The sixth edition of Bangkok's annual lighting show will stage in Phra Nakhon - Pak Khlong Talat.
Get ready! Bangkok's annual lighting extravaganza, Awakening Bangkok, is back for its sixth edition, and this time, it's taking you on a journey through the historical streets, iconic markets, and charming buildings of Phra Nakhon and Pak Khlong Talat.
Running from November 24 to December 3, the festival boasts 29 Time Passage-themed light installations spread across 13 locations in the Old Town, from the vibrant Flower Market to the serene Saranrom Park and around The Giant Swing. Check out the map below to plan your illuminating adventure.
Scroll down to preview the stunning displays set to light up Bangkok in the 2023 Awakening Bangkok festival.
Awakening Bangkok is illuminated with support from the Tourism Authority of Thailand, Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA), Thailand Convention and Exhibition Bureau (TCEB), and Schweppes. Additional support comes from MQDC, OPPO Thailand, BGC, Warner Music, Robinhood, Bangkok University, and Time Out Bangkok.
XD 49
📍 Yodpiman River Walk
A serene alcohol-free social space for relaxation, conversation, and connecting with like-minded individuals will reveal itself each evening at sundown, as the last light of the day kisses goodbye to the River of Kings.
Sundown mocktails are available at B85/glass
BGC Glass Studio
📍 Yodpiman River Walk
The path of the future is uncertain, but the existence of the present is an absolute truth. The moment stays with us, breathing in and out. This glass installation is crafted using the "breath in and out" technique, aiming to reflect life through color and light. Seeing these glass trees holding our past breath is like looking back and contemplating our past, which could have been our life lessons.
ALT+R
📍 Yodpiman River Walk
OPPO Find N3 Flip's foldable design and ultra-performance cameras inspire this light installation by creative studio ALT+R. The perfect rectangular shapes symbolize the folding phone, while the shining gold color reflects the new smartphone's posh body. The core is the interactive light program that provides photo enthusiasts with an ultra experience for photography with three powerful cameras, impressive imagery, and, especially, the groundbreaking telephoto portrait mode that's first introduced in a foldable smartphone.
LIGHTSOURCE
📍 Yodpiman River Walk
Staged at what was once the largest flower market in the city, The Flower’s Journey examines the beauty and transition of flowers through lights and colors. This reflects the stages in the journeys of these blooms as they're handed over from one person to another, from one place to the next, and from now to the future in time.
PASAxSANDY
📍 Yodpiman Market, mezzanine
“Do you remember the last flowers you bought? What were they, and what colors were they?” Flowers and Pak Khlong Talat are inseparable. Our memories of the area are always those linked, or tied up, with flowers. “I found love at Pak Khlong Talat.” “I bought flowers here to win her heart.” Memories fade like moving clouds, but the colors of flowers remain vivid in our hearts — like warm memories.
Awakening Collective
📍 Yodpiman Market, mezzanine
Just one step into the Houdini Room, the mesmerizing red neon lights, illusion mirror, and a touch of psychedelic effects, representing the temptation of Dua Lipa’s fiery new look as the opening of her new era and the illusion theme, will dazzle you into her new world she drops her first single in three years, “Houdini.”
MustStart
📍 Proud Piman, Rajini Pier
Baskets containing millions of flowers arriving at Pak Khlong Talat are among the hands closest to the flowers, providing comfort as they transition from farms to buyers. Though they are inexpensive and small, they serve as the scaffolding that makes Pak Khlong one of the world’s most famous flower markets.
-WAS- x Pantitas x Hiran x Lali
📍 Rajini School
The significance of canals, which transport lives and nourishment, and nurture trading quarters and mixed-culture communities, is celebrated in this installation.
Event Swing Step 101
📍 Saranrom Park
Floor Fheung Fah was inspired by the daily activity at Saranrom Park in the old days. The joy is reawakened through lights, sounds, and immersive decoration.
This installation is a Bangkok University student project.
Event 007x
📍 Saranrom Park
The senses of ‘sala’ pavilion, the space which saw music performances and entertainment during its long-gone heyday, are reawakened with interactive lights, sounds, and music beats of today. Stepping in you will feel like stepping back in time to the golden era.
This installation is a Bangkok University student project.
Falsetto Event
📍 Saranrom Park
What if a chair could share the stories of past visitors? What is the sound of happiness? Have a seat here and listen to the happy stories of the people before you. What's your happiness like? Would you like to share it with others too?"
This installation is a Bangkok University student project.
Event Life 28
📍 Saranrom Park
Saranrom Park, erected in 1866, once served as Thailand’s first zoo-like park, housing wild creatures. This expansive lighting installation is intended to recreate that experience.
This installation is a Bangkok University student project.
Event Fire Shine
📍 Saranrom Park
Flowers have always been symbols of love. 'Malashine: The Expression of LOVE' is a tunnel of glowing flowers, symbolizing the myriad emotions of love that contribute to its beauty.
This installation is a Bangkok University student project.
Quality Lab by CDE
📍 Saranrom Park
Over time, small actions lead to changes, beautiful ones, like a butterfly effect. Strolling over these changing loops of flower blooms and dancing grass on the ground looking stunning.
This installation is a Bangkok University student project.
Quality Lab 1 by CDE
📍 Saranrom Park
Leelas, the dance entertainment of the old times, are mirrored on reflective surfaces, serving as a passage through time, witnessing both changes and timeless statues. These elements encapsulate the essence of temporal evolution.
This installation is a Bangkok University student project.
27 June Studio
📍 Saranrom Park
Step into the octagon sala, the blissful space of the past, to experience the happiness of the future, unfolded through three narratives of Nature-inspired immersive experiences: 'Forest of Happiness,' 'Butterflies Dream,' and 'Once Upon a Wish.
The installation can accommodate a maximum of 3 people at a time.
Arcane
📍 Saranrom Park
The intersection of history, architecture, and nature—capturing the essence of Bangkok’s rich cultural heritage—is celebrated, while also emphasizing the ever-evolving cityscape through a luminous light pillar rising amidst lush greenery. The interplay of light, nature, sound, and mist symbolizes the passage of time and the city's historical evolution.
Soul Studio
📍 IM En Ville
At a restaurant that was once a printing house, you are invited to delve into a space of time, examining activities in two parallel periods. In this site-specific installation, browse around hanging clothes with projected moving images, hear the sound of typewriting and typesetting, and smell the freshly ground beans at the cafe—a true charm of a storied space.
STUX2
📍 The Knight Bangkok Hotel
STUX2 recreates an archway, which welcomed and sheltered people before it was demolished in 2020, with a site-specific experimental architectural installation. It features lines of colored light signifying the historical narratives that remain vivid in many memories.
Nulty+
📍 ร/R
Lighting plays a pivotal role in crafting the desired ambiance, serving as a conduit to traverse the passage reflecting life's journey from the past to the future. The journey begins in the staircase hallway, symbolizing the inception of life's voyage. The central room embodies the present day, illustrating the story of youth transitioning into old age across the floors and walls, mirroring the environment of human existence. The final room signifies the future, representing the concluding chapter of life and offering a glimpse into what one might encounter at life's end.
Khopfa Chanpensri
📍 Sukhuman Anamai Red Cross Society
Khopfa Chanpensri returns with an updated version of BIO*LUMINESCENCE. This one creates awareness for sustainability through illuminated butterflies flying towards a biosphere, spreading the pollen of sustainability.
Window Gallery
📍 A former satay shop
Conceptual art collective Window Gallery, consisting of Kukkong Tirathumrongkia, Waautara Naracarm, Norawit Aneksampant, and Siwakorn Meeposom, collaborates with floral artist KLIN to transform a typical vacant space into a daydream universe, residing somewhere between the real world and a timeless space where changes are endless.
22.1 Star Distance (2023)
Kukkong Tirathumrongkia, Waautara Naracarm
A butterfly can soar into the sky and toward the stars, only when it can transcend into other forms. Inspired by this concept, the installation features a butterfly with reflective wings flying toward the sunset while transforming into the sun (22.2).
22.2 Aurora Project (2023)
Norawit Aneksampant
Norawit Aneksampant explores the most significant change of each day—the sunset, as we transition into the night. It captures the magical moment when one is usually lost between reality and memory, presented through a running loop of sunsets in various days, times, and contexts.
22.3 GLIN (2023)
GLIN
The floral artist recreates nature with a flower installation and scent to embody the beauty of nature that is inseparable from humans—both concrete and abstract.
22.4 Right Before After Sun (2023)
Siwakorn Meeposom
The moving sun, the shining light, and the crawling shadow throughout the day remind us that everything is uncertain. And no one could ever stop this absolute truth. Inspired by this, Siwakorn Meeposom designs sounds that emphasize what it's like to be in a daydream.
กิตติภูมิ พรายชุม, เกียรติศักดิ์ บัณฑิตย์ and H-lab
📍 P. Space Cafe
A projection mapping installation that will showcase the fashion of different eras, from 1960 to the future, onto your body.
DAOPUD
📍 P. Space Cafe
Thai flowers are often neglected, taken for granted, and replaced by foreign blossoms. Artist DAOPUD creates awareness to help preserve Thai flowers with a metaphorical projection mapping that displays blooming flowers when you're close and dying flowers when you are far—a metaphor illustrating that Thai flowers cannot thrive without our interest.
Ai-Deas | Virtual meet Reality
📍 Bumrung Nukulkij Printing House
The passage of time flows sensibly, indifferent to the wind and river. The Corridor of Wind narrates these changes through the adventure of Sattern, who learns the truths of life on a journey through the ages, presented in an interactive projection mapping show.
Jeremy Lin, Jedy Chen, Dexter Hong
📍 Bumrung Nukulkij Printing House
The dynamic relationship between humans and the environment is explored in Block Party, where visitors can participate in collaborative placemaking through the playful medium of dance. Familiar public housing blocks in Singapore come to life as they react to movement prompts from visitors, taking on personalities of their own. As one bends and twists with the buildings, gardens bloom spontaneously over their facades. This interactive feature is a reminder of the power we wield to shape our surroundings and make a difference to the world. Through light-hearted interactions, participants are called upon to take responsibility for the environment and a sustainable future.
This installation was first staged at I Light Singapore 2023
BOB the nice guy
📍 Bumrung Nukulkij Printing House
The fun character BOB returns to the Thai capital, Bangkok, now even bigger for a new exploration in the Old Town. The big-hearted, warm-smiled BOB is ready to share his experience with you through a projection mapping on the surface of the giant BOB.
XD 49
📍 Lan Khon Muang, Bangkok City Hall
Sundown Moment recreates the magical hours when the sun kisses the skyline, painting the sky in warm hues and transitioning from day to night on interactive screens. With iconic landmarks Wat Suthat and The Giant Swing as the backdrop, the space creates a tranquil atmosphere, inviting you to celebrate moments with conversations, smiles, and laughter—the joy that embraces tranquility in the company of the sunset.
Discover your Sundown Moment
Ivan Kalinichev
📍 Lan Khon Muang, Bangkok City Hall
Bangkok's main routes and passages are illuminated, hanging from the sky to symbolize the interconnected dots across the entire city. It provides a broad perspective of the intertwined system and reminds us that each of us is part of the large and complex whole.
Discover Time Out original video
