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

Pride Month brings a compelling reason to make tracks for Yaowarat, where new contemporary gallery Adult Material opens its doors with Against the Grain on June 18. Tucked among the neighbourhood’s glowing alleyways, the inaugural exhibition assembles artists from Bangkok, Berlin, Singapore and New York whose work probes identity, masculinity and the stories societies tell about belonging. Across sculpture, photography, installation and design, inherited symbols take on fresh meaning while intimacy, desire and power come under scrutiny. Expect standout contributions from Shen Wei, Oat Montien, Dylan Chan, Gregor Jahner and Thyme Neelaphanakul, alongside plenty to spark conversation long after you leave. June 18-August 15. Free entry. Adult Material. 1pm-6pm

At Avani Ratchada Bangkok, The City Is Never One Color turns the hotel’s public spaces into a photographic portrait of the neighbourhood, tracing stories of community, individuality and belonging through the colours woven across daily life. Created with Dr. Prachaya Piemkaroon and first-year students from Srinakharinwirot University’s College of Social Communication Innovation, the exhibition gathers more than 40 images across three chapters: When Colors Coexist, Quiet Colors and Balance. Together, they frame familiar streets, fleeting moments and shared spaces from fresh angles, revealing a district shaped not by one perspective, but by many. June 8-30. Free entry. Avani Ratchada Bangkok. All day.

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

Calling all book lovers and drink enthusiasts.  Bangkok’s chillest book festival returns with free entry across  10 leisurely days of reading, browsing and casual day drinking. Vistors are encouraged to settle in with a book and a cold drink while exploring craft markets, workshops, live music sessions and talks from fellow literary obsessives. Honestly, it feels less like a festival and more like a very well-organised excuse to keep adding books to your already dangerous reading pile while staying pleasantly hydrated.  June 26-July 5. Singha Complex. 11am-10pm

Bangkok Kunsthalle hands over its cavernous industrial halls to Spirits Melt to Flesh, a striking group exhibition bringing together eight Asian artists under the curatorial direction of Sam I-shan. Working across moving image, sound, sculpture and photography, the artists  respond directly to the building’s rough architecture and layered history. Light flickers across concrete, voices drift through shadowy corners and small encounters appear around every turn. Rather than relying only on what the eye can catch, the show asks visitors to listen, feel and move through the former warehouse as an experience, not just an exhibition. June 5-October 4. Free entry. Bangkok Kunsthalle. 2pm-8pm

Bangkok’s humble flower garland takes on a new form in Stillness in Bloom, a solo exhibition by Taiwanese artist Yu Chuan Chang. Drawing on a sight found all over the city, Chang creates contemporary paintings that move between Eastern and Western artistic traditions while reflecting on beauty’s short life. His blooms stay forever at their peak, suspended in paint long after their real-life counterparts fade. Presented as a Garland of Eternity dedicated to Bangkok, the works weave together time, memory and emotion. Layer upon layer of pigment works almost like needle and thread, binding petals to canvas with quiet precision. If a garland’s meaning comes from accepting impermanence, Chang’s paintings offer a softer counterpoint: preserving one perfect moment and letting it linger. May 23-July 12. Free entry. Maison JE Bangkok. 11am-7pm

June’s wet-weather forecast comes with a silver lining. Bangkok City Library in Phra Nakhon spends the month revisiting some of Thailand’s most significant cinematic treasures through a programme of free classic film screenings. The selection includes Santi-Vina (1954), the first Thai production to win an international prize, alongside enduring titles such as Forever Yours (1955), Hell Hotel (1957) and Sugar Is Not Sweet (1964). Many of these films hold a place in Thailand’s national film heritage, making this a rare chance to catch them on the big screen. Bring a national ID card or passport, grab a seat and spend a few hours in another era. June 7, 14, 21 and 28. Theater Room, Bangkok City Library. 4pm onwards

Yaowarat welcomes the Bangkok debut of Filipino artist and sculptor Jinggoy Buensuceso with Cosmic Bloom, an immersive solo exhibition taking over Luenrit. Known as one of the Philippines’ leading contemporary sculptors, Buensuceso builds large-scale installations from industrial materials, shaping them through an origami-inspired visual language that explores motion, tension and constant change. Spread across multiple levels, Cosmic Bloom follows a journey of entry, expansion and release. Here, sculpture becomes an environment to move through rather than something viewed from a distance. The result is a striking exploration of perception, consciousness and our place within the wider universe. June 4-July 28. Free entry. Luenrit Yaowarat. 9am-5pm

Wine tastings often lean on regions and grape varieties. Tipsy Tickles is taking a more personal route. Across two evenings at Eden's Vert, guests can wander through the space, sample the wines and hear the stories behind each label. The event also marks the launch of two new bottles inspired by southern Thai fruit: Mae Kiew, based on baby green mango, and Her Majesty, inspired by mangosteen. Both are part of the producer's first co-ferment series, combining grapes, fruit and honey in the same fermentation. Pair them with Eden's take on southern rice and curry dishes and you have one of the more unusual wine events on this month's calendar. June 26, 5pm-10pm and June 27, 3pm-10pm. Eden's Vert, Lan Luang Road

HOMU’s latest seasonal collaboration with crafted pistachio milk café brand Pista& feels aimed squarely at people who want coffee and dessert to quietly merge into the same thing. Everything lands soft, nutty and creamy without tipping into overload. Matcha pistachio cloud layers cold whisked matcha with salted butter notes and a pistachio kinako cloud, while pistachio kinako milk leans deeper into roasted flavours with thick kinako milk and an unexpectedly rich pistachio topping.  Meanwhile, the pistachio soymilk pudding layers silky soymilk pudding with smooth pistachio paste, finished with kinako and pistachio powder. Rich but controlled – exactly the sort of thing Bangkok cafés are fully obsessed with right now. Now until June 30 or until sold out. HOMU, Sathorn 2. Open daily 9am-6pm