Printmaking used to be the sort of thing your art teacher loved, or that one cousin who still uses an iPod and can’t shut up about ‘zines’. But this year’s Thailand Printmaking Festival isn’t just for the print-obsessed. It’s for anyone who’s ever paused to admire a sticker on a lamp post or traced the grain of a paperback cover. Print is, quite literally, ‘everywhere’ – and that’s precisely the point.
Running July 4-15, from 4pm-10pm daily at Central Chidlom’s Event Hall, the festival returns under the quietly radical theme: ‘Printing is everywhere.’ The premise is simple – print doesn’t belong on a pedestal. It lives in our wardrobes, bookshelves, shopping bags, tote bags, Instagram feeds and street corners. It’s daily, it’s democratic and it’s deliciously DIY.
Organised by GroundControl and PPP Studio, this year’s edition pulls Bangkok into the fold after its last showing in Chiang Mai’s Dream Graff Gallery (2022). With a broader scope and louder presence, the 2025 festival aims not just to show but to ‘share’ – a communal invitation to press, smudge and roll ink across our daily lives.
What’s new to look forward to this year? In addition to a wide range of artworks – from statement pieces to pocket-sized prints – the festival presents a special exhibition uniting 10 artists with 10 distinctive print studios. Each duo brings a unique method to the mix. Weekend workshops will also be held throughout, inviting visitors to create their own prints with ease. More than just a market of towering prints and pocket-sized treasures, the festival also includes:
- Exhibition – 10 x 10 Artist x Studio
10 artists, 10 studios, zero rules. Think of it as speed dating with ink. Each pair has co-created pieces that blur the line between studio precision and raw, individual style.
Artists: Benzilla / Kitikong / Lolay / Mamablues / Mr.Kreme / Nutkai / Pod Art / Rukkit / Sahred Toy / Yeedin
Studios: Archivist / C.A.P / Kienhin / Made By Gyvendore / Mezzpress / Poom Wisidwinyoo / PPP Studio / TNT / Wisut Tae / Witti
- Print workshops
Every weekend, the Event Hall turns into a mini factory of trial and error. Expect ink-stained fingers, good-natured swearing and something frame-worthy to take home.
- Live print
Watch as jaturun.work brings fish printing (Gyotaku) to life, proving once again that dead things can be strangely beautiful. Then head over to Hello My Name is BKK for a dose of urban wheatpaste rebellion.
- Interactive: Rubbing art
A five-metre stretch of textured surfaces begs to be felt, traced and transformed. Pencils, crayons, charcoal – no digital tools in sight.
- Printmaker’s market
Postcards, zines, shirts, notebooks – the sort of art you can carry, wear or accidentally spill coffee on.
Stallholders include: Ppp Studio / Hello Print Friend / Metasit / Prawin Print / Sab / Saratta / Spacebar Zine / Young Print (University) and a delightful host of others.
- Art talks
Because sometimes you want to know ‘why’ the artist glued fish to paper. Casual, curious and caffeinated conversations about process, politics and print.
Free to enter, free to wander, free to touch things you’re normally told not to. Bring your friends, your nan, your inner child. Leave with ink under your nails.