Things to do in Bangkok today

Bangkok’s growing secondhand scene has another reason to gather as Use Loop Repeat 2026 returns to Open House at Central Embassy. Organised with Loopers, this year’s edition, ‘Designed by Her: Discover Stories Made to Matter’, celebrates women-led creativity through practical ideas rather than lofty statements. Opening day brings talks with Pancake Khemanit, Samich Petdee and Aim Phumipat, alongside workshops turning bottle caps, food waste and discarded packaging into everyday objects. More than 30 sustainable brands also set up shop. The three-week programme makes an easy stop whether you’re hunting for thoughtful design, browsing secondhand finds or escaping the afternoon heat. August 3-23. Free entry. Open House at Central Embassy. 10am-9pm

Fans counting down to Olivia Rodrigo’s next chapter can stop at Piccolo Vicolo, where all three branches are hosting an album-inspired pop-up until August 9. The Sam Yot café gets the full treatment with exclusive photo spots, while every location serves themed drinks named after tracks from you seem pretty sad for a girl so in love. Expect the soundtrack throughout the day, handwritten fan messages across the walls and plenty of purple details. Order a featured drink, scan the in-store QR code and save the album on Spotify or Apple Music to receive one of five limited-edition button badges, while stocks last. Until August 9. Free entry. All three Piccolo Vicolo branches. 9am-5pm

Some moments still make more sense on film. The measured click of a shutter, the wait for a roll to return from the lab and the slightly unpredictable colours all explain why analogue photography refuses to disappear. Song Wat Film Day: Craft & Indie Market takes over the century-old Gate Alley, where weathered shophouses, family-run wholesalers and boats passing on the Chao Phraya provide a fitting backdrop. Browse film cameras, vinyl, handmade goods and accessories, then stop for a craft drink or glass of wine.  August 4-12. Free entry. 100-Year-Old Gate Alley, Song Wat. 10am-8pm

Looking for an easy post-work wander?  Tay Level 10 returns to the rooftop of S-Oasis in Chatuchak, bringing more than 80 stalls to an open-air car park with sweeping city views and, this time, a roof in case the weather turns. The market has become a regular meeting point for the Mo Chit and Chatuchak crowd: browse vintage clothes, film cameras, handmade goods, plants and homeware, then settle in with street food and a cold drink. It’s a short walk from Mo Chit BTS and Chatuchak Park MRT, and a free shuttle makes the final stretch even easier. August 6-8. Free entry. S-Oasis. Midday-8pm

Art festivals often ask you to stand back and observe. UNFEST’26 wants you to join in. Returning through a collaboration between Unformat and Cloud 11, it brings artists, designers, developers and technologists together around real-time technology. Expect immersive dome screenings, interactive simulations, live performances, virtual-production sets and LED installations that respond as visitors move through the space. Technology is treated as a creative tool rather than a gimmick, with the festival examining how it is changing the way art is made and experienced. More events and workshops will be announced ahead of the main festival, so keep this one on your radar. Now-September 13. Check the schedule here. Second floor, room 218, Cloud 11.

Rain can send everyone running for cover, then slow the city down enough for us to notice pavement reflections or water tapping against a window. Chulalongkorn University’s In the Rain starts with that familiar experience, drawing on the university’s art collection to explore memory, uncertainty, hope and quiet reflection. A suspended rain-cloud installation sets the scene. Visitors can add their own rainy-day thoughts and read short essays on the link between weather and emotion. Thoughtful and gently immersive, it feels made for Bangkok’s wet season. Now-October 6. Free entry. Chula Museum. 9am-4.30pm

Urban Collectibles returns for its fifth edition under the theme Moving City, taking over guest suites and shared spaces of The StandardX, Bangkok Phra Arthit instead of a conventional white-walled gallery. Paintings, limited-edition art toys and collectible design pieces appear among beds, bookshelves and living rooms, showing how art can sit within everyday life rather than behind glass. Galleries and creative studios including Art Zone Asia, gallery. sort of., Boo X Project, Ming Art Space and Street Star Gallery, round out one of Bangkok’s most intriguing showcases of contemporary urban art. August 7-9. Free entry. The StandardX, Bangkok Phra Arthit. 1pm-9pm

George Kongmark’s SUPERNOVA brings together more than 60 installations, videos, performances, paintings and collaborative works in the artist’s largest solo show to date. The body becomes a lens for exploring memory, identity, desire and self-acceptance, with each gallery approaching those ideas from a different angle. The title refers to a star’s life cycle, using dramatic change as a metaphor for personal transformation rather than pure spectacle. August’s accompanying programme includes artist talks, workshops, guided tours and life-drawing sessions, giving visitors more ways to engage with the work. August 6-29. Free entry. 6060 Arts Space (White and Black Buildings)

The photographer Chaiyos Pinpradab returns with his first solo exhibition in 20 years, bringing together 114 handcrafted film photographs from a 150-day road trip through southern Thailand. Travelling from Pran Buri to Narathiwat between September 2024 and January 2025, he captured everyday life, distinctive architecture and quiet landscapes with remarkable patience. The series takes its cue from ‘Golden Chersonese’, an ancient name for the Malay Peninsula. Shot on a Hasselblad XPan panoramic film camera, each image rewards close inspection, while traditional darkroom printing preserves subtle shifts of light, texture and tone. The result celebrates the region without romanticising it. Now-August 9. Free entry. Fifth floor, Bangkok Art and Culture Centre. 10am-8pm

Long before ‘City Pop’ became shorthand for a nostalgic sound, Hiroshi Nagai was painting the bright skies, quiet coastlines and palm-lined streets that helped define its visual identity. This August, the celebrated Japanese artist brings Summer Dreaming to River City Bangkok for his first solo exhibition in Thailand. More than 30 original works span the early 1980s to the present, revealing textures, colours and hand-painted details often lost in reproduction. Four new paintings created especially for Thailand also offer Nagai’s sun-soaked take on Bangkok. August 4-September 4. Free entry. Galleria 1, River City Bangkok. 10am-8pm