the jungle, and how their lives changed after they came back. The aim was not to glorify the communist party, but to tell the stories of ordinary people. It is a topic that Anon feels is seldom mentioned by official narratives.
The Museum also has a loose partnership with the International Institute of Social History. In 2025, they joined a meeting in Kuala Lumpur, which brought together Southeast Asian archival activists to build a regional network.
A visit to Malaysia’s National Museum left a strong impression on Anon. For one thing, it mentioned the communists in Malaya, “Not to glorify them but to acknowledge this part of their history.”
In contrast, Thailand’s National Museum focuses on traditional art and royalty, and historical events like the 6 October massacre are nowhere to be found.
In his view, it is better to acknowledge that a conflict happened, even if the record is not entirely correct. Anon thinks the parliament museum could play a role here. “It should be a place where people can learn about Thailand’s political history since 1932,” and acknowledge what actually happened — whether during the 2010 crackdown on the Red Shirts or the Yellow Shirt occupation of the airport.
Anon believes that history should welcome multiple narratives and that the Museum ought to preserve alternative accounts of the past. His team has always been willing to cooperate with state institutions and does not see them as opponents or competitors.
“If there are more narratives, people can choose and make better decisions,” he said. To him, preserving memories is urgent. It is not just because the recollections of an older generation are fading, but because of a rapid historical rupture occurring in the present.
Anon’s concerns are warranted. Many who visit the exhibition have no understanding of the youth-led 2020 protest movement. When it occurred, today’s first-year university students were barely teenagers. They knew that something was happening but didn’t know the causes and motivations. As for those who were involved, many were prosecuted, some fled the country, and others have fallen silent.
“In just five years, things have changed,” Anon observed, expressing surprise that today’s students don’t necessarily share the same values. “They have already disconnected.”
This understanding gap makes building social connections difficult for the museum team. Even for students who access many sources, Anon noted, but the grand narrative taught by the establishment through the educational system still prevails.
“Where do you draw the line?” he asked. “If it happened yesterday, do you define it as history? The 2010 Red Shirt crackdown was 16 years ago. Do we recognise it as history?”
The textbooks he was obliged to study only included events that happened 50 years or more back. He thinks it unlikely that what happened in 2020 will ever be added to them, as it involved calls for monarchy reform.
Anon has been thinking about working more on civic education and how the museum can have more collaboration with students, especially those studying to become history or social teachers. At the same time, he hopes museum resources can support the academic sector, helping students studying social movements and Thai politics. In recent years, student activists wanting to organise exhibitions have turned to the museum for help.
Phantom of the society
The Museum of Popular History does not have a fixed space.
Anon humorously compares their situation to Thai ghost stories, in which a spirit searching for a body eats up people’s organs. Museum members see themselves that way. They have the spirit– the collections– but do not have a physical body.
Some storytelling is therefore conducted online. The team stays proactive, engaging in activities to see how they can contribute, searching for opportunities to do displays and be visible.
Anon worries that, once the Museum is fixed in a building, it may ultimately affect the spirit the institution was born with: contributing to political movements and democratisation. “If we stop seeking partners and leave off participating in small events, what exactly is our value? ”
The day before this interview, iLaw and other NGO groups organised a second Run 2 Free activity to demand the release of political prisoners. While supporting the event on-site, Anon didn’t forget to collect memorabilia from the event.
A water bottle handed out during the Run2Free event with a picture of Suranat Paenprasoet, a community activist now detained pending appeal over an incident on 14 October 2020, when they were accused of trying to block a royal motorcade on Phitsanulok Road during an anti-government protest.
With the help of the people we have come this far
“The museum has come this far because of the contributions - of objects, space, and time - made by the people; this is what made the Museum visible.” Anon sees himself as a conductor or facilitator, not an owner, “This museum belongs to the people, belongs to society and to the reform movement.”
Sustaining the museum is difficult, but the team remains steadfast in its mission, striving to make the best use of the collection for the benefit of future generations. “As long as the museum is still needed for the movement, I have to make sure that we will be there.”
He shared the story of the anti-communist propaganda bowl, which had been displayed each year to commemorate the anniversary of the 6 October 1976 massacre. Before reappearing in the public eye, the bowl was buried on private property in Sakon Nakhon province for almost a half decade. “Someone sent a text on twitter that I should talk to the owner. A private collector tried to buy it, but when the owner heard about what we did, he gave it to me for free.”
A note was included when the museum received it, “May this bowl serve the interests of later generations.” This, Anon said, represents the spirit of the museum, built by the generosity of many who want to be part of the mission to preserve the history of the people.
As the years have passed by, countless attempts have been made to reform social conventions and legal proscriptions. Anon’s hope is that future generations will not only celebrate positive changes that may happen in the future but also recognise the long struggle required to affect them.
The Museum of Popular History hopes to ensure that history will include every brick.
eng editor 1
Mon, 2026-02-02 - 17:47
* Interview
* Anon Chawalawan
* Museum of Popular History
* Student protest 2020
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