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

Art Battle Bangkok returns with live painting, loud cheers, cold drinks and friendly competition. Artists face off in timed rounds, beginning with blank canvases and only a short window to show what they can do. The crowd votes after each round to decide who stays and who takes the title. It’s part art show, part social night, with music playing as the brushes fly. Grab a drink, pick your favourite and watch it unfold – or apply online if you fancy competing yourself. September 12. B100-350 via here; B450 at the door. The Fig Lobby Bangkok. 7pm-10pm

Mid-Autumn Festival is getting a Fire Horse twist at Kimpton Maa-Lai Bangkok, where this year’s mooncake collection combines festive flavours and collectible packaging with a collaboration with Artstory By Autistic Thai. Supported by the Autistic Thai Foundation, the social enterprise helps autistic people develop their artistic skills and work towards meaningful employment.  At its centre is a limited-edition horseshoe-shaped box featuring an original Fire Horse illustration by artist Anusone ‘Mix’ Tunarin. A portion of proceeds supports Artstory By Autistic Thai’s work with autistic artists and employment opportunities. Choose four mooncakes from five flavours: durian with melon seed & egg yolk, custard, caramel latte & almond, sesame chocolate mochi, and savoury chicken floss & chilli paste. Designed to live on beyond the festival, the keepsake box doubles as a jewellery case, accessory holder or desk piece. September 1-25. B1,888. Pick-up available at Kimpton Maa-Lai Bangkok until September 25

Thai artist, writer and traveller Juli Baker and Summer presents a solo exhibition drawn from her own family story and everyday experiences of care. Through mixed-media paintings and installations, she looks at the often overlooked work that keeps families going, from preparing meals to sitting beside someone when they need company. The starting point is a simple question from her grandmother, who never gets the chance to fly. The exhibition traces their relationship from childhood, when her grandmother cares for her, to later years when the roles reverse and she becomes her grandmother’s caregiver. August 13-September 20. Free entry. RCB Galleria 5, River City Bangkok. 10am-8pm

Movie night gets a dinner-table upgrade with La Famiglia Legacy: Table and Screen, a collaboration between Century Theatre Sukhumvit and Avani Sukhumvit Bangkok. The evening pairs The Godfather with an Italian meal, letting you watch Michael Corleone navigate the family business as plates arrive. Begin with a welcome drink before settling in for pasta, cannoli and other Italian dishes from Avani’s kitchen team. The film supplies most of the drama; the setting stays relaxed. If you’ve ever wanted to watch a mafia classic while eating what its characters might order, here’s your excuse.August 22-September 13. B1,550-1,650.  Book here. Century Theatre Sukhumvit. 7pm-10pm

Mooring examines how memories, beliefs and personal histories shift as they move between people, languages and generations. F four artists approach storytelling through their own experiences and practices, asking what happens to truth when a story changes with every retelling. The answer may depend as much on who speaks, who listens and what is remembered as on the facts themselves.  Until September 29. Free entry. Bangkok Kunsthalle. 2pm-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

Capricci gives wagyu the full Italian treatment this month as Chef Simone Scarparo joins Chef James Pongsakorn for The Wagyu Collection. The limited-time menu runs from hand-cut Australian wagyu tartare with hazelnut sabayon and truffle to 12-hour wagyu ragù and charcoal-grilled wagyu risoni with marrow and crispy shallot. There’s also 200g tagliata with wild rocket, parmesan and aged balsamic. For the table, pre-order the 1-1.2kg bone-in wagyu ribeye, grilled Florentine-style and served with roasted potatoes and kaffir lime sauce. Bring an appetite and someone prepared to share. September 1-30. Capricci, 26/3 Yen Akat, Thung Maha Mek, Sathon.

Three decades after Detective Conan first arrives on television, the long-running mystery series gets its first Southeast Asian anniversary exhibition. The show traces the anime's history from early sketches and storyboards to voice recording, music and final animation, offering a closer look at the work behind one of Japan's biggest franchises. Highlights include life-sized recreations of memorable scenes, a storyboard wall spanning 30 years and a screening room showing an exclusive anniversary film. Pick up an assigned collectible ticket on arrival, then finish with a browse through exclusive merchandise made specially for the exhibition. July 23-November 8. B250-900 via here. FreeAttraction Hall, ICONSIAM. 10am-9pm

An entire Akha house now stands in the middle of Bangkok, carefully dismantled from a village in northern Thailand and rebuilt piece by piece inside an art gallery. Roof panels, woven bedding, timber floors and weathered household objects all carry marks of the people who once lived among them, quietly tracing a way of life that grows more fragile with each passing generation. The Akha are an Indigenous ethnic group whose communities are spread across the mountains of northern Thailand, Myanmar, Laos and southern China, known for their intricate textiles, spiritual rituals and deep connection to land and ancestry. In recent decades, migration, tourism and rapid development have reshaped many of those traditions. Through memory, craftsmanship and personal histories, The Preservation of Fire by Busui Ajaw keeps those stories alive a little longer. May 15-November 1. Free entry. Bangkok Kunsthalle. 2pm-8pm

sits firmly in the category of places you keep having to return to. But this time, it feels different. The concept leans on the ocean after dark, when sunlight disappears and whole ecosystems carry on unseen. You wander through shifting light, sometimes above the waterline, sometimes beneath it, with bioluminescent creatures flickering softly around you. Details keep catching your eye. A neon wall answers your touch with imagined marine life. Seahorses glow under tinted light, rainforest corners bloom with luminous flora, and a quiet full moon hangs over goldfish. In the shark tunnel, silver ripples mimic night tides, while Gentoo penguins stand beneath drifting northern lights. Even the familiar route feels refreshed, with a small stamp trail guiding the way. Until September 20. Starts at B449 via here. SEA LIFE Bangkok