Locating the Locals: A Virtual Exhibition by PTT is a showcase of several award-winning entries from the PTT Art Competition, exhibited once more through the use of digital technology to create a new experience for audiences within a virtual space. This exhibition will act as a journey in search of the true definition of “local” both in terms of artistry and an artist’s identity, a subject of much significance amidst the current Thai contemporary art movement. The previous Art Competition and exhibitions by PTT in Bangkok have focused on showing images of rural life, with the majority of the viewing audience being metropolitan city-dwellers. As such, to look upon these works is akin to looking outside the capital city, the indisputable center for numerous things such as government or economics, which puts the audiences in the position of those looking “elsewhere”. However, this exhibition aims to be a look back towards both the past and future of Thai contemporary art, with PTT Art Competition throughout an almost-40 year period being a particular focus, as a public company that has grown to play a role in supporting the creative scene in Thailand through various social shifts and crises these past decades. The Fine Arts contests have contributed to creating a new paradigm within the art world through the era of globalization, a means by which we can catch a glimpse into a part of Thai contemporary art history. Traveling to local areas so that these works can connect to our efforts throughout the decades, our hope is that this exhibition can become an attempt to communicate with the wider audience, and most significantly to act as a representation of the artists, many of whom come from rural backgrounds. After applying all of their skills, ideas, and experiences towards the telling of the locals’ ways of life, folk knowledge, natural splendor, beliefs, religion, etc. through their art, to allow audiences to feel their identities and souls.