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

As AI settles deeper into everyday routines and the shape of work keeps shifting, ThinkFest 2026 leans into a quieter question: what kind of life still feels worth building? Under the theme ‘Everybody Changes’, the festival turns Ari into a walkable circuit of talks, workshops, exhibitions and live performancves spread across neighbourhood venues. The format works best when you don’t overplan it. Start near Ari BTS Exit 3, follow whichever crowd of soundtrack catches your attention and let the day unfold from there. Collaborators including Loveis Entertainment, What The Duck and Pantang Artwork bring their own energy into the mix, keeping the route varied without feeling overly programmed. May 29-31. Free entry. Register via here. Across Ari. 1pm-10pm

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

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

Bangkok Kunsthalle welcomes Brooklyn-based Thai collective Elekhlekha as its latest artists-in-residence, turning the space into a constantly shifting laboratory for sound, storytelling and live visual experimentation. Running across two months, the residency unfolds through research sessions, performances and collaborative installations. One standout arrives with Lomwong, an open-studio collaboration featuring Thai musicians and artists working inside immersive surround sound, moving floor projections and a Yamaha Disklavier piano sitting directly at the centre of the room. May 23, 31, June 13 and 20. Free. Bangkok Kunsthalle. 1pm-4pm

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

C.P.S. Coffee Roaster leans heavily into Thai nostalgia with new DIRTY and COLD BREW collections inspired by local desserts, fruit stalls and childhood sweets. The drinks move between creamy textures, soft sweetness and rich coffee notes without tipping too aggressively into sugar overload. Expect playful nods to familiar Thai flavours alongside chilled combinations built specifically for Bangkok afternoons where walking outdoors starts to feel like a tactical error. Now-May 31. All C.P.S. Coffee Roaster branches.

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

Before anything else, a bit of homegrown pride takes centre stage. Bangkok Pride Festival returns under the theme ‘Patch the World with Pride’, with a parade stretching 4.8 kilometres from Chong Nonsi to Rama I. Expect a 300-metre rainbow flag rolling across Silom Road, longer than any previous year and impossible to miss. At Suphachalasai Stadium, Rabiab Wathasin brings mor lam to the Pride Stage, grounding the celebration in local culture while reflecting LGBTQ+ stories of resilience. Alongside it, Drag Bangkok Festival and Thailand's Drag Star raise the stakes for the city’s drag scene. Dress up if you want to be seen, but keep the history in mind. May 31. Free. Chong Nonsi Canal Park (Silom Road). 3pm

After winning over Thai fans at Summer Sonic 2024, Laufey confirms her first solo show here with Laufey: A Matter of Time Tour in Bangkok. A solid return, all things considered. She blends jazz, classical and contemporary pop with carefully arranged melodies and lyrics that stay with you long after the final note. The tour follows her win at the 68th Annual Grammy Awards, where A Matter of Time takes Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album. Produced by Spencer Stewart and Aaron Dessner, the record refines her sound with a sharper emotional edge. With over 4.25 billion Spotify streams, Billboard chart highs, Forbes 30 Under 30 and TIME Women of the Year, she’s clearly operating well beyond niche status. May 31. B1,800-4,300 via here. Impact Arena. 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