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

Glass rarely gets top billing in an exhibition, but Thai artist Jakapan Vilasineekul makes a convincing case. His latest solo presentation gathers a new series of kiln-formed works made from layered float glass, the same material commonly found in office towers, shopfronts and apartment blocks across the city. Across the gallery, geometric forms, coloured panels and carefully arranged grids shift as daylight changes and visitors move around the room. Shadows fall across walls and floors, becoming part of the display. Drawing on architecture and the way glass shapes everyday experience, Vilasineekul turns a familiar building material into a quiet study of light, space and perception. June 13-July 11. Free entry. Richard Koh Fine Art Bangkok. 4 pm-7pm

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

Chef collaborations are now a familiar sight in Bangkok, but few explore regional Italian cooking quite like this. For two days only, Cannubi by Umberto Bombana welcomes chef Giuseppe De Vuono from Octavium, part of the Umberto Bombana culinary group and awarded two Michelin stars, for a menu celebrating the flavours of northern and southern Italy. Originally from southern Italy, chef Giuseppe will present dishes inspired by his hometown traditions, while Cannubi’s chef Andrea Susto will contribute three courses rooted in the produce and culinary identity of northern Italy. Together, the chefs bring two distinct regional perspectives into a single menu. Available for lunch and dinner on 10 and 11 July, the collaboration features a four-course lunch and a six course dinner, offering diners the opportunity to experience the cooking of two acclaimed Italian chefs during this limited engagement.10-11 July. Lunch from B2,900++ and dinner from B5,900++. Cannubi by Umberto Bombana, Dusit Thani Bangkok

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

DIIV brings Frog in Boiling Water to Thailand for the first time, showcasing the darker textures and hypnotic guitar work that continue to place them at the forefront of modern shoegaze. Demand has been strong enough for a venue upgrade, with the gig now landing at Volume Livehouse, where towering amplifiers, striking visuals and room-filling sonics get the space they deserve. Local favourites Death of Heather and VVAS open proceedings, setting up an evening awash with distortion, melody and glorious noise. July 11. B1,800-2,300 via here. Volume Livehouse. 5pm

Not all book fairs need crowds and queues. The Bank of Thailand Learning Centre offers something more relaxed: a three-day fair by the Chao Phraya that blends browsing with lingering. Beyond a solid mix of publishers and genres, the event layers in workshops, live music and a riverside reading zone that actually encourages you to sit down rather than rush through. There’s also access to the centre’s museum and learning spaces, which makes this feel more like a day out than a quick shop. It only comes around once a year, so it’s worth blocking out properly. When: July 10-12, 10am-6.30pmWhere: BOT Learning Centre, SamsenPrice: Free entry Full details: botlc.or.th

The Novembers make their third trip to Thailand, closing out The Singing Engines tour with a Bangkok date following stops across Japan. Long admired for their moody blend of post-punk, shoegaze and alternative rock, the band arrives with a full live set and fresh material in tow. This latest visit comes through an ongoing collaboration between FEVER, dessin the world and Blueprint Livehouse, a partnership that continues to strengthen musical ties between Japan and Thailand.  July 12. B750-900 via here. Blueprint Livehouse. 7pm

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

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

Bangkok is no stranger to four-hands dinners, but this one pairs two restaurants cooking at the top of their game. Chai Jia Chai, the city's only Black Pearl Two Diamond Chinese restaurant, is partnering with Shanghai seafood destination La Bourriche 133 for the first collaboration between the two restaurants and the Shanghai team's first service outside China.  Chef Tsai Shih Wei joins executive chef Lee Jia Wei for a menu built around three ideas: preserved ingredients alongside pristine seafood, Asian flavours meeting French technique and traditional recipes viewed through a contemporary lens. If collaborations have become Bangkok's favourite dinner format, this is one that actually brings something new to the table. 11 July, from 6pm. Chai Jia Chai, Sukhumvit 31