How the Bangkok Art Biennale Helped Shape Thailand’s Expanding Scene
Observer ·
Founded by Apinan Poshyananda in 2018, the event staged contemporary work in temples and heritage sites long before new institutions put the Thai capital on the global map. With its fifth edition, “Angels and Mara,” poised to open, he warns that the surrounding cultural ecosystem still lacks lasting structural support.
Bangkok is arguably one of the most exciting emerging art hubs, with the launch of Bangkok Kunsthalle in 2024 and, last December, the opening of Dib Bangkok accelerating the city’s rise on the global art map. Its fast-growing ecosystem was very much part of the conversation in Hong Kong during Art Basel, as many were planning to fly to Bangkok for Bangkok Kunsthalle’s first gala during the fair weekend. Yet well before these new institutions and the accompanying hype, the Bangkok Art Biennale had planted the seeds that are bearing fruit today.
Launched by Apinan Poshyananda in 2018, the Biennale remains a foundational platform providing visibility and opportunities for local artists and young professionals shaping the city’s evolving cultural scene. With exhibitions across historic, cultural and public venues throughout the city, its fifth edition explores the duality of divine messengers and forces of temptation. Titled “Angels and Mara,” it opens Oct. 29, 2026, and runs through Feb. 28, 2027, across Bangkok’s layered cultural landscape.
As a prelude and extension, the Bangkok Art Biennale Foundation also returned to the Venice Biennale this year with an official collateral event, extending its international reach and bringing visibility to Thai and Southeast Asian artists on one of the world’s most influential art platforms. Held from May 9 to Aug. 2 at Palazzo Rocca Contarini Corfù, “The Spirits of Maritime Crossing 2026” brought together 20 artists from Southeast Asia, Ireland, Serbia and beyond to explore identity, displacement, diaspora, memory and spiritual resilience in a world shaped by migration. Observer met with Poshyananda, who also curated the exhibition, to discuss the role this initiative—and the Bangkok Art Biennale more broadly—has played in fostering today’s vibrant Thai art scene.
“The idea was to put Bangkok on the map of international contemporary art—to position it within the global circuit and make it competitive with neighboring places like Singapore, Indonesia, Shanghai or Yokohama,” Poshyananda explained. “We understood our strengths. Bangkok has long been a major tourism destination, with advantages over places like Singapore, which is much smaller. So we wanted to build something with a distinct DNA, something different and attractive. That’s where the idea of Bangkok as the ‘Venice of the East’ came from.”
The approach was never to replicate existing biennial models but to build something rooted in Bangkok’s specific identity. The Bangkok Art Biennale was conceived as context-specific, staged along river routes and within heritage sites, with installations and activations distributed across the city. Curated by Poshyananda, with Marina Abramović as international advisor, it developed around two key strengths: the city itself and a strong emphasis on performance and site-specific practice.
“Our goal is to amaze visitors, not only with Bangkok’s heritage but with contemporary art placed within those sites. Like the Venice Biennale, where contemporary art inhabits churches and historic buildings, we created a similar dialogue,” Poshyananda said. The first edition, in 2018, brought together 75 participants from 33 countries across 20 locations over four months, creating an immersive experience in which visitors encountered the city’s historical heritage in dialogue with contemporary artistic production.
From the beginning, the Biennale prioritized local impact. Its mission was to drive cultural tourism, bringing in curators, directors and international networks. Before founding the Biennale, Poshyananda worked in government for more than 30 years. He knew the strategies for culture-led development, the governance structures and the state of public funding in Thailand, which has only recently begun to invest in contemporary culture. When he moved to the private sector, he opted for a corporate-backed model to ensure continuity and independence. “Government funding is unpredictable and often comes with control, which I wanted to avoid,” he said, adding that he sought long-term commitments from corporate partners instead. “I insisted on at least three editions from the beginning. We didn’t want a one-off event. Many biennales start strong, only to disappear.”
Additional support has come over time through partnerships with cultural institutes and embassies, such as the Institut Français, the Japan Foundation and the Goethe-Institut, which often contribute when artists from their countries are involved. Local authorities, including the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration, also provide in-kind assistance, though the foundation remains largely private.
The Bangkok Art Biennale has never lacked ambition: Poshyananda was determined to position it alongside other major global events while keeping it context-specific. Each edition includes a substantial number of newly commissioned works—typically 20-30—alongside existing pieces. The use of heritage sites has been both a defining feature and a logistical challenge, as site-specific installations often require complex negotiations and careful management, particularly in historically or spiritually significant spaces.
For the 2020 edition—“Escape Routes,” one of very few international exhibitions held during the COVID pandemic— Anish Kapoor placed Push Pull , a three-and-a-half-ton wax installation, inside a major historic temple. “Getting permission requires negotiations with multiple authorities. Kapoor insisted on placing the work on newly renovated marble floors. We guaranteed full protection, but after four months, when we removed the covering, there were traces of wax,” Poshyananda recounted. “These situations are complex, but they create unforgettable experiences. Visitors were amazed by the juxtaposition of contemporary art and sacred heritage.”
The Biennale set out to support both internationally recognized and emerging local artists. Thai artists have gained exposure and access to global networks, and some participants have gone on to achieve major international recognition. “At that time, the local ecosystem was underdeveloped,” Poshyananda said. “Many artists struggled to access global networks. By bringing in artists like Anish Kapoor, Huang Yong Ping and Antony Gormley , we created opportunities for exchange.”
The Biennale runs an open call that draws 600-700 applications per edition, from which it selects around 10-12 artists. The balance between local and international participants can vary, but the aim is always to foster connection and conversation.
In just a few editions, the Bangkok Art Biennale has become an important international curatorial platform and a launchpad for artists. “We saw real results. For example, Massimo Bartolini participated and later represented Italy at the Venice Biennale. Chiara Camoni also showed with us and is now achieving major international visibility, representing Italy at this biennial. This kind of progression was not planned, but very rewarding,” Poshyananda said.
Over time, the Biennale has visibly contributed to the development of Bangkok’s art ecosystem. “Visitors return every two years, and artists come through word of mouth. Bangkok itself is a strong attraction,” Poshyananda noted. “We’ve also seen growth in local institutions, which now collaborate with us. For the upcoming edition, we are working with venues like Dib Bangkok, Bangkok Kunsthalle and the Jim Thompson Center as collateral partners.”
There are now discussions about launching a Bangkok Art Week, since the scene has grown rapidly but still lacks the structure needed to coordinate and amplify these efforts. The expansion into Venice through collateral exhibitions is a further step in this strategy. “It serves as a platform to promote Thai and Southeast Asian artists internationally and to introduce Bangkok’s cultural identity abroad,” Poshyananda said. The Venice collateral exhibition, “The Spirits of Maritime Crossing 2026,” explored travel, memory and displacement. In the first presentation, Marina Abramović appeared in a commissioned video work as a spirit traveling from Venice to Bangkok, connecting the two cities’ shared maritime histories.
Abramović returned for this year’s edition with Sea Punishing , a performance in which hundreds of participants whipped the sea in reference to King Xerxes’ punishment of destructive waters, a poignant remembrance of the Andaman Sea tsunami. A new film, The Spirits of Maritime Crossing II , follows Abramović alongside Pichet Klunchun , Mutmee Pimdao Panichsamai , Aleksandar Timotić and Amanda Coogan on a spiritual journey between Venice and Bangkok, tracing themes of suffering, solitude and transcendence. The exhibition at Palazzo Rocca Contarini offered both a mnemonic and a spiritual voyage across maritime routes, revealing the vibrancy and potential of emerging artistic practices in Thailand, across Southeast Asia and beyond. The artists offered their own interpretations of maritime crossings, exploring strangeness, melancholy and solace in relation to identity, diaspora, displacement and human migration.
These projects deliberately extend beyond visual art into performance and film, reflecting the Biennale’s interdisciplinary scope and its ambition to grow a local creative scene expanding in many directions. Yet despite these developments, Poshyananda stressed that the Thai art ecosystem remains incomplete. While the scene may look vibrant from the outside, structural gaps persist, particularly in funding, taxation and institutional support for artists. Government engagement has been inconsistent, and contemporary art is still not fully integrated into long-term policy frameworks.
Particularly concerning to him is the ecosystem’s vulnerability to shifting global conditions, especially now, as economic pressures and geopolitical instability threaten the sustainability of cultural initiatives. “For Thailand, this is a period of adjustment. The ecosystem is growing, but sustainability remains a challenge,” Poshyananda acknowledged, adding that the visibility achieved in recent years must now be matched by longer-term structural development.