The best things to do in Bangkok this July

This festival doesn’t try to define queer cinema. It simply lets it speak. Curated by Baturu, a collective that believes art doesn’t need permission to be political, the programme spans fifteen films from across continents – Nepal to New Zealand, France to the Philippines. The stories aren’t stitched together by genre or tone, but by their refusal to shrink. They don’t beg for tolerance. They breathe, ache, kiss, leave. Screenings unfold across Bangkok – from the Goethe-Institut to Buffalo Bridge Gallery – while Chiang Mai sees parallel gatherings hosted by Sapphic Riot and Some Space. Expect talks, workshops, unlikely connections. Expect joy that doesn’t need to explain itself. Jun 27-Jul 6. Check the schedule here. Free. Goethe-Institut Thailand

This isn’t interested in shiny newness. It’s more about resonance. About pieces that carry memory, not just style. From June 27-July 3, this pop-up market in Bangkok becomes less showroom, more living archive. MINICANA, making its city debut, teams up with Chanintr’s expertly chosen pre-owned collections to host a week of curated disorder: spatial experiments, quiet revelations, and the soft chaos of creative exchange. It all kicks off with an almost-party on Industry Night – NotAFashionShow unfolds alongside Charmkok’s strange and beautiful bites, with workshops drifting somewhere nearby. RomRom Takeover follows, all rhythm and disorder, then Slow Shop Sunday dials the volume back down. Between June 30 and July 2, the space becomes a quiet showroom again until July 3, when everything is priced to leave and nothing stays put. Jun 27-Jul 3. B999 (industry night) and B555 (RomRom takeover) via here. Chanintr Pop-Up Market, 7pm onwards

At first glance, she’s just a little girl – barefoot, wide-eyed, often mid-thought – but look closer and ‘Little’, the character at the centre of Peachful’s debut solo exhibition, is more than a sketch. She’s a vessel for what gets buried beneath grown-up logic: yearning, softness, the ache to be chosen. Known for her light-as-air linework, Peachful doesn’t just draw feelings – she maps them, tracing the contours of longing and nostalgia with the quiet precision of someone who’s felt it all before. This isn’t an escape into fantasy so much as a reckoning with it. Through the fairytale lens of childhood dreams, the exhibition asks: what if the princess we wanted to become was never the goal, but the question? And what if the answer has been quietly waiting, just beneath the surface, all along? Jul 3-Aug 3. Free. RCB Galleria 4, River City Bangkok, 10am-8pm

No need to hop on a plane – Southern Thailand is coming to Bangkok. From cha chak brewed with flair to flavours that hit like a heatwave, the South takes over Chang Chui Creative Park. Flynowiii, the Tourism Authority of Thailand (Southern Region) and Chang Chui bring it all together with over 40 models in a fashion show, local bites that bite back, and crafts that carry stories. It's a weekend of spice, sound and style, all rooted in the rhythms of the South. July 4-6. Free. Chang Chui Creative Park, 4pm-10pm

Print is back – bold, messy and everywhere. This year’s festival lands in Bangkok with the quietly subversive theme: ‘Printing is everywhere’. Think less gallery, more street corner. Organised by GroundControl and PPP Studio, the event swaps exclusivity for ink-stained hands and shared space. Expect everything from striking wall pieces to tiny treasures, plus a special showcase pairing ten artists with ten print studios – each bringing their own twist. After Chiang Mai’s turn in 2022, Bangkok now gets to press, pull and smudge its way in. There’ll be weekend workshops too, perfect for anyone keen to roll up sleeves and give it a go. Jul 4-15. Free. Central Chidlom, 4pm-10pm

It starts with a flicker on the screen. A whisper in the dark. The kind of silence that doesn’t stay still. Thailand’s first horror film festival isn’t content with jump scares – it wants to crawl under your skin and stay there. Held somewhere between a nightmare and a block party, the festival reimagines outdoor cinema with a line-up of scream-worthy titles: Ouija, Us, Smile, The Sisters, Coming Soon and Shutter. But it doesn’t stop at the credits. There’s a haunted house turned art exhibition, unsettling stories from behind the scenes, short film competitions and eerie conversations with directors and cast. Add in live music, food that bites back, and a programme that keeps shifting, and it’s not just horror – it’s a haunted playground. Updates via Facebook: Thai Film Director Association. Jul 4-6. Free. Maen Sri Waterworks building.

Once a printing house, now a memory pressed between tiled floors and wooden stools – this exhibition remembers Thai Wattana Panich not just as a building, but as a beating heart of knowledge production. Tucked in the centre of Bangkok, it served as a quiet engine of authority, where language wasn’t simply used but standardised. Today, the show asks what happens when the direction shifts – when words don’t trickle down from textbooks, but bubble up from tweets, slang and subtitled memes. It’s not just about nostalgia; it’s about power, who holds it, and who gets to redefine it. In one room, a narrow reading space mirrors cramped living quarters. Visitors must squat to read. It’s a subtle nod to who language once excluded, and who now rewrites the rules from the bottom up. There are games, too. Of course. Until Aug 17. Free. Bangkok Kunsthalle, 2pm-8pm

In a city wired for noise, the Bank of Thailand Learning Centre sits like a sigh. Glassy, open, softened by the light off the Chao Phraya, it doesn’t ask much of you – just that you stay a while. During the book fair, it becomes something gentler than a fair, more grounded than a market. You don’t browse here so much as linger. Pick up a book, set it down, change your mind. Listen in on a talk, drift into a museum room lined with old banknotes that carry more memory than money. There are panels, yes. Music, yes. Snacks that will crumble into your tote bag. But what you really come for is the stillness. A kind of unspoken agreement to slow down. Not a spectacle, a pause, a place where reading feels like breathing again. July 16-20. Registration is opening soon. For more information, ring 02-356-7766. Bank of Thailand Learning Centre, 10am-6.30pm

Bangkok is a city of questions. Why is there a lamppost planted squarely in the middle of the footpath? Who designs those corner-shop signs that somehow read like poetry? If this city had a hero, what would they wear – spandex or flip-flops? Some wonder and move on. Others lose sleep, haunted by crooked laundry racks and perfectly improvised awnings. Neighbourmart is made for the latter – the quietly obsessed, the delightfully curious. With Neighbour Next Door, now in its third edition, the shop floor becomes a thinking space. Not lofty or abstract, but rooted in what’s just outside the door. Talks, walks, workshops – each one an invitation to zoom in, dig deeper, and maybe even find answers. Or at least better questions. Until Jul 13. Free. Neighbourmart, TCDC Bangkok, 10.30am-7pm

In 2023, Henry Moodie released ‘eighteen’, a quiet confession dressed as a debut. A year later, he’d strung together a litany of late-night anthems – ‘drunk text’, ‘you were there for me’, ‘pick up the phone’ – each more aching than the last, all tucked inside the heartbreak-laced in all of my lonely nights. By 21, he had over 600 million streams and a spot on TikTok’s most-watched in the UK, sharing digital real estate with Central Cee, Charli XCX and Coldplay. Amazon Music called him one to watch. People did. They still are. After a whirlwind of sold-out shows across the UK, US and Australia, and a second EP ‘good old days’, Henry is bringing his diary-pop to Asia for the very first time. Jul 18. Tickets are sold out. Samyan Mitrtown Hall, 7.30pm onwards

For three days, the city’s pulse slows to the rhythm of slurps and steam. Sixteen ramen spots, each with its own story and secret broth, line up like an edible pilgrimage. This isn’t just about noodles. It’s about rubbing shoulders with the masters – Chef Jo of Shindo, Chef Shono from Mensho Tokyo, Sakamoto of Menya Itto and Kurihara representing Iroha Ramen – each offering dishes you won’t find anywhere else. Collect five stamps from different stalls and you could win a coveted meal at No Name Noodle. Feeling competitive? The Ramen Kaedama Challenge dares you to eat beyond reason. The prize? A round trip from Bangkok to Fukuoka – a ticket not just to Japan but to the heart of ramen itself. Jul 18-20. Free. Samyan Mitrtown, 11am-9pm

If you haven’t noticed yet, Fred again – born Fred Gibson – is quietly woven into the soundtrack of your life. His voice sneaks in where you least expect it. Perhaps you’ve moved to one of his midnight edits before even knowing who was behind the sound. Producer, vocalist, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist – he’s the modern polymath with a sampler and an uncanny knack for capturing feeling. Now, with a solo Asia tour announced, he’s bringing that instinct to the stage. South Korea, Singapore, Bangkok – each stop a chance to experience his music stripped of nostalgia or flash, replaced by something more intimate, a connection threaded through club beats. It’s not just sound, it’s a feeling you don’t quite forget. Jul 21. Tickets are sold out. UOB Live, 8pm onwards

There’s something quietly magical about lantern light – how it flickers and softens, turning the ordinary into something otherworldly. For years, this spectacle has drawn crowds from across the globe, locals included, all eager to lose themselves in giant paper structures resembling creatures born of myth and imagination. Now, for the first time, Bangkok gets its own chapter with ‘Spirit of Mountains and Seas’. Inspired by the ancient Chinese tome Shan Hai Jing, the festival reanimates legends of mysterious beasts and rare flora through lanterns that pulse with colour and sound. It’s not just a display but a full-sensory voyage – where light dances, stories unfold and fantasy feels real enough to touch. Jul 27-15 Aug. Free. Icon Siam

Bangkok doesn’t reveal itself all at once. Instead, it whispers through quiet alleys, forgotten corners and tucked-away galleries. This year’s art journey invites you to follow four distinct routes, each winding through 24 hidden spots across the city. The BAC Passport becomes your key – a map that teases out the unseen, guiding you past the obvious into places where creativity thrives in unexpected forms. Along the way, venues invite you to pause, engage and discover. Each stop offers a stamp, carefully crafted to capture the spirit of that moment. Collect all 24 and you don’t just walk away with memories, but a tangible reward – a keepsake to remind you that sometimes the best parts of a city are the ones you have to hunt for. If you’re ready to step through this gateway to the world of art, simply pick up a free BAC Passport at any of five host locations: 1010 Art Space, BACC, River City Bangkok, Charoen 43 and MMAD. Until Aug 3. Free. City wide

When HONNE announced they were heading to Bangkok, the buzz didn’t come from flashy trailers or glossy press shots. Instead, it arrived on a poster – soft pastel hues, their OUCH Boy mascot gently holding a plate of mango sticky rice. It was unexpected, a quiet nod to the city’s rhythms wrapped in a slice of sweetness. The British electro-soul duo are set to fill the night with tracks like ‘Day 1’, ‘Warm on a Cold Night’ and ‘Location Unknown’, each one dripping with longing and warmth. Their return feels less like a concert and more like a whispered conversation – intimate, honest, and utterly unforgettable. A night where music and memory blend, proving that sometimes the smallest details hold the most meaning. Jul 27. B2,900-6,900 via here. True Icon Hall, Icon Siam, 7pm onwards