The best things to do in Bangkok this weekend (January 29-February 1)

FV39 hosts a dinner that refuses tidy definitions, the kind that treats geography as a suggestion rather than a rule. Chef Allen, visiting from Osteria Francescana, meets Nomad Chef Lady GooGoo from Burma for an evening shaped by travel, memory and the odd detour that changes everything. Their cooking speaks to where they come from and where they have wandered, stitched together without hierarchy or nostalgia. Guests sit family style along a long table, passing plates, stories and opinions with equal enthusiasm. The mood leans generous rather than formal, closer to a good house gathering than a showpiece meal. Expect flavours that feel lived-in, confident and occasionally surprising, the sort that spark conversation halfway through a second helping. Two nights only: Thursday January 29 and Friday January 30. Doors open at 6pm, dinner follows at 7pm. Arrive hungry and curious.

January 29-30. B2,900. Reserve via LineOA: @fvevents or WhatsApp: 091-949-6366. FV39, 6pm onwards

Order feels increasingly fragile. Systems wobble, tempers shorten and the future arrives looking less polite than promised. Against that backdrop, Bangkok Design Week returns with a sharper sense of purpose and fewer rhetorical flourishes. The long-running question ‘What can design do?’ has shifted gear. In 2026, it lands as a demand for action, grounded, practical and impatient. This year’s theme, DESIGN S/O/S, frames creativity as a working tool rather than a decorative extra. Secure Domestic looks at strengthening local economies through new standards. Outreach Opportunities pushes collaboration beyond borders with confidence rather than bravado. Sustainable Future focuses on survival that lasts longer than a trend cycle. Design here belongs to everyone, not just studios and showrooms. The ninth edition invites thinkers, makers and sceptics alike to act, test ideas and keep moving forward together.

January 29-February 8. Free. Citywide.

Charoenkrung knows how to make old things feel alive. The market returns after last year’s warm reception, settling back into the neighbourhood with a confident, well-worn ease. The edit leans thoughtful rather than excessive: clothes with a past, jewellery that carries a little attitude, handmade bags, small artworks, home pieces, secondhand books, vintage tableware and vinyl that deserves another listen. Each item arrives with its own backstory, quietly competing for attention. This is less about bargain-hunting and more about connection. Makers chat with collectors, browsers linger longer than planned and Thai-designed craft sits comfortably beside international finds. Framed by the wider design festival, the market feels like a shared living room for the creatively curious, where taste is personal and discovery happens at an unhurried pace. Come for one object, leave with a handful of stories and a reason to return.

January 29-31 and February 1,6 and 8. Free. Charoen43 Art and Eatery, 11am-6pm 

Song Wat turns playful without losing its sense of history. For Bangkok Design Week, the district becomes a walkable board game, stretching across streets that once carried trade, gossip and daily deals. Building on the earlier manhole cover project, this new chapter invites visitors to play merchant, navigating landmarks and stories that shaped the neighbourhood’s working life. Set along Song Wat Road at Tuk Khaek, Merchants of Song Wat reimagines the area as a network of warehouses and shops. Players move as caravans, trading goods, striking bargains with local businesses and slowly building their own corner of commerce. The rules stay friendly, the visuals clear, drawing from familiar colours and signs around the area. 

January 29-February. Free. Song Wat, 2pm-8pm on weekdays and 1pm-7pm on weekends.

Memory often settles in the body before it reaches language. A brush of skin, the pressure of a hand, the sting that lingers just long enough to stay. This project leans on that idea, inviting Badego.bodega to curate an intimate gathering of seven tattoo artists: De hour, Deanxittt, Ice House Studio, Lau Garan Studio, matattyesyes, Sakiw Tattoo and Troll The Tatt. Together, their works read like a shared archive of touch, where personal histories sit quietly beneath ink. Each mark holds a moment that resisted words, shaped instead through line, colour and trust. The exchange between artist and wearer matters as much as the finished image, a private conversation made visible. What emerges feels tender rather than dramatic, reminding us that presence is often felt through skin, not screens, and remembered long after the feeling fades.

January 29-March 19. Free. MunMun Srinakarin, 10.30am-9.30pm

Evenings here unfold gently. Drinks are poured without fuss, whether that means a glass of wine, a cold beer or something alcohol-free that still feels considered. The garden setting does most of the work, leafy and relaxed, encouraging people to slow their pace and stay a little longer than planned. Small bites arrive at the right moment, enough to keep conversations going without stealing attention. Music hums quietly in the background, lights glow rather than glare and the atmosphere leans friendly instead of forced. It suits wandering chats, shared jokes and the kind of silences that feel comfortable rather than awkward. Come with a group, bring one favourite person or turn up solo and see who you meet. This is about easy company, unhurried sips and the pleasure of spending time well, surrounded by people doing exactly the same.

January 30-31. Free. GalileOasis, midday-8pm

Parity opens its doors with first patrons Rhode and Brown, a Munich-based duo you have probably moved to before, even if the name slipped past. Their tracks have landed across Permanent Vacation, Planet Trip, Public Possession and Toytonics, the kind of labels that quietly shape nights out. Beyond releases, they steer the Slam City Jams mix series on Radio 80000, inviting selectors such as Manuel Darquart, Tilman, COEO, Gee Dee and Running Hot. Recently, Frederiche has traded Europe for Thailand’s southern coast, so expect sun-warmed selections with a balearic-leaning ease rather than big-room theatrics. The music follows feeling over category, drifting between house, disco and whatever suits the room. Support comes from Brent Burns of Transport, keeping things grounded.

January 30. B400 via here. Bar Temp., 7pm onwards

Kang Kao kicks off 2026 with a fresh face and a steady sense of curiosity. Yoel arrives from Seoul, where early exposure to electronic music shaped a deep affection for vinyl and long-form listening. Now a resident at Club Ring, he represents a generation more interested in craft than hype, learning the room as carefully as the records in his bag. His sets move freely across techno, trance and house without sounding restless. The throughline is control, measured shifts that feel considered rather than showy. At times the mood sharpens, then softens again, balancing polish with a rougher edge that keeps dancers attentive. This first party of the year leans forward rather than looking back, offering a night guided by instinct, patience and the quiet confidence of someone still finding new ways to surprise.

January 30. B550-700 via here and B800 at the door. Trinity Complex, 9pm-4am

H0M0HAUS marks the weekend by pausing long enough to look back, then nudging gently towards its third performance festival centred on diversity. Saturday plays out like an extended exchange rather than a schedule. The morning workshop treats the manifesto as something active, borrowing from activist strategies to sharpen expression and encourage dissent. Later, an opening ritual sits alongside a lecture performance tracing bodies, politics and sexuality, mapping the ideas at stake. As evening approaches, a social club opens space for informal debate, before a documentary-style work reunites two musicians reflecting on shared pasts and uncertain futures. Sunday turns quieter and more considered. Discussions address gender-aware making, unpack the politics of Y and Yuri dramas and reflect on life after marriage equality. Throughout, an exhibition by emerging students offers softer, hopeful counterpoints.

January 31-February 1. Free. Register here. 2/F, Storeys, One Bangkok, 10am-8pm

A pork shop in a Narathiwat market becomes an unlikely stage for Thijme Maassen’s first solo exhibition, and that feels entirely the point. The Dutch sculptor, who moves between Thailand and the Netherlands, borrows the rhythms of butchery – slicing, grinding, hanging – and folds them back into his own methods. Pork appears not as metaphor but as matter, loaded with labour, habit and familiarity. Maassen also toys with the cartoon pigs found on shop logos, all smiles and cuteness, spoons raised. Reused here, those friendly faces start asking awkward questions about appetite and denial. Two drinks created with Duemdum Space,  Reset Sip, Eating Pork? arrives as lemon tea in a water bucket, while Plum-Boiled Pork Cola leans sweet and strange. Both are for staying put and talking longer.

January 31-February 3. Free. Duemdum Space, midday-9pm

Curiosity about stand-up usually starts quietly, somewhere between a good heckle and a bad day at work. This two-day workshop at The Comedy Club Bangkok treats that curiosity seriously, offering a clear-eyed introduction to life on stage. Sessions unpack what actually earns a laugh, how jokes work and why the first moments matter more than most people think. Persona, timing and stage craft come under close attention, with plenty of space to test ideas without pressure. Led by resident comedian and creative director Chris Wegoda, the workshop stays practical rather than theatrical. Confidence and public speaking often improve along the way, but the focus remains on performance, not therapy. Expect focused exercises, honest feedback and the chance to see whether comedy feels like a passing interest or something worth pursuing further. It suits anyone ready to try speaking into a microphone and listening closely to the room.

January 31-February 1. B2,000-2,500 via here. P.J. O'Brien's Bangkok, midday

Hands still matter, even now. At Rosewood Bangkok, Made in Thai-Hands arrives through a collaboration with Play Art House, offering a thoughtful look at living craft traditions shaped by patience rather than speed. Curated by independent artist Seada Samdao, the exhibition brings together 10 Thai artists working between inherited techniques and contemporary thinking, without treating either as fixed. Moving through the space feels like travelling across different landscapes, guided by texture, material and touch. Threads hold hours of quiet labour, pigment settles through instinct and surfaces reveal years of repetition. Nothing rushes for attention. Instead, each work carries the weight of human effort and the calm confidence that comes from knowing a process deeply. While the rhythms of making remain central, the voices feel current, led by a generation carrying tradition forward with clarity rather than reverence. Craft here feels alive, personal and quietly defiant.

Until March 20. Free. G/F, Rosewood Bangkok, 9am-9pm

Paint dries quickly here. Art Battle Bangkok turns making art into a public sport, with artists racing the clock and the audience watching every decision unfold. Each round allows just 20 minutes, enough time for instincts to take over and nerves to show. Viewers wander between easels, close enough to see mistakes corrected and ideas shift in real time, then vote to decide who moves forward. Three rounds keep the pace sharp and the mood competitive without losing its warmth. Every finished work heads straight to auction, blurring the line between spectacle and support for the artists involved. You can turn up simply to watch or apply to paint yourself, joining a community that values risk over polish. Open to all ages, the event connects Bangkok to a global series staged across more than 50 cities worldwide.

February 1. B99-350 via here and B450 at the door. The Fig Lobby Bangkok, 7pm

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

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

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

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