Discover 12 cultural events in Bangkok to start June fresh.

Bangkok might be drowning in heavy rain, but the city’s cultural scene is completely storm-proof. Ditch the umbrella, grab some culture.

This week’s Koktail Kurated is defying the downpours with a wild card of events. Expect everything from Japanese bondage subcultures and meditative clay sessions to lovable puppets and performance video art critiquing AI and labour.

1/12 Bangkok Shibari (& Shibari Short Films)

Dates: 30 May – 11 July
Venue: Cinema Oasis
Admission: THB 160

Though often misunderstood as a practice of pure anatomy and desire, shibari holds a rich history as a true art form, an eroticism where ropes become lines of genuine connection. Bangkok Shibari, now screening at Cinema Oasis, seeks to capture this aspect of the city’s rope-bound subculture. Alongside the film, you can experience a group art exhibition and three international shorts that look closely at the practice, from the beauty of intricate ropework to the psychological depth of bondage.

2/12 Thailand International LGBTQ+ Film & TV Festival

Dates: 5-11 June
Venue: Paragon Cineplex, Siam Paragon
Admission: Free
Reservations via: Google Forms

While Pride season brings plenty of events, this seven-day film festival is the ultimate ticket. Presenting 30 global shorts and features to Thai moviegoers – and self-styled cinephiles, of course – complete with a red carpet and opening ceremony, the showcase celebrates how far Thai cinema has come while underscoring the power of film to advance human rights and gender equality. Head to the TILFF 2026 website here for film programme details.

3/12 Hotel Art Fair 2026

Dates & Time: 5-7 June, 11am–10pm
Venue: KROMO Bangkok, Curio Collection by Hilton
Admission: Free
Registration via: Zipevent

The Hotel Art Fair is back, once again turning hotel spaces into vibrant art corners. Under this edition’s theme, “REM – Return to the Imaginative,” attendees are invited to explore the logic of dreams (which cannot be explained away) through the lens of pure creativity. The event will also feature exclusive insights from celebrated curators, artists and musicians – such as Thanachai “Pod” Ujjin of the legendary alt-rock band Moderndog – who will share a firsthand look into their creative journeys.

4/12 Ploy Khong Market

Dates & Time: 6-7 June, 10am-9pm
Venue: Tha Maharaj
Admission: Free

If you live for a good thrift find, you are going to love this. The event centres on the idea of ploy khong (releasing your stuff), bringing vintage curios, secondhand gems and handmade crafts to Tha Maharaj. Hunting for goods along the Chao Phraya River makes the nostalgic vibe absolutely immaculate. Plus, you can take a break from shopping to hit up workshops for collaging, junk journaling, bracelet-making and more.

5/12 Kluea Samut: Live Arts and Performance

Dates & Time: 6 June (7pm), 7 June (2pm & 7pm)
Venue: The Jim Thompson Art Center
Admission: THB 600 (Regular), THB 400 (Student)
Tickets via: Ticketmelon

Through movement and profound stillness, this piece explores humanity’s relationship with salt – that essential element of our daily lives. It captures the microscopic reality of the “salt-pan way of life” in Samut Songkhram, illustrating a cultural ecology where everything exists in a continuous loop. Here, survival is a rhythmic yet unpredictable dance, where one element builds to a crescendo, only to rely entirely on the momentum of another.

6/12 “Surrounded” Open Studios

Dates: 6, 13, 20, 27 June
Venue: Bangkok Kunsthalle
Admission: Free (except the final performance; details soon)

Driven by Nitcha “Fame” Tothong and Kengchakaj “Keng” Kengkarnka, the experimental audiovisual collective Elekhlekha guides an ever-evolving body of sensory knowledge. Their Open Studio sessions serve as a fluid laboratory of sounds and images, constantly reshaped by guest musicians from various genres. Visitors can observe this immersive, “surrounding” buildup happen in real-time before the final performance arrives. It’s art as process, malleable and open-ended.

7/12 “Capture Memories with Clay” Workshop

Dates & Time: 6, 7, 13, 14 June, 2pm & 6pm
Venue: Baan Trok Tua Ngork
Admission: THB 1,490

Currently in residency at Baan Trok Tua Ngork in Yaowarat, Thai sculptor Vayupad Ruttanapet is the second visionary to join the “Making Matters” collaboration. Alongside his solo exhibition, Vayupad hosts clay-shaping sessions on select days. He keeps things cosy in a glass room with a classical music soundtrack, egging everyone on to mould their thoughts into whatever takes shape. The vibe is completely relaxed and conversational, even if most people end up completely locked into their own imagination.

8/12 Illust Fusion Expo 2026

Dates & Time: 13-14 June, 10am-8pm
Venue: Paragon Hall, Siam Paragon
Admission: THB 120

Illust Fusion Expo absolutely dominated last year with a massive turnout of over 16,000 people. This time around, Thailand’s biggest art convention is back with a new wave of artistic energy. Expect a lineup of live drawing demos, insightful artist panels and games. If you want to mingle with fellow artists and finally find that creative spark you have been hunting for, this is exactly where you need to be.

9/12 Puppet Slam in Bangkok 2026

Dates & Time: 20-21 June, 1.40pm-8.30pm
Venue: Siam Mover Theatre
Admission: THB 650 (Regular), THB 450 (Student), THB 300 (Children)
Tickets via: Google Forms

While puppetry has felt like a fading art form since the heyday of Sesame Street, these characters still hold a powerful grip on our imaginations, captivating audiences of all ages. Puppet Slam is bringing this universal joy to the heart of Bangkok, showcasing everything from hand puppets and shadow play to object theatre and mask performances. Beyond the main stage, the event features interactive workshops, insightful talks, and rare opportunities to get up close and personal with the puppets themselves.

10/12 MELT: History, Memory, and Narrative

Dates: 3 June – 12 July
Venue: KUNAKIJ Trading-The Historical Building
Admission: Free

In search of lost time, MELT invites visitors to reflect on film as a physical medium, not merely a transmitter of photographic data, but a testament to history that is fragile yet restorable. 35mm negatives from Sutee Kunavichayanont’s personal archive pose questions about memory and how treacherous it can sometimes be. The exhibition also invites 11 artists from various disciplines to explore photographic possibilities across a month-long lineup of events, ranging from workshops to city explorations.

11/12 A Lifetime Between Realities

Dates: 13 June – 19 July
Venue: Tang Contemporary Art
Admission: Free

For his first major solo exhibition in 25 years, Thai art dignitary Bundit Padungvichean draws on his dual legacy as a painter and Silpakorn University lecturer to explore the disciplinary interconnectedness between art and life, that is, a lifetime of art-making. While you’ll spot a lot of nods to old European masters in his canvases – especially in how he plays with forms and colours – his expressive brushstrokes and distinct creative sensibility make every single painting uniquely his own.

12/12 Kawita Vatanajyankur | Tracing

Dates: 6 June – 25 July
Venue: Nova Contemporary
Admission: Free

Presented for Nova Contemporary’s tenth anniversary and running parallel to her solo show at Shanghai’s Yuz Museum, Tracing maps Kawita Vatanajyankur’s artistic evolution, charting her path from an early somatic critique of labour to her recent fascination with automation and AI. In this post-human framework, Kawita asks whether the physical body has lost itself entirely to the technocapital singularity. She explores these themes – grief and the loss of her mother – through hypnotic, performative video art that lays womanhood bare.