River City Bangkok presented an expansive exhibition on the Khuree Tsam titled People and Their World: Tsam – The Dance of Gods, which was on view from October 24, 2023 – December 5, 2023. The exhibition presented works by renowned photographer Jatenipat Ketpradit, better known as JKboy, along with pieces from the Mongolian Mask Museum, videos exploring the dance and a Tsam recital.

The exhibition is the latest chapter in the People and Their World project, which Ketpradit describes as “a medium for presenting interesting cultures from around the world.” In the past, the project has brought him in contact with groups of people such as the Mentawai of Indonesia and the Suri of Ethiopia. This time, Ketpradit travelled in an old Russian van through Mongolia, to the Amarbayasgalant Monastery, the Mask Museum of Mongolia and several other places of deep cultural significance to Mongolian Buddhism in 2022, and again in 2023. Here, he would use his signature photographic style – one that bestows a sense of grandeur upon the subjects – to capture Tsam dances in traditional yurts and temple settings, along with the stunning Mongolian landscape as a backdrop for some of the photographs in the exhibition. The result is a breathtaking look into a facet of Mongolian art and culture that lacks visibility within the world of contemporary art.

Amarbayasgalant Monastery is also commonly referred to as the ‘Monastery of Peace,’ according to the exhibition’s press release. One of the three largest monasteries in Mongolia and it rests on the Oven Valley in Northern Mongolia. It was originally constructed between 1727 and 1737 and is dedicated to prominent Buddhist leader, Zanabazar whose mummified body rests on the premises of Amarbayasgalant.