Two decades after Hong Kong artist Kenny Wong first sketched a pigtailed girl with lake-blue eyes and endless curiosity, that character has become one of the most recognised art toys on the planet. Molly's 20th birthday is being marked in Bangkok with a dedicated exhibition running daily from 10am to 9pm until October 25 at Chulalongkorn University Centenary Park, organised by Pop Mart Thailand.
Tickets cost 300 or 400 baht and can be bought through Trip.com or the Trip app — just search for "Molly 20th Anniversary Exhibition Bangkok". The park itself sits between Soi Chula 5 and Soi Chula 9, a short walk from the SAM Yan and Siam areas, so it's easy to fold into a day of city sightseeing.
The show traces Molly's development over 20 years through Wong's original works: sketches, paintings, figures and significant pieces from different eras, plus the ideas behind her journey. Visitors essentially get a walk-through of how a single character grew from an artist's idea into a global collectible phenomenon — Molly was, after all, Pop Mart's first IP.
What makes the Bangkok edition stand out is its Thai framing. One of the key highlights is a collection of special works by Thai artists and craftspeople who reinterpret Molly through their own perspectives, connecting her personality and story with Thai art, history, wisdom and imagination. The techniques on display span an impressive range: Sichuan embroidery, paper cutting, wax-resist dyed textiles, silverwork, ceramics, lacquer work and other craft forms.
Alongside those pieces, the exhibition brings together works by artists and craftspeople from diverse cultures, each offering their own take on Molly using techniques including painting. The stated aim is a dialogue between traditional wisdom and contemporary culture — a way of reaching younger audiences through the language of creativity.
For travellers, this is a genuinely time-limited reason to be in Bangkok: the show closes on October 25, and the setting is one of the city's nicest green spaces, designed as a bit of breathing room amid the urban sprawl of Pathum Wan. Pair a visit with the nearby Chulalongkorn neighborhood's cafes and the Chula neighborhood food scene, or hop over to the Jim Thompson House a short ride away.
Toy collectors and design fans will get the most out of it, but the craft angle makes it worthwhile for anyone curious about Thai artisan traditions — this is a rare case of a global pop character filtered through embroidery, lacquer and silverwork rather than another standard merch drop.
