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

Twice a year, one of Bangkok's most beautiful heritage buildings turns into a book lover’s playground. The Neilson Hays Library’s biannual sale spreads hundreds of titles across its neoclassical interiors, with prices starting from just B20. Stock covers fiction, non-fiction, children’s books, cookbooks and more, in both Thai and English. The smart move is to go more than once – titles rotate daily, so what’s not there today might appear tomorrow. Even if you leave empty-handed (unlikely), the setting alone is worth it. Founded in 1869 and housed in its current building since 1921, the library still carries its original details – from wooden shelves to ceiling fans – alongside more recent recognition, including a UNESCO conservation award. When: May 16-24 (closed May 18), 9.30am-5pmWhere: Neilson Hays Library, SurawongPrice: Free entry

The annual sale at Neilson Hays Library returns for 2026, and regulars know the drill: arrive early, bring a sturdy tote, and prepare to leave with more than planned. Set against the library’s quietly elegant architecture, the event offers shelves of secondhand titles in Thai and English, covering novels, art books, children’s stories, older prints and the occasional rare find, with prices starting from B20. Selections come partly from the library’s own collection, alongside books gathered specifically for the occasion. Every purchase supports the upkeep of the historic building, so it’s shopping with a purpose. Word is, a small surprise also waits for visitors this year, a gentle thank you for turning up and browsing. May ​16-24. Free. Neilson Hays Library. 9.30am-5pm

First staged in Cheongju Craft Biennale, this group exhibition arrives in Bangkok following a debut as the Invited Country Pavilion in Cheongju, South Korea. The project grows from an ongoing exchange between Thailand and the Republic of Korea, setting craft alongside contemporary art across Southeast and East Asia. At its core sits ‘Elastic Time’, a curatorial thread that questions how time behaves across the region. Forget neat timelines. Here, past, present and future overlap, repeat and quietly reshape one another. The Cheongju edition sets the tone as a cross-cultural conversation, where material, process and memory carry equal weight. Artists approach craft not as something fixed, but as a way to consider what unfolds now, and what might come next. Until August 16. Free. Jim Thompson Art Center. 10am-6pm

In ‘Echoes of Us’, Molticha Pongudompanya leans into uncertainty rather than resolution. Figures drift between recognition and disappearance, suspended somewhere between memory, reflection and physical presence. Layering and double exposure shape much of the work, with overlapping bodies and objects creating a sense of movement that never fully settles. The surfaces carry just as much weight as the imagery itself. Rough brushstrokes soften into hazier textures, while scraped paint leaves behind traces that resemble dust, smoke or fading film negatives.  May 10-31. Free entry. Joyman Gallery. 11am-6pm

Imprint Project gathers artists from Guatemala whose works carry a strong sense of place through intricate mark-making, texture and inherited symbolism. Hosted at Arun Amarin 23 Art Space, the show moves through daily rituals, spiritual references and fragments of memory without spelling everything out too neatly. The collaboration between ml3print studio and Santa Thekla Atelier de Grabado leaves room for interpretation, which suits the work better anyway.  May 1-30. Free entry. Arun Amarin 23 Art Space. 11am-4pm

MunMun Srinakarin opens MMAD Gallery with six exhibitions from the first artists selected through the MMADness is Calling project, giving emerging names space to experiment across installation, sculpture, sound and textiles. Psyche and Flesh turns suffering and memory into tactile forms, while Upper’s What Lies on Top of the Mountain pairs animation, towering canvases and atmospheric audio to unpack the awkward quiet after intimacy. Elsewhere, Jhanyar’s 24/7 Objects reframes Bangkok’s pavements and everyday clutter with a sharply observant eye for city life. Steam Stream drifts through water and rice fields, Sunburn The Kid reconstructs discarded fabric into new textile works and Fish Are Friends introduces scrap-metal fish puppets for anyone carrying around a little low-level loneliness. May 7-June 21. Free. MMAD GALLERY. 11am-7pm

Craft here reads like a way of staying present. The exhibition looks at time across Thailand and Southeast Asia as something layered and cyclical, shaped by ritual, labour and shared experience rather than strict progression. Makers move between past and present with a quiet ease, holding inherited knowledge while adjusting to what now demands. Objects carry that negotiation, each one marked by repetition. Slowness becomes intentional, offering an alternative to constant speed and easy consumption. Nothing feels rushed, yet nothing stands still either.  April 30-16 August. Free. Jim Thompson Art Center, 10am-6pm

Picture a Bangkok street where artists work in front of you, jazz drifts through the air and conversation comes easily between stalls. That’s the mood as the fourth Bangkok Art Walk returns to Chakraphong Road and Lan Luang Road, bringing art, collectibles, home decor, music and playful activities together across six weekends. It starts on April 25-26 and May 2-3 with art, books, vinyl and cassette shops, ideal for a slow browse and a few well-chosen finds. On May 16-17 and May 23-24, street art takes focus alongside fashion stalls and wellness activities such as city running and cycling. The final weekends, June 13-14 and June 20-21, close with an art market, plus plant shops and pet goods for a softer finish. Until June 21. Free. L’On Bangkok, Chakkaphatdi Phong Road and Lan Luang Road. 4pm-10pm

Marc Butler’s latest solo show, disappear here stepping through a cracked mirror. He builds a world shaped by human appetite, where spectacle teeters on the edge of collapse, never quite settling. Sculptures appear raw, almost unsettled, filled with distorted figures, hybrid symbols and fragments that feel oddly familiar. His material language stays direct, refusing polish, which gives each piece a kind of restless energy. Installations spread outward, forming spaces that feel immersive yet slightly uneasy, as if everything exists on repeat. References to consumerism, power and stylised violence slip through without announcement. Moments of dark humour sit beside something more pointed, asking quiet questions about participation.  April 21-May 23. Fakafei Gallery, 10.30am-6.30am

One of Japan’s most distinctive banjo voices arrives in Bangkok for Bangkok Banjo Fest. Takumi Kodera earns a reputation as one of the finest players of his generation, moving easily between bluegrass, jazz and a style that carries his own signature. Precision meets warmth here, grounded in tradition but never boxed in. Expect shifting tempos, intricate picking and plenty of character across the set. It’s a full evening dedicated to the banjo, giving the spotlight to a sound that rarely gets this much room in the city. May 23. B900 via here and B1,100 at the door. The Royal Oak. 7pm