Four Chula Alumni Honored as National Artists

Chulalongkorn University takes pride in acknowledging four Chula alumni who have been honored by the National Culture Commission as National Artists for 2025 in various fields. They are being lauded for creating works of outstanding artistic value and making significant contributions to society and the nation, as follows:

1. Professor Emeritus Dr. Surapone Virulrak, an alumnus of the Faculty of Architecture, Chulalongkorn University, and former Dean of the Faculty of Communication Arts and the Faculty of Fine and Applied Arts, is a National Artist in Performing Arts (Film and Drama). A Fellow of the Royal Society of Thailand in the Division of Dramatic Arts, he previously served as President of the Royal Society of Thailand. He received the National Outstanding Researcher Award in Philosophy in 2003.

2. Mr. Nat Yontararak, an alumnus of the Faculty of Architecture, Chulalongkorn University, is a National Artist in Performing Arts (Western Music). He has made significant contributions to music education, composition, and the creation and promotion of classical music in Thailand. He was the first Thai artist to be selected as a Steinway Artist, one of the highest honors for pianists worldwide. In 2006, he was named a Silapathorn Artist in Music and became the first Thai pianist to receive a knighthood from Italy.

3. Dr. Porntam Thamwimon, an alumnus of the Faculty of Architecture, Chulalongkorn University, is a National Artist in Visual Arts (Landscape Architecture). He is an expert in both the academic and professional fields of landscape architecture. He has created numerous notable works that have received national recognition and acclaim. He is an associate member of the Royal Society of Thailand in the field of architectural arts, specializing in landscape architecture, under the Division of Fine Arts.

4. Mr. Somsak Thatti, an alumnus of the Faculty of Fine and Applied Arts, Chulalongkorn University, is a National Artist in Performing Arts (Thai Classical Dance – Khon). He has devoted himself to and made longstanding contributions to the Khon performing arts, having created outstanding and widely recognized works, both academic and artistic, aimed at studying and preserving the art of Khon performance. He has served both as a performer and as a teacher and transmitter of knowledge in this field.

Read more at:  https://www.chula.ac.th/en/news/425767/