Melanie Pocock, Artistic Director (Exhibitions) at Ikon Gallery, is part of the curatorial team for the 5th edition of the Bangkok Art Biennale (BAB). She joins a distinguished group of curators including Prof. Dr. Apinan Poshyananda (Chief Executive and Artistic Director, BAB), Adulaya Hoontrakul (Director, Bangkok Art and Culture Centre), Rémy Jarry (Lecturer, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok; Adjunct Professor, Catholic University of Paris), and Kulapat Yantrasast (Founder and Creative Director, WHY Architecture).

As the world trembles with wars, terrorism, environmental crises, and political divides, humanity is caught within the blurred boundaries of right, wrong and in between. In this fractured reality, opposites coexist —compassion with cruelty, truth with distortion. Set in Bangkok (Krung Thep, the City of Angels), BAB 2026 becomes a stage for artists from Thailand and around the world to reflect on the struggles, contradictions, and resilience of our time.

The first list of artists includes Htein Lin and Mahtab Hussain & Guy Gunaratne, whose work featured in major exhibitions at Ikon in spring 2025.

BAB 2026 is organised by the Bangkok Art Biennale Foundation in collaboration with Thai Beverage Public Company Limited (ThaiBev) with the support of public and private sectors.