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[title]Chiang Mai's biggest art night of the year is back and this time it spans 16 galleries across two evenings, with free transport and free admission connecting them all.
Galleries Nights Chiang Mai 2026, organised by the Faculty of Fine Arts at Chiang Mai University in collaboration with the Department of Cultural Promotion and the Embassy of France in Thailand, takes place on Friday 7 and Saturday 8 August, with galleries staying open until 10pm across three routes through the city.
How it works
The event runs on a songthaew shuttle system, with free red trucks departing from the CMU Art and Culture Center on Nimmanhaemin Road at 5pm and 5.30pm on both evenings. That's your base for the night – parking is available there, and all trucks return by 10pm. Student volunteers ride every truck to guide groups and keep everyone informed of departure times. Spend around 30 minutes at each stop before the truck moves on, with 10 to 20 minutes of travel between galleries depending on traffic.
What routes are for free at Galleries Nights?
Three routes run simultaneously on both nights.
Route A heads through Nimmanhaemin, taking in 31st Century Museum, Wattana Art Gallery, FigureLab, Gallery Seescape and Light Bulb.
Route B covers Studio 94, The Meeting Room Art Gallery, Kalm Village, DC Collection and Fah Lanna Museum.
Route C takes in Alliance Française de Chiang Mai, Museum of Broken Relationships, La Luna Gallery, Little Shelter Box and Dream Space Gallery CNX.
On Saturday 8 August only, a special afternoon route runs out to MAIIAM Contemporary Art Museum in San Kamphaeng. Check-in is at the CMU Art and Culture Center from noon, with the truck departing at 12.30pm, arriving at MAIIAM by 1.15pm and returning by 4.15pm – leaving the full evening free for one of the regular routes in town. This route is limited to 40 participants and free entry is only guaranteed if you travel on the designated truck, so pre-registration is essential.
How to navigate the galleries?
Two evenings gives you enough time to cover all three routes if you're focused, but trying to do everything in one night is surely a mistake. Art takes time to appreciate, after all.
We say: pick one route per evening and give yourself time to actually take it all in. Arrive at the CMU Art and Culture Center before 5pm – evening traffic in Chiang Mai can be heavy and you don't want to miss the first departure.
On Friday, head for Route A. The Nimmanhaemin cluster is the most walkable if you want to drift between stops rather than rely solely on the shuttle, and Gallery Seescape is currently showing a new exhibition.
Little Shelter Box is also worth flagging on Friday night: the space opens Suteera Fankaew's solo exhibition Traces of Being on August 7, so Galleries Nights coincides with an actual exhibition launch, which tends to make for a livelier stop.
On Saturday, tackle the MAIIAM special route first. It departs at 12.30pm and returns by 4.15pm, leaving the full evening free for Routes B or C. MAIIAM's current major exhibition, October 6th: a Reconfigured Archive, runs through November and alone makes the afternoon detour worth the trip.
Of course, you can also do the whole thing independently, by bike or car, but parking is a challenge at some of the busier spots.
What's showing
Beyond the logistics, the gallery list covers a genuinely wide range, from Kalm VIllage and Alliance Française at the more institutional end to smaller independent spaces. Note that Museum of Broken Relationships and Wattana Art Gallery normally charge entry fees – pre-registration secures free admission whether you're travelling by truck or independently.
All galleries on regular routes stay open until 10pm on both nights. Admission is free across the board with registration. Pre-register and reserve your spot for the MAIIAM route at cmu.to/cmgn26reg
Full route maps and details are available at www.facebook.com/GalleriesnightsCM
Aug 7-8. Galleries open until 10pm. Free songthaews from CMU Art and Culture Center, Nimmanhaemin Road, 5pm and 5:30pm. Special MAIIAM route Aug 8 only, departing 12:30pm