Can Bangkok Become an Arts Destination?

Bangkok is renowned for street food and shopping delights as well as notorious nightlife, but the latest effort to woo tourists aims for the cultural high ground by turning the metropolis into an art gallery.

An exhibition called the Bangkok Art Biennale is showcasing more than 200 pieces from dozens of artists around the world, such as Japan’s Yayoi Kusama and South Korean Choi Jeong Hwa. Paintings, photos and videos, installations and performance art are on display in 20 venues throughout the city, mostly in malls or at key tourist attractions.

“Visual art is a very powerful medium,” said the exhibition’s art director Apinan Poshyananda. “The artists who are in the show can reveal their interpretation of Bangkok.”