Bangkok Art Biennale 2026: 72 Artists Set to Transform the Capital into a Citywide Gallery

Bangkok is preparing to host its most ambitious contemporary art festival yet as the Bangkok Art Biennale (BAB) returns for its fifth edition from October 29, 2026, to February 28, 2027. Under the central theme ANGELS & MARA, the upcoming biennale brings together a diverse lineup of 72 artists and collectives from across the globe, turning iconic temples, national landmarks, and vibrant commercial centers into active sites of artistic discovery.

Named in reference to Bangkok’s identity as the "City of Angels" (Krung Thep) and the figure of Mara—symbolizing temptation, desire, and forces that test human awareness—the festival explores the delicate spaces between sacred and everyday life, destruction and renewal, and beauty and constraint. Rather than treating these forces as simple opposites, ANGELS & MARA examines how they coexist in modern society and human consciousness.
 

"An angel can be so gentle—the messenger and the protector," explains Prof. Dr. Apinan Poshyananda, Artistic Director of Bangkok Art Biennale. "But sometimes fallen angels can be disastrous. Mara, on the other hand, can represent strength or something dark and threatening. In psychology and medicine, Mara is that state where you exist between the dream and awakeness."

Adding to the theme's urgency, Thapana Sirivadhanabhakdi, Founder of the Bangkok Art Biennale Foundation, emphasized that ANGELS & MARA reflects the rapid global changes, societal tensions, and search for resilience defining our world today.

A Citywide Canvas Across 11 Venues

This edition expands the biennale’s footprint across 11 primary locations, introducing three new venues—Alliance Française Bangkok, Art Centre Silpakorn University, and the Issaravinitchai Royal Hall at the National Museum Bangkok—alongside returning cultural landmarks.

"The Bangkok Art Biennale has connected the city’s rich heritage with contemporary art forms around the world while contributing significantly to Thailand’s creative economy," says Thapana. "Our 2024 edition welcomed over 1.2 million visitors, generating an estimated 3.54 billion THB in tourism-related economic impact according to TCEB."
 

Visitors can craft their own art route across three distinct urban landscapes:

• Sacred Landmarks: Wat Arun, Wat Pho, and Wat Prayoon

• Cultural & Educational Hubs: National Museum Bangkok (Issaravinitchai Royal Hall), Museum Siam, Art Centre Silpakorn University, and Bangkok Art and Culture Centre (BACC)

• Urban & Commercial Hubs: Alliance Française Bangkok, One Bangkok, centralwOrld, and Siam Paragon
   

  

Highlight Works & Artist Voices

Mediums across the biennale range from porcelain and bronze to live performance, textiles, and repurposed waste. Standout site-specific installations include:

• Leiko Ikemura (Wat Pho): The Japanese-Swiss artist presents Memento Mori, a reclining bronze figure echoing both European funerary sculpture and the temple’s monumental Reclining Buddha.

• Liu Jianhua (National Museum Bangkok): Inside the historic Throne Hall, Chinese artist Liu presents Square (Siamese Triangle)—molten-gold-like porcelain fragments reflecting the hall's vermilion ceiling to honor centuries of ceramic trade between China and Siam.

• Chomphunut Phuttha (Performance Art): In her live durational performance WOMARA, the Thai artist directly tattoos consenting participants with reversed traditional proverbs, confronting gendered traditions through bodily agency.

  "Because it is a live performance, the audience must be right there in the moment," says Chomphunut. "It is simultaneous; everyone should feel it, experience it, and share that energy with one another."
   

  

   

• Ploenchan Vinyaratn (Textile Installation): Thai textile artist Ploenchan constructs Vestibule, an immersive passage woven from surplus yarns, fabric scraps, and discarded pickleballs.

  "You don't just see it—you have to breathe it, touch it, hear it, and step inside," Ploenchan shares. "I hope people leave not with an absolute answer, but a feeling: If you were given another life or another chance, what would you choose to become? You could be an angel or a Mara."

  

   

• Cedric Arnold (Film & Live Performance): French artist Cedric Arnold presents a multi-format film at Alliance Française Bangkok, accompanied by live musical reinterpretation.

  "I will transform the space on several occasions into a live performance with musicians who reinterpret the film," says Arnold. "I want people to step in and question the current meaning of the word 'inevitable'."

• Tcheu Siong (Embroidery): Laotian Hmong artist Tcheu brings ancestral cosmology into physical form through intricate hand-stitched appliqué.

• Amrit Karki (Participatory Performance): Nepalese artist Amrit presents A Fallen Petal Floating on the River of Time, a 30-hour performance exploring time, rest, and surrender.

The roster also features international heavyweights including Bill Viola, Nobuyoshi Araki, AES+F, Sun Yuan & Peng Yu, Mel Chin, Sakarin Krue-On, Udom Taephanich, and Tawan Wattuya.

Expanding the Ecosystem: BAB Plus & BAB Fringe

To ensure the inquiry into ANGELS & MARA resonates across Bangkok's entire art ecosystem, BAB 2026 incorporates two parallel collaboration networks:

• BAB Plus: Dedicated partner programming developed in dialogue with the biennale theme at One Bangkok Art & Culture Space, 100 Tonson Foundation, BANGKOK CITYCITY GALLERY, DIB 26, and Jim Thompson Art Center.

• BAB Fringe: Independent art initiatives hosted at Rongsi 1984+1 Gallery, HELU-TRANS (THAILAND), and Warin Lab Nomad.

Festival Essentials

• Event: Bangkok Art Biennale 2026 (ANGELS & MARA)

• Dates: October 29, 2026 – February 28, 2027

• Venues: 11 primary locations across Bangkok, plus BAB Plus and BAB Fringe partner spaces

• Admission: Free entry across most public and temple venues (standard entry fees may apply for select museum sections).

Master Artist Lineup (72 Artists & Collectives)

• AES+F (Russia)

• Tara Al Dughaiter (Saudi Arabia)

• Arahmaiani (Indonesia)

• Nobuyoshi Araki (Japan)

• Cedric Arnold (UK/France)

• Beyond Pressure (Myanmar)

• Channatip Chanvipava (Thailand/UK)

• Yanran Chen (China)

• Un Cheng (Hong Kong)

• Mel Chin (USA)

• Amanda Coogan (Ireland)

• Margret Eicher (Germany)

• Mandy El-Sayegh (Malaysia/UK)

• Gerard & Kelly (France/USA)

• Piero Golia (Italy/USA)

• Sonia Hamza (France)

• Amrita Hepi (Australia)

• Max Hooper Schneider (USA)

• Mahtab Hussain & Guy Gunaratne (UK)

• Leiko Ikemura (Japan/Switzerland)

• Sumi Kanazawa (Japan)

• Amrit Karki (Nepal)

• Klara Kristalova (Sweden)

• Sakarin Krue-On (Thailand)

• Emi Kusano (Japan)

• Le Hien Minh (Vietnam)

• Renato Leotta (Italy)

• Jason Lim (Singapore)

• Htein Lin (Myanmar)

• Liu Jianhua (China)

• Hsing Yu Liu (Taiwan, R.O.C.)

• Breda Lynch (Ireland)

• Yasumasa Morimura (Japan)

• Soe Yu Nwe (Myanmar)

• Mary Pakinee (Thailand)

• Marie Lloyd Paspe (USA)

• Ong Kian Peng (Singapore)

• Chomphunut Phuttha (Thailand)

• Chetsada Phuwiang (Thailand)

• Pierre et Gilles (France)

• Nazanin Pouyandeh (Iran/France)

• Chatchai Puipia (Thailand)

• Ri (Myanmar)

• Kornkarn Rungsawang (Thailand)

• Vayupad Ruttanapet (Thailand)

• Naraphat Sakarthornsap (Thailand)

• Sylvie Selig (France)

• Shin Min (South Korea)

• Sin Wai Kin (Canada/UK)

• Tcheu Siong (Laos)

• Teerapon Sisung (Thailand)

• Song Kun (China)

• Manit Sriwanichpoom (Thailand)

• Mariam Suhail (Pakistan)

• Sun Yuan & Peng Yu (China)

• Wasinburee Supanichvoraparch (Thailand)

• Manop Suwanpinta (Thailand)

• Udom Taephanich (Thailand)

• Mika Tamori (Japan)

• Bruno Tanquerel (France)

• Sudaporn Teja (Thailand)

• Pathompol Tesprateep (Thailand)

• Ralf Tooten (Germany)

• Apulu Pati Tyrell (New Zealand)

• Ploenchan Vinyaratn (Thailand)

• Bill Viola (USA)

• Tawan Wattuya (Thailand)

• Parada Wiratsawee (Thailand)

• Forrest Wong (Malaysia)

• Woo Hannah (South Korea)

• Yeoh Choo Kuan (Malaysia)

• Yuan Goang-Ming (Taiwan, R.O.C.)
   

PHOTO Courtesy of Bangkok Art Biennale unless otherwise stated.

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