Creative Cultural District · Takua Pa
Kuapapoh (กั่วป่าโพ้) is a creative cultural district in Takua Pa Old Town, Phang Nga. The first of six heritage themes is now open · Peranakan dress, pattern and beauty, through the brush of Chang Pong (ช่างป๋อง).
Works from Peranakan Charm (มนต์เสน่ห์เปอรานากัน)
Quick facts
Creative spaces
Empty rooms in old buildings are brought back through activity and design, so the community can earn, visitors can feel the town, and the identity, way of life, culture and character of the place stay intact.
78Kuapa Mining Museum
กั่วป่าเหมืองมิวเซียม
This was once the home of a mine owner and a tin-mining company. The space is now Kuapa Mining Museum (กั่วป่าเหมืองมิวเซียม), with mining tools, survey maps and documents from the mines.
Programmes in the space rotate each month.
109Kang Tang Yok Guan
ศาลเจ้ากังตั้งโหยกวน (หวุ่ยกุ่น)
This is the association of Hakka Chinese (จีนฮากก้า · จีนแคะ). The second floor still holds Tham Kung Ya (พระท่ามกุงหย่า), a figure Chinese devotees revere. The ground floor stood unused, so the group asked the shrine keepers for leave to hold exhibitions there.
Kuapapoh Gallery · exhibitions and creative activity on the local wisdom of Takua Pa people.
305Tao Ming School
โรงเรียนเต้าหมิง
Tao Ming School (โรงเรียนเต้าหมิง) once flourished in the tin-mining years. The team wants to bring it back as a creative space and a place of memory, through “Tao Ming, a spark of learning” (เต้าหมิง ประกายแสงแห่งการเรียนรู้). The building now holds knowledge of the town: architecture, culture, rites and other stories of Takua Pa.
Tao Ming emblem (ตราสัญลักษณ์เต้าหมิง)
The team is also turning other empty rooms into supporting venues, so the whole town can be a creative town, in the spirit of Kuapapoh, show the town (กั่วป่าโพ้ จีโชว์เมือง).
Where the name comes from
Kuapapoh (กั่วป่าโพ้) is the Hokkien Chinese name for Takua Pa. It comes from Chinese who settled here in the tin-mining era.
Together the name means Takua Pa port market (ตลาดท่าเรือตะกั่วป่า). Chinese traders and tin miners once arrived by junk at the Takua Pa landing. In another sense it also means the people of Takua Pa (คนตะกั่วป่า). During the Vegetarian Festival the word still lives in shrine rites, and became a sacred name for the town.
The 6 O heritage
Local dress, lace, batik sarongs, textile patterns and jewellery.
Everyday life, shops, how people live, and rites that sit easily with daily life.
Local food, inherited recipes, and eateries from the mining era that are still open.
Artists of Kuapa, whether painting, song and dance, or drums in the Vegetarian Festival.
Temples, shrines and yok guan (โหย่กวน) throughout the old town, and places to rest.
Houses in the district, architecture that holds attitude and belief, heritage worth keeping.
Current exhibition
Dress and beauty, told through the artist's own life.
Solo Exhibition
Chang Pong · Tinnapop Ngansathinช่างป๋อง · ติณณภพ งานสถิร
He uses the brush to tell the town through pattern, colour and the way people dress, joining past and present.
#กันยาอาภรณ์
Follow the story on the Kuapapoh page
About the Artist
Tinnapop Ngansathinติณณภพ งานสถิร
He was born in Takua Pa old market. He is an alumnus of Sutthitham Anusorn School (โรงเรียนสุทธิธรรมอนุสรณ์) and Takua Pa “Senanukul” School (โรงเรียนตะกั่วป่า “เสนานุกูล”). Art held him from childhood. He drew cartoons, superheroes, basketball players and Chinese deities absorbed from the culture around Takua Pa people.
He studied at the College of Fine Arts (วิทยาลัยช่างศิลป), then took a degree in painting at the Faculty of Painting, Sculpture and Graphic Arts, Silpakorn University. After graduating he has taught art to young people and to many organisations.
He has shown in major exhibitions, including “After the Missing Conversation” (หลังจากบทสนทนาที่หายไป) at Sanam Chandra Art Gallery, Silpakorn University · “The Wonder of Conservation Orchids” (มหัศจรรย์กล้วยไม้แห่งรักษ์) at Siam Paragon · and the 6th, 7th and 8th exhibitions of the International Association of Art in Thailand.
He works as a professional illustrator of buildings and places in Phang Nga and nearby provinces. He drew scenes for the Hollywood film RAMBO 6, and book covers for well-known publishers. He is now assistant art officer at Takua Pa Town Municipality, Phang Nga, and still works as an independent artist.
“The Peranakan Charm paintings are a record of who I have been at every stage of the path. They shaped a person who loves art, living inside Peranakan culture.”Artist Statement · Still BecomingInstagram · tinnapop.art
A look at the show in Takua Pa Old Town.
Open to visit
The three houses in the old town open on different days. Check before you go.
POH SHOP · โพ้ช็อป
The Kuapapoh tee and drink are designed from the identity of Takua Pa Old Town, with artists and people in the community. All proceeds go to the Kuapapoh group fund, to restore, run activities, and keep building the creative town.
A black premium tee with the Kuapapoh seal on the left chest. The back is a full graphic of Takua Pa's 6 O identity.
| Size | Chest | Length |
|---|---|---|
| M | 36" | 26" |
| L | 40" | 28" |
| XL | 44" | 29" |
| 2XL | 48" | 30" |
A sparkling tea from Phang Nga ingredients: torch ginger (ดาหลา), Garcinia (ส้มแขก), nutmeg (ลูกจันทน์), mint (มิ้นท์) and roselle (กระเจี๊ยบ). The Kuapapoh group shaped the taste. Drink one bottle, the old town blooms.
Order, list what you want, and ask about shipping rounds on the project LINE Official.
Come see and collect goods at 78 Studio Takuapa, Sri Takua Pa Road (ถนนศรีตะกั่วป่า). Open in Google Maps
Add @kuapapoh, then say what you want, ask about shipping, or ask where to pick up.
FAQ
Kuapapoh (กั่วป่าโพ้) is a creative cultural district in Takua Pa Old Town, Phang Nga. Empty rooms in three historic houses, 78, 109 and 305, are used for exhibitions, design and community activity, while the identity, way of life and culture of the place stay in view.
Takua Pa Old Town is in Phang Nga province, Thailand. House 78 is 78 Studio Takuapa on Sri Takua Pa Road (ถนนศรีตะกั่วป่า). You can open the old town in Google Maps from this page.
House 78 is open every day. House 109 is open on Sundays only. House 305 is open every Sunday.
Kuapapoh is the Hokkien Chinese name for Takua Pa. Kua Pa (กั่วป่า) means Takua Pa, and Poh (โพ้, 埠) means market or port, so the name means Takua Pa port market. It can also mean the people of Takua Pa.
Peranakan Charm · Still Becoming (มนต์เสน่ห์เปอรานากัน), a solo exhibition by Chang Pong · Tinnapop Ngansathin (ช่างป๋อง · ติณณภพ งานสถิร). It is on in September 2026 at 78 Studio on Takua Pa Cultural Road (ถนนวัฒนธรรมตะกั่วป่า).
Order on the project LINE Official at @kuapapoh. The Kuapapoh tee is ฿350. Poh Sparkling Tea is ฿159. You can have goods shipped, or pick them up at 78 Studio Takuapa on Sri Takua Pa Road. All proceeds go to the Kuapapoh community fund.
The district tells the town through six Thai words that start with อ., known as the 6 O: Attire (อาภรณ์), Living (อาศัย), Food (อาหาร), Mood (อารมณ์), Shrines (อาราม) and Buildings (อาคาร). The first theme on show is Attire.
Kuapapoh sits under the Creative Cultural District (CCD) programme. It is supported and run by the Creative Economy Agency (CEA), working with King Mongkut's Institute of Technology Ladkrabang (KMITL).
Contact
Questions about the spaces, activities and Kuapapoh, show the town (กั่วป่าโพ้ จีโชว์เมือง) can go through these channels.