Bangkok's biggest contemporary art event returns this autumn. The fifth edition of the Bangkok Art Biennale (BAB) runs from 29 October 2026 to 28 February 2027 under the theme "Angels & Mara" — a push-pull between good and temptation drawn from Buddhist cosmology — spread across 11 venues and 72 artists from around the world.

What makes BAB unusual among biennales is where the art lives. Alongside museums and cultural centres, works appear in active temples, and the contrast is deliberate. One highlight is Japanese-Swiss artist Leiko Ikemura's "Memoria into Pho" at Wat Pho, where her bronze reclining figure sits near the temple's famous monumental Reclining Buddha, echoing both European figurative sculpture and Buddhist iconography.

At the National Museum Bangkok, Chinese artist Liu Jiakun has created a site-specific installation of steel and gilded corrugated sheets in the Throne Hall — a nod to the hall's million-dollar gilt ceiling and centuries of Sino-Siamese cultural exchange, including the histories of benjarong and lai nam thong ceramics. Nearby, Ikemura's Wakas and Mas-a present the "Angel from Cologne" and the "Devil from Cologne", embodying forces that ultimately belong to the same world.

Performance and image-heavy work features strongly too. Thai artist Chomphunuh Phatthon's ARAMOW project reframes tattooing traditions as an assertion of bodily agency, while Vietnamese-German artist Le Hien Min collages hundreds of images from cinema, news, archives and celebrity culture — unsettling original meanings while confronting Orientalist and colonial stereotypes of Asian women. Other names include Zadok Ben-David and Jitish Kallat.

The full venue list covers Wat Arun, Wat Pho, Wat Prayoon, the National Museum Bangkok, the Bangkok Art and Culture Centre, Bangkok National Museum, Silpakorn University's art centre, Museum Siam, Alliance Française Bangkok, One Bangkok and CentralWorld.

For 2026 the programme stretches beyond the official sites. BAB Plus brings together One Bangkok Art & Culture Space, the 100 Tonson Foundation, Bangkok CityCity Gallery, BID 26 and the Jim Thompson Art Center, each staging its own show. BAB Friend adds collaborations with Rosgishi 1894+1 Gallery, Halle-Tarns and Warin Lab Contemporary, plus a wider layer of independently produced exhibitions across the city.

For travellers, this is a good reason to plan a Bangkok trip in the cooler months. The Biennale's temple venues are among the city's most visited sights anyway, so entry to installations at Wat Pho or Wat Arun folds neatly into regular sightseeing, while the museum and mall-based venues give you indoor options during the hottest part of the day. The run spans nearly four months, so there's flexibility on timing — and the supporting venues mean you can build an art-focused day well away from the riverside temples. Check individual venue opening hours before you go, as temple sites in particular differ from gallery hours.