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Book Discussion – Tai Magic by Susan Conway
February 21 @ 5:00 pm - 6:30 pm
On 21 February 2026 at 5-6.30 pm SEA Junction with support from the John F. Kennedy Foundation of Thailand is holding a public discussion of the newly revised book Tai Magic written by Susan Conway and published by Silkworm Books.
Drawing on four years of extensive fieldwork in the Shan States and northern Thailand, Susan Conway provides a colorful picture of the people who create magic and explains how mystical remedies are prescribed and the rituals involved.
This new edition of Tai Magic is richly illustrated and introduces manuscripts, textiles, and talismans connected to the supernatural world from museum collections in the USA, UK and Thailand. Framed within Tai cosmology and numerology, as well as Theravada Buddhism and spirit beliefs, the book explores how benevolent and malevolent spirits are depicted in figurative imagery, and how sacred diagrams and incantations are crafted to confer protection, invite good fortune, or inflict misfortune.
The event will be conducted in English and broadcast on our fb page @SEA-Junction. SEA Junction director, Rosalia Sciortino, will facilitate the discussion.
Author’s Bio
Susan Conway is currently a Research Associate at the Institute of Development Studies at Sussex University, UK and Visiting Professor, Shan State Buddhist University, Shan State. She was previously teaching Shan studies at the School of Oriental and African Studies, London and Southeast Asian Studies at The New School, New York. Her books and papers cover the culture, arts and crafts, and especially textiles, of Southeast Asia, specialising on Thailand and the Shan States of Burma (Myanmar). Susan studied fine art as an undergraduate, and her Ph.D. was a study of the history and culture of Lanna (northern Thailand). More recently, she became fascinated with healing practices and the magic-religious power of chants, spells, and rituals. She is an artist whose work is based on Thailand’s landscapes and murals paintings.
For more information, please email: info@seajunction.org or phone/wa: +66970024140
NB: The event is free, donations are welcome to support SEA Junction activities.
Organizers
SEA Junction, established under the Thai non-profit organization Foundation for Southeast Asia Studies (ForSEA), aims to foster understanding and appreciation of Southeast Asia in all its socio-cultural dimensions, from arts and lifestyles to economy and development. Conveniently located at Room 407-8 of the Bangkok Arts and Culture Center or BACC (across MBK, BTS National Stadium), SEA Junction facilitates public access to knowledge resources and exchanges among students, practitioners and Southeast Asia lovers. More information at http://seajunction.org/.
The John F. Kennedy Foundation of Thailand was founded by H.E. Dr. Thanat Khoman, the former Ambassador to the United States, with the purpose of commemorating President Kennedy’s principles through education, public service, and good governance that benefits mankind in Thailand, the United States, and ASEAN, now and in the future. For more information, please visit https://jfkth-foundation.com/index.php/en/
