Our picks for the best things to do in Bangkok this weekend

Bangkok Art Biennale returns for its fifth edition with Angels and Mara, pairing Bangkok’s City of Angels identity with Mara, the Buddhist figure associated with temptation, desire and inner conflict. The announced programme brings together 72 artists and collectives from 29 countries, with more than 200 works exploring technology, spirituality, identity and the modern life’s contradictions. Eleven main venues spread the art across the capital, while BAB Plus and BAB Fringe partners extend the programme to Thonburi, Samut Prakan and Suphan Buri. Use the organiser’s venue guide to plan a manageable route. October 29 2026-February 28 2027. Free biennale admission; check individual venue entry arrangements and opening hours. Eleven main venues across Bangkok. 

French artist and illustrator Julie Stephen Chheng brings Fortune Teller to One Bangkok, with interactive projections and augmented reality that reward a little curiosity. Presented with Alliance Française Bangkok, the exhibition introduces eight nature spirits linked to water, fire, sky, earth, thunder, shadow, light and green leaf. Download the free Fortune Teller AR app to search for hidden characters around the complex, then explore creative workshops covering paper crafts, ceramic painting and DIY keychains. A book corner curated by The Independent Print Club rounds out the programme. Check the workshop schedule before visiting if you have a particular activity in mind.  October 2-November 15. Free exhibition entry. Second floor, The Storeys, One Bangkok. 10am-8pm.

Bangkok Art Biennale returns for its fifth edition with Angels & Mara, pairing Bangkok’s City of Angels identity with Mara, the Buddhist figure associated with temptation, desire and obstacles to enlightenment. More than 200 works by 72 artists and collectives representing 29 nationalities explore technology, spirituality and identity, among other contradictions of modern life. The 11 main venues range from Wat Arun and Wat Pho to BACC, One Bangkok and the malls around Siam. BAB Plus and BAB Fringe extend the programme to Thonburi, Samut Prakan and Suphan Buri. Use the organiser’s venue guide to plot a manageable route.  October 29 2026-February 28 2027. Free biennale admission; individual venue admission rules and hours apply. BACC’s ninth-floor display finishes on November 25, while its seventh- and eighth-floor displays continue until February 28.

Munins’ solo exhibition STILL : ON at River City Bangkok explores the work going on behind our thoughts, memories, emotions and decisions. Three processes shape the show: Emotion Encoding, how emotional experiences are recorded; Signal Selection, what we choose to retain; and Neural Pathway, how we see and make sense of what’s in front of us. Familiar moments of tiredness, confusion and quiet reflection connect those processes to everyday life. The artist also considers the changes happening around us, from accelerating technology and information to the human impact on the environment. The invitation is to slow down and consider what your mind is doing, even when you think nothing much is going on. October 2-November 15. Free entry. RCB Galleria 5, River City Bangkok. Daily 10am-8pm.

DIAGE Festival’s October 31-November 1 music programme has finished, but its post-festival installation exhibition is listed to continue at Cloud 11. The highlights include NONOTAK’s 66 beams of light cutting through fog to a percussion soundtrack, Fabrizio Di Salvo’s rotating musical machine and Wit Pimkanchanapong’s woven structure playing with light and shadow. Other installations tackle air pollution and the pace of modern life. Go on, have a play – check which of the seven advertised works remain available before visiting.  November 2-15. Cloud 11, second floor. Listed as free entry, noon-10pm.

Thai artist Nobbie Temeekul presents a new painting exhibition that challenges how we see the world and the stories we choose to believe. His oil paintings draw on the rich colours and dramatic brushwork of Western mythological art, but the figures at the centre are deities from Thai tradition. Rather than sticking to the usual images of divine perfection and purity, Nobbie depicts these gods in unexpected poses and situations. The exhibition asks visitors to look a little closer and consider how our own beliefs, as well as the stories we hear, shape what we see.October 17-November 22. Free entry. Trendy Gallery, Cloud 11. 10am-7pm

What do butterflies and fish have in common? Butterfly & Fish, a collaboration between illustrator and storyteller Pi-near and papercut artist papeterie,looks for connections between creatures from very different worlds. Through drawing and cut paper, the artists explore growth, change, memory and the stories gathered along a journey. Butterflies transform above ground while fish navigate beneath the water’s surface; the works bring those separate paths together through the small moments and shared experiences that connect them. October 29-November 24. Free entry. Soko Gallery, Sukhumvit Soi 32. Thursday-Tuesday 11am-6pm; closed Wednesday.

What happens when globalisation’s big promises meet the realities of everyday life? This group exhibition, spread across the Jim Thompson Art Center and William Warren Library, brings together existing works and new commissions by artists exploring the systems that shape life in Thailand and Southeast Asia. From migration and economic crises to environmental change and the often-overlooked work of keeping things running, the show looks at globalisation’s lasting effects. Themes of memory, family inheritance and fragile infrastructure run through the works, offering a closer look at the people and places left to manage its consequences. Featuring artists include Bhumibol Kongtaveelert in collaboration with Anna Golubkova, Pitchada Poolsawad, Piyatida Piyamassakul, Pakapat Limlertphonboon, Sareena Sattapon, Nat Setthana, Marisa Srijunpleang and PLERN VERN.October 10-March 29, 2027. Free entry. Jim Thompson Art Center and William Warren Library. 10am-6pm

For anyone who has shared a home with a pet, Beyond the Rainbow offers a thoughtful look at the bond formed through everyday routines, from the first hello to the difficult goodbye. Spread across more than 1,000 square metres, the exhibition has three experiential zones: a Memory Wall, playful recreations of familiar pet rituals and a quieter section developed with psychologists to explore grief and self-care. Pets are welcome in strollers or carriers, so your four-legged companion can come too. Tickets are available at the door, with no advance time slot required. September 18-November 22. B150-200 via here. River City Bangkok. 10am-8pm

Bangkok Kunsthalle sets aside alternate Sundays for cinema in a new screening series curated by Rosalia Namsai Engchuan. Running through the second half of the year, Sunday Cinema pairs Thai classics with contemporary international films, celebrated masterpieces and overlooked titles that deserve more attention. The programme travels from post-war Japan and rural Thailand to the Amazon, Mongolia and modern Italy, returning to themes of love, work, migration, memory and community. It is a reminder that films from very different eras and places can still speak directly to life now. Every Sunday, from July 19-December 20. Free entry. Reserved via here. Bangkok Kunsthalle. 5.30pm