The organizers of the Bangkok Art Biennale have revealed the seventy-two artists and collectives participating in the fifth iteration of the event, to take place October 29, 2026–February 28, 2027. The exhibition is being shaped by Thai curator and art historian Apinan Poshyananda, who has served as artistic director since the Biennale’s 2018 founding. He leads a curatorial team additionally comprising Adylaya Hoontrakul, Remy Jarry, Melanie Pocock, and Kulapat Yantrasast.
The show is titled “Angels & Mara,” referring to Bangkok’s nickname, “City of Angels,” and to Mara, the demonic Buddhist personification of temptation and fear. Central to the exhibition is the tension between the honorable and the immoral, the appealing and the revolting.
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Participating artists from Thailand include performance artist Chomphunut Phuttha, who investigates themes of gender and environment; photographer and installation artist Naraphat Sakarthornsap, who explores societal issues through images of flora; and painter Chatchai Puipia, whose frequently satirical or ironic works address sociopolitical struggle. Among the international artists taking part are Japanese photographer Nobuyoshi Araki, London-based painter Mandy El-Sayegh, Italian sculptor Piero Golia, Canadian/UK filmmaker Sin Wai Kin, and American videographer Bill Viola.
This year’s biennale will span eleven locations, among them the ancient heritage sites Wat Pho (Temple of the Reclining Buddha), Wat Arun (Temple of Dawn), and Wat Prayoon, known for its massive white chedi, or stupa. The Bangkok Art and Culture Center, Museum Siam, the National Museum Bangkok, and Silpakorn Art Center will host exhibitions, as will luxury shopping malls Central World and Siam Paragon, and the hypermodern One Bangkok development and Alliance Française Bangkok.
A full list of participating artists is below.
- AES+F
- Tara Al Dughaiter
- Arahmaiani
- Nobuyoshi Araki
- Cedric Arnold
- Beyond Pressure
- Channatip Chanvipava
- Yanran Chen
- Un Cheng
- Mel Chin
- Amanda Coogan
- Margaret Eicher
- Mandy El-Sayegh
- Gerard & Kelly
- Piero Golia
- Sonia Hamza
- Amrita Hepi
- Mahtab Hussain and Guy Gunaratne
- Leiko Ikemura
- Liu Jianhua
- Sumi Kanazawa
- Amrit Karki
- Klara Kristalova
- Sarakrin Krue-On
- Song Kun
- Emi Kusano
- Renato Leotta
- Jason Lim
- Htein Lin
- Breda Lynch
- Shin Min
- Le Hien Minh
- Yasumasa Morimura
- Soe Yu New
- Mary Pakinee
- Marie Lloyd Paspe
- Ong Kian Peng
- Chomphunut Phuttha
- Chetsada Phuwiang
- Pierre et Gilles
- Nazanin Pouyandeh
- Chatchai Puipia
- Ri
- Kornkarn Rungsawng
- Vayupad Ruttanapet
- Naraphat Sakarthornsap
- Max Hooper Schneider
- Sylvie Selig
- Sin Wai Kin
- Tcheu Siong
- Teerapon Sisung
- Manit Sriwanchipoom
- Mariam Suhail
- Wasinburee Supanichvoraparch
- Manop Suwapinta
- Udom Taephanich
- Mika Tamori
- Bruno Tanquerel
- Sudaporn Teja
- Pathompol Tesprateep
- Ralf Tooten
- Apulu Pati Tyrell
- Ploenchan Vinyaratn
- Bill Viola
- Tawan Wattuya
- Parada Wiratsawee
- Forrest Wong
- Woo Hannah
- Choo Kuan Yeoh
- Sun Yuan and Peng Yu
- Goang-Ming Yuan
- Hsing Yu Liu