Guide to Bangkok Art Biennale 2022: Artists, Venues, and Routes

Bangkok Art Biennale (BAB), the capital's contemporary art festival, is back for the third time and it has pulled out all the stops to deliver an extensive, breathtaking show to Thais with over 200 artworks by 73 artists in 12 venues!

BAB 2022 opened to the public last Oct. 22 and will run until the second month of the new year on Feb. 23, 2023. Founded in 2017, the art festival first opened to the public in 2018, transforming Bangkok into a hub that champions the arts and culture. Two years have passed since its last return (albeit virtually) to the capital in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. This year, BAB emerged from the shadow and tumult of the health crisis with an apt theme: "CHAOS: CALM," which aims to reflect the trauma, angst, and turbulence caused by COVID-19 in art, as well as hope.

Artists

A total of 73 artists are participating in this year's BAB hailing from 31 different countries.

Marina Abramović

Marina Abramović, one of the pioneers of performance art and one of the most important performance artists in the world, is back for the third time at BAB this year. Awarded the Golden Lion for Best Artist at the 1997 Venice Biennale, Abramović's nine-channel soundless video installation "Dragon Heads" (2018) and the hour-long single channel video "The Current" (2017) are displayed at the Queen Sirikit National Convention Center. She will also hold a lecture for BAB 2022, titled "Immaterial Art."

Robert Mapplethorpe

Heralded as one of the most groundbreaking photographers of the 20th century, the late Robert Mapplethorpe also figures in BAB 2022 with "Ken Moody and Robert Sherman" (1984), the artist's signature black and white portraits of bodybuilding champion Lisa Lyson, Ken Moody, Derrick Cross, Robert Sherman, and George Bussey. Mapplethorpe's work as a photographer was at once feted and controversial, and his "contributions to LGBTQ+ history could not be overstated."

Cian Dayrit

Filipino artist Cian Dayrit is likewise exhibiting his work at BAB with "Imperial Puppet Regalia" (2022) at JWD Art Space. Dayrit's artistic practice encompasses colonialism, ethnography, archaeology, history, and mythology.

The mixed media "Imperial Puppet Regalia," comprising embroidery on textile, woodwork sculptures, weaving, and craftwork, explores "the history and culture of militarism in Asia," from the Philippines and beyond to the region of Southeast Asia. According to BAB, the work is a reflection of collective experiences such as red-tagging, the murder of peasants, journalists, and lawyers, the war on drugs, and state-enforced crackdown on activists.

To see all the exhibiting artists at BAB 2022, go here.

Venues

BAB 2022 has 12 venues, 11 of which are physical and one provides a visual art experience.

The BAB Virtual Venue has nine artworks exhibiting virtually, namely "When K Hits" by Vincent Schwenk, '://Are you observing or being observed?" by Vitoria Cribb, "Distant Doors" by Anthony Samaniego, "Perceiving the Phenomena Perceiving The Bull" by Dorairolg, "Don't Say Goodbye To Earth" by Gabriel Massan, "VOIDSCAPE" by Kawita X CJK X CDS, "Dreams of Ayutthaya" by Nakrob Moonmanas, "A room, where they are COEVALS" by Nawin Nuthong, and "Peasant Park" by Uninspired by Current Events.

The other venues are the Bangkok Art and Culture Centre (housing over 90 artworks), Central World (six artworks), JWD Art Space (over 40 artworks), Museum Siam (four artworks), The Prelude, One Bangkok (one artwork), Queen Sirikit National Convention Center (over 55 artworks), Samyan Mitrtown (one artwork), The PARQ (two artworks), Wat Arun (one artwork), Wat Pho (four artworks), and Wat Prayoon (six artworks).

Routes

If you're serious about doing an art crawl, it's best to allot two or three days to see most, if not all, the artworks on exhibit at BAB 2022. BAB recommends a river route as well as a city route, divided into two days, for you to make stops at every venue.

River Route

The river route will have you explore the artworks displayed in sites alongside the Chao Phraya River.

Museum Siam, Wat Pho, Wat Arun, and Wat Prayoon

BAB suggests starting your art crawl at Museum Siam, open from 10 AM to 6 PM (closed on Mondays) to view its four artworks. You will spend about 30 minutes there.

From there, walk two minutes to Wat Pho via Sanam Chai Road. Open from 8:30 AM to 5:30 PM, Wat Pho also houses four artworks, which can take 30 minutes to view.

Afterwards, take a 10-minute ferry ride to Wat Arun via Thai Tien Pier. Open from 8:30 AM to 5:30 PM, Wat Arun houses three artworks and can be finished in 30 minutes or less.

Lastly, take a 20-minute car ride to Wat Prayoon (open from 8:30 AM to 5:30 PM) to view six artworks.

City Route - Day 1

To continue your BAB art crawl, this time in the heart of Bangkok, make your first stop be Samyan Mitrtown. Housing only one artwork, your visit here can take about 15 minutes tops. Take a five-minute car ride to JWD Art Space where you can view over 40 artworks on display for about an hour or so.

Then, take another four-minute ride this time to Bangkok Art and Culture Centre. As this venue has over 95 artworks on display, prepare to spend much of your time here and allot about two hours or more to savour the art.

You may then take a 15-minute car ride to Central World or a 15-minute train ride via BTS and walk to Central World via BTS National Stadium - BTS Siam, and Skywalk.

When in Central World, allot 30 minutes or so to view the six artworks housed therein.

City Route - Day 2

On the last day of your art crawl, begin your tour at The Prelude to view one artwork. It's up to you if you want to skip the venues housing fewer artworks, but if you're committed to hitting every stop, make sure not to miss this one.

You can then walk and take the MRT to The PARQ, a journey that'll last about 25 minutes, to check out two artworks. You may save more time for the next stop by cutting this trip short and reserving your energy for the last stop.

From The PARQ, take a three-minute walk to the Queen Sirikit National Convention Center. Housing over 55 artworks from major artists, prepare to spend as much time as you like here. It is open from 10 AM to 8 PM.

View the detailed recommended routes of BAB and download the BAB map here.