Critical Participatory Action Research for Revitalizing Local Music and Performing Arts in the Post-Pandemic Transition of Salaya

Abstract

This study employs Critical Participatory Action Research (CPAR) to examine the adaptive revitalization of local music and performing arts in Salaya's post-pandemic transition. Through the Collaborative Cultural Action Network (CCAN – comprising artists, academics, administrators, and citizens – the research facilitates a collaborative ecosystem for cultural asset co-creation. Implementation operates across two levels: strategic management of intersubjective agreements, and artistic creativity via a dual-track strategy. This strategy combines active conservation of phleng lae, phleng ruea, lakhon chatri, likay, and trae wong with creative deconstruction, specifically the luk thung song “Yu Yen Pen Suk Na Salaya” and the Kanlapaphruek project. Findings demonstrate that peri-urban cultural resilience is achieved through community agency, shifting residents from passive participants to active co-designers. Recommendations advocate institutionalizing sustainability through local policy integration, preserving living expressions while fostering artistic fluidity and responsiveness to unpredictable volatility.