The best things to do in Bangkok this weekend (January 15-18)

This feels like the sort of exhibition you stumble across on a slow afternoon and end up thinking about days later. Jean-Paul De Croux’s abstract paintings sit quietly, asking you to slow your pace and notice what’s happening on the surface. Inspired by the natural world, each canvas carries traces of time through layered marks, rough textures and gestures that feel both deliberate and instinctive. Light slips across the work in subtle ways, changing how colours behave and how forms settle. Emotion isn’t announced but sensed, like weather rolling in. Nothing here feels fixed or final. Memory, movement and material seem to shift depending on how long you stay with them. It’s less an exhibition to decode and more a moment to share, reflective without being precious and reassuringly human in its restraint.

Until February 8. Free. 5/F, Art Jewel, Siam Paragon, 10am-10pm

B35’s sound never chooses sides and is better for it. Rooted in post-rock and experimental leanings, the group folds Thai sensibilities through shifting structures, ambient stretches and moments of restraint that land harder than any obvious climax. This live session, recorded with Nora Jazz from Southern Thailand at Studio Lam, adds another layer entirely. Traditional rhythms don’t feel borrowed or dressed up for effect. They sit naturally alongside distorted guitars and patient builds, like old stories retold in a new accent. Watching the session feels intimate, as if you’ve been invited to sit cross-legged on the studio floor rather than spectate. Nothing strains for grandeur. The music breathes, hesitates, then moves forward again. It’s thoughtful without becoming heavy, experimental without shutting people out. 

January 15. B400 at the door. Studio Lam, 10pm

Moxie returns to the booth with the ease of someone who knows exactly how to read a room. The UK-based House DJ and NTS Radio resident has spent years moving between spaces like Fabric London, Panorama Bar at Berghain, Glastonbury and Houghton Festival, carrying that experience lightly rather than wearing it as a badge. Her selections favour warmth, tension and release without ever becoming showy. Alongside her, Bangkok’s own Jayja brings a playful edge through funk-leaning choices that never feel obvious. Kunanon, co-founder of the High Wire crew, adds a different texture with groovy electro House that keeps things elastic and unpredictable. 

January 16. B400 via here and B600 at the door. Siwilai Radical Club, 9pm onwards

Bangkok Kunsthalle’s Moving Image Program opens a thoughtful chapter with untitled tbilisi presenting Salt for Svanetia (1930). The Soviet silent film still feels startlingly alive, mixing documentary urgency with a political eye that refuses to soften its edges. Often referenced as a cornerstone of ethnographic cinema, the work observes daily life while quietly asking harder questions about labour, survival and control. This screening also sets the tone for a longer curatorial enquiry that treats salt as more than seasoning. It appears as medicine, protection, preservation and power, tied closely to bodies, borders and extraction. The research gradually leads toward an upcoming exhibition by Thai artist Wantanee Siripattananuntakul. After the film, untitled tbilisi host a conversation on collective practice, tracing how art can sit alongside activism and social justice without losing its complexity or tenderness.

January 16. Free. Bangkok Kunsthalle, 6pm

Lemto, Australian-born and now London-based, he’s part of a new UK garage conversation that values groove over gimmick. His productions weave house foundations with classic UKG swing and weighty basslines that feel physical without forcing the point. An EP on Interplanetary Criminal and Main Phase’s ATW Records, followed by the widely shared Back 2 Front, has helped sharpen that momentum, backed by nods from Kettama, Sammy Virji and Interplanetary Criminal. This night places him alongside a local-heavy lineup that reads like a roll call of curious selectors: Virion, MINT, MILO, XULALIT, ODD THOMAS and ORCHO. Expect a long-form exchange between styles rather than a race for peak moments, the sort of evening where tracks stretch out, connect and make sense together.

January 16. B200 via here and B300 at the door. Gearbox, The Warehouse Talat Noi, 9pm-2am

The Wireless Club starts its Dance A Gain! series with a night that treats movement as memory rather than spectacle. Modern Thai dance music sets the theme, where familiar roots brush up against electronic forms without losing their accent. Tontrakul, an Isan artist with a thoughtful approach to rhythm, presents a solo live set that folds phin and khaen tones through electronic frameworks, grounded yet playful. Sounds of Future Siam – Roc Chyarop Burapat’s long-running project – follows, reframing Thai heritage through trip-hop and tribal leanings, mixing ceremonial textures with contemporary structures in a way that feels considered rather than nostalgic. Yorsab rounds things out with selections shaped by Bangkok nights and regional travels, blending house, disco and electronic sounds with an easy confidence. 

January 16. B500-700 via here. The Wireless Club, 8pm onwards

The third chapter of this dinner series feels like catching up with an old friend who’s changed their haircut and picked up better stories. Seven courses arrive slowly, keeping a few favourites while quietly rewriting everything else. A margarita opens the evening, bright and unapologetic, setting the tone before the plates begin to speak. Kolkata flavours anchor the menu, leaning towards home-cooked comfort rather than restaurant polish. Each dish carries the warmth of familiarity with just enough surprise to keep the table alert. The heart remains steady while the details shift, inviting conversation as much as appetite. Cooking and feeding others has always felt like a love language here, and this night lands as its clearest expression yet. Same table, evolving menu, new reasons to linger long after the last course.

January 17. B1,700. Reserve via LineOA: @fvevents. F.V Sukhumvit 39, 5pm onwards

Baan Tepa’s annual gathering returns with the kind of ease that makes you want to clear an afternoon. It’s a meeting point for farmers, bakers, food producers, artisans and compost collectives who work closely with Baan Tepa across the country. The focus stays on connection, eating with a clearer sense of origin rather than shopping for the sake of it. Seasonal fruit and vegetables sit alongside handmade goods, while Chef Tam and the team cook special dishes that feel generous rather than showy. Visitors are encouraged to wander, chat with producers and taste as they go, picking up ingredients trusted by Michelin-listed kitchens for home use. Entry costs nothing, pets are welcome and the atmosphere remains unhurried. Come hungry, stay curious and leave with better food and a few good conversations.

January 17-18. Free. Baan Tepa, 10am-4pm

A Kid from Yesterday returns with a fifth solo outing that feels quietly defiant. Somphon ‘Paolo’ Ratanavaree’s latest body of work steps back from certainty and sits without knowing, a rare move in a culture obsessed with definitions. Titled “Just” BEING BE/NG BE—NG, the exhibition borrows from Camus’ Philosophy of Sisyphus while nodding to the calm discipline of a Zen garden. The result isn’t comfort or escape, but acceptance of contradiction. Cigarettes sit opposite raked sand, everyday habits facing ritual stillness, neither winning the argument. This space doesn’t promise healing or answers. It allows doubt to exist without apology. Being human here means pausing, noticing and carrying on regardless. In a world eager for declarations, the show suggests something softer and braver: existing without explanation might already be enough.

January 17-March 1. Free. Street Star Gallery, 8am-6pm

Thairath Studio trades comment sections for a live, slightly uncanny night that feels closer to a shared thought experiment than a talk show. The stage becomes a mothership, framing a single question with unsettling ambition: what happens when every belief is tested against the idea of an ending? Faces familiar from the Thairath Studio YouTube orbit lead the discussion, with Puak Phongsathorn, Pharaoh Chakkraphattranon and the duo Wi and Wat guiding the conversation. They’re joined by an eclectic trio: Joe Bongo bringing Buddhist and mythological threads, Korn KT grounding things with astronomical clarity and Pong Kapol lending his legendary paranormal instincts. Together, they trace disasters, prophecies and theories through myth, science and conspiracy, while quietly circling technology and morality. The night doesn’t offer answers so much as company, inviting the audience to sit with uncertainty and consider how the next 35 years might still be rewritten.

January 17. B799-1,499 via here. Siam Pavalai Paragon Cineplex, 7pm-9pm

January arrives with a small gift for anyone craving cooler evenings and an excuse to linger outdoors. Bangkok Metropolitan Administration’s Music in the Park series returns with a lineup that makes weekends feel gently purposeful rather than overplanned. Benchakitti Park hosts The 1st April alongside NotFake, offering relaxed sounds that suit long walks and borrowed picnic mats. Over at Suan Luang Rama VIII, the Time Soul Percussion Group brings rhythm that feels communal rather than showy. Lumphini Park takes a more traditional turn, pairing a long drum band from Wat Mahannaparam School with a khon performance that rewards close watching. Each location keeps its own mood, encouraging people to drift, listen and stay awhile. It’s less about chasing headliners and more about shared air, familiar melodies and the pleasure of finding culture exactly where you already are.

January 17. Free. Benchakitti Park, Suan Luang Rama VIII Park and Lumphini Park, 5pm

The title barely needs explaining. Pancakes, drinks and art share the same room and somehow it works. This travelling pop-up began in Los Angeles and has since become a favourite for those who like culture without stiff rules or quiet corners. For one night, The Warehouse Talat Noi hands its walls over to emerging artists, each surface layered with fresh work that invites wandering rather than polite viewing. While you move around, stacks of pancakes appear on repeat, fuelled by syrup and good intentions, with a bar close enough to keep spirits high. Live music threads through the evening, giving the space a loose, social rhythm. Everything on display is for sale, which matters. It’s less about spectacle and more about supporting artists while eating something comforting at the wrong hour, a little messy and entirely enjoyable.

January 17. B250 at the door. The Warehouse Talat Noi, 7pm-midnight

Bangkok starts 2026 with a familiar pleasure, bringing back the fourth edition of Bangkok Outdoor Cinema just as evenings turn comfortably cool. After consistently warm receptions, the series returns feeling confident rather than flashy. Over three consecutive weeks, three locations host open-air screenings alongside live music, panel conversations and food stalls representing different BMA districts. Film crews and creators also set up shop, turning each night into a loose meeting point rather than a fixed event. The first stop lands at Bangkok Art and Culture Centre, with How To Make Millions Before Grandma Dies on January 17, followed by My Boo Part 1 the next evening. Entry stays refreshingly free, which feels quietly radical.

January 17-18. Free. Bangkok Art and Culture Centre, 7pm

Book lovers get a fresh excuse to leave the house as The Wholesome Book Club opens a new chapter. Teaming up with Read Me Again, the club turns solitary reading habits into shared moments, swapping silence for conversation and coffee. Each month centres on a single title, giving everyone time to read, reflect and arrive with opinions fully formed or happily confused. January’s choice is To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, a novel that still prompts questions about justice, empathy and growing up awkwardly aware of the world. 

January 17. B329 via here. The Commons Thonglor, 4pm and 3pm

The Imprint Project opens its first chapter with a focus on marks that travel further than borders. Conceived as an international printmaking initiative, the idea is simple and generous: one country at a time, letting each exhibition carry its own cultural residue. This edition brings together 16 artists from Poland alongside works from Pracownia414 Studio, forming a conversation that moves through technique, texture and intention. Printmaking here isn’t treated as a historical footnote but as a living language shaped by social conditions and personal memory. Etchings, presses and layered surfaces reveal how identity settles on paper in quiet but deliberate ways. The project itself acts as a meeting point, linking artists across continents while offering audiences a chance to read the traces left behind. Not grand statements, but thoughtful impressions that reward close looking and patient attention.

Until January 30. Free. Arun Amarin 23 Art Space, 11am-4pm

Bangkok welcomes 2026 with a knowing wink as Muse Anime Festival sets up at JAM SPACE, a familiar meeting point for pop culture devotees. This is less trade fair, more shared obsession. Fourteen anime titles spread across 17 photo zones turn fandom into a walk-through experience, complete with oversized sets and scenes designed for lingering rather than rushing. Expect towering inflatables of Momo and Okarun from DAN DA DAN plus Rimuru, the eternally cheerful slime, looming large for cameras. Beyond the visuals, shelves fill with officially licensed pieces and harder-to-find imports, tempting even the disciplined collector. Food gets its own moment too, thanks to a themed cafe riffing on SPY x FAMILY and That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime. 

January 10-March 29. Free. 4/F, MBK Centre, 11am-9pm

The second solo exhibition by Thai artist Krittin Kaewyongphang, better known as Condo Ceramics, feels like a quiet conversation rather than a statement. Curated by Jason Yang, the show leans on ceramics and illustration to talk about memory, self-acceptance and the value of taking one’s time. Titled Fire Me Slowly, the work reflects Krittin’s own path as an LGBTQ individual, shaped by gradual understanding rather than sudden revelation. Ceramic figures appear soft yet stubborn, joined by monster-like characters that refuse neat labels or fixed identities. They exist comfortably, without apology or explanation. Nothing here asks to be hurried. Growth unfolds at its own speed, gently and without pressure. The exhibition suggests that arriving is overrated anyway. Staying present, slightly unfinished and fully yourself, might be the point worth holding onto.

January 10-February 9. Free. GalileOasis Gallery, 9am-8pm