The unofficial headquarters for Bangkok Design Week has always been TCDC (Thailand Creative Design Center)  — The Grand Postal building on Charoen Krung Rd. Here, the activations take over every floor, as well as the outdoor area. Some stand out activations this year included the Canon booth located on the first floor where you can print out a free photo of your choice to take home. There were also many design booths. One that especially stood out to me was the Table Matters (Taiwan x Thailand Co-creation Project). It was a booth featuring a basic beige colored countertop, but decorated with warm toned ceramic bowls, steel vases, and elegant candle holders. It reminded me a lot of the design language used at Ingress and RollinUp.

As I made my way up to the second, third, and fifth floor, I found many more hidden gems. One room was filled with every kind of fabric, metal, or surface you could think of, from granite to marble to wood. It became a sensory wonderland as I brushed my fingers over each surface, documenting the experience forever. On the rooftop there was another art activation where you could create a meal using different stamps featuring fish, basil, noodles, rice, and many more food components. I recreated a salmon pesto pasta I had earlier that day to much fanfare from my friends.

The following weekend, we explored Bang Lamphu. The coolest part of this neighborhood was seeing a live video game projected on the side of Phra Sumen Fort. It was a map showing you the fort through the different eras, with the projections changing as you walked your character towards the right, following the arrow of time. Behind us there was a beautiful walkway made of recycled paper and plastic resembling stained glass windows. As you walked from one end and out the other, you were greeted with the stunning views of the river and the famous Bhumibol 1 & 2 suspension bridges.

The final place I went to for Bangkok Design Week was the Marshall Livehouse. Located in Charoen Krung, this is an establishment known for live music, art, and rehearsal rooms. As part of the festival, they opened their jam room for free for any and all musicians to come and create. As a drummer, this was an opportunity I knew I could not miss. I went up to the third floor where they had a full drum kit —cymbals and sticks— sitting there waiting to be played. It brought me back to the experience of being in a band in middle school. I felt fully free and able to play to my heart’s desire.

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I read somewhere the art is not the piece itself. It’s not even the person looking at the art. Its the space between them both. This unexplainable ether of thoughts, emotions, and judgements that happen in between the viewer and the art itself. That is art.