Creative Economy Agency

The Creative Economy Agency (Public Organization), Northern Regional Office, is set to present the 12th edition of Chiang Mai Design Week 2026 (CMDW2026), bringing local creative potential to the forefront and transforming the strengths of Northern Thailand into new economic opportunities. Under the theme “Local Thunders, Global Transformation,” this year’s festival reaffirms Chiang Mai’s potential as the “Creative Capital of the North.” The festival aims to evolve beyond a platform for showcasing design work into a creative economy platform that connects people, local wisdom, industries, and collaborative networks in Thailand and abroad. Visitors can look forward to a diverse lineup of exhibitions, showcases, talks, music, performances, and creative markets, taking place from 5 - 13 December 2026, 10.00 - 20.00 hrs., across Klang Wiang, Chang Moi, Sanpakoi, and other locations throughout Chiang Mai.

Exploring “Local Thunders, Global Transformation”: Sparking Local Potential with Global Opportunities

For its 12th edition, Chiang Mai Design Week presents the theme “Local Thunders, Global Transformation,” building on local strengths to create new opportunities and foster meaningful collaboration. “Local Thunders” draws inspiration from the sound of thunder, symbolizing the potential of people, communities, and cultural assets rooted in each locality. While these strengths may begin as small sparks of potential, connecting and developing them through creativity, knowledge, technology, and collaboration with local and international networks can generate new opportunities, create greater economic value, and spark broader, far-reaching change.

Across nine days, the festival will showcase design, crafts, food, music, and a range of creative industries, with a particular focus on wellness — one of the promising industries in Chiang Mai and Northern Thailand. The festival will highlight the industry’s potential from multiple perspectives while fostering an environment for developing new wellness products, services, and experiences. This approach aims to expand the economic value of the wellness industry beyond services and tourism, covering product development, packaging, branding, spatial and service design, as well as strengthening the capabilities of Thai perfumers to bring their creations to market. This year’s festival will serve as an important platform for connecting the wellness industry with other creative industries while opening up new business opportunities for entrepreneurs across the region.

12 CMDW2026 Highlights: Discover New Experiences from Local Roots to the Global Stage

• Scents Asia 2026 Making its debut this year, Scents Asia 2026 is a platform dedicated to advancing the fragrance industry across its entire value chain — from raw materials and perfumers to designers, creative practitioners, products, and markets. It aims to transform local resources and traditional knowledge related to the fragrance industry into new business opportunities. Key activities include Scent Showcase, featuring innovations and fragrance products from more than 50 local brands; Exhibition, presenting stories, knowledge, and the potential of local raw materials; Inspiration Talks, exploring opportunities in local ingredients and offering international perspectives on the potential of Northern Thailand and the country; Trade & Business Matching, connecting businesses and creating opportunities to further develop creative work; and the Scents Asia Awards, recognizing and inspiring outstanding fragrance creations that make distinctive use of local ingredients. Venue: TCDC Chiang Mai
• Balance Imbalance Exhibition An immersive exhibition that explores Chiang Mai’s identity through the sense of smell, examining the interplay between pleasant and unpleasant scents. It reflects the relationships among people, culture, raw materials, and the urban landscape, revealing a different kind of beauty that emerges when contrasting elements coexist in balance. Venue: TCDC Chiang Mai
• Scent of sky to portray your mind (CNX 2026) Exhibition A scent-based interactive exhibition that explores the memories and emotions of Chiang Mai residents through images of the sky and three real-life stories from 2026. The exhibition team visited local communities to collect personal memories and heartfelt stories, which were then translated into fragrances. Visitors can experience these stories through a multisensory journey of looking, smelling, observing, and coloring — offering a different way to revisit and explore memories through the senses. Venue: TCDC Chiang Mai
• kōm Exhibition This exhibition reinterprets the Lanna tradition of Yi Peng and its iconic floating lanterns through contemporary design. It combines local knowledge of saa paper from the Ban Ton Pao community and ceramics with 3D printing technology to create a collection of modular lanterns. Designed to be customizable and adaptable to different spaces, the works embrace a sustainable design approach. Venue: Sri Lanna Thai Women’s Cultural Promotion Association, Chiang Mai
• CGM48 The Original Stage Exhibition Explore the creative concepts and processes behind the CGM48 project, which draws on Chiang Mai’s identity and Lanna cultural heritage. The project brings traditional knowledge together with music, performance, and design through collaborations among artists, musicians, designers, and local craftspeople. Venue: Chiang Mai City Arts and Cultural Center (Ho Klang Wiang)
• Weaving Futures Exhibition Presented in collaboration with Alliance Française de Chiang Mai, this exhibition brings together students from Thailand and Europe to explore sustainability, cultural heritage, and environmentally conscious design through fieldwork in local communities. It also aims to foster international collaboration and develop meaningful, sustainable approaches to contemporary design. Venue: Alliance Française de Chiang Mai
• Ma Nuea Ma Nua Exhibition An experience-based exhibition that invites visitors to see discarded materials from a new perspective. Through creative processes that transform waste materials into new opportunities and works, the exhibition highlights the role of design in creating added value from materials in a sustainable way. Venue: Chiang Mai City Arts and Cultural Center (Ho Klang Wiang)
• Wonder of Fabric Exhibition A collaborative exhibition by Homework dots design studio and a group of emerging designers, exploring the identity and traditional knowledge of Northern Thai textiles. Reflecting the region’s ethnic diversity and vibrant colors, these local textile traditions are reimagined through experimentation and contemporary design. The exhibition also creates opportunities for brands and designers to build collaborative networks and advance the potential of Thai textile design on the international stage. Venue: Chiang Mai City Arts and Cultural Center (Ho Klang Wiang)
• CEA Northern Regional Office’s Network: Exhibitions and Activities Presenting creative works and activities from CEA Northern Regional Office’s network in Lampang, Nan, Tak, Phichit, and Sukhothai, featuring: 
  • NANFEST 2027: Connecting Spirits A creative festival from Nan that reinterprets the spirit, beliefs, memories, and way of life of the Ban Nam Khrok Mai community through products and design works.
  • Phichit Beyond Imagination: YES KHE! Reimagining Phichit’s iconic crocodile through the legend of Chalawan, this presentation invites visitors to discover the province’s identity through three concepts: Knowledge, Heritage, and Experience.
  • Lamlong Lampang An exhibition from the “Long Young 3” project, featuring works by 13 young people from Lampang who explored the ecosystem and stories of the Wang River. Their findings are presented through eight creative formats: novels, fairy tales, zines, articles and literary works, webtoons, photography, installation art and interviews, as well as installation art and photography. The exhibition amplifies the voices of the younger generation and raises awareness of local environmental conservation.
  • Sukh Festa Featuring the “Sukh Kid Craft” project, this program invites children to create crafts and design their own experiences of happiness through fun, hands-on activities.
  • ENJOY OURS: Finding Thai Thai Taste A workshop from Tak that invites participants to explore the relationship between the body and food. Drawing on the concepts of mindful eating and the principles of Thai traditional medicine, the activity also offers participants the opportunity to design healthy snacks. Venue: Chiang Mai City Arts and Cultural Center (Ho Klang Wiang)
• POP MARKET A creative market bringing together products, crafts, and services from entrepreneurs and creators. Featuring offerings that prioritize sustainable production processes, the market reflects local wisdom, contemporary creativity, and the distinctive assets of Northern Thailand. Venue: Lanna Folklife Center, 16.00 - 22.00 hrs.
• PATTERN.ERS: Pa-Laed Exhibition This exhibition explores the working process of PATTERN.ERS, a collective of designers from Northern Thailand that creates a space for experimentation, exchange, and learning through the diversity of people, materials, and creative processes. Members from different brands have collaborated to develop new works, showcase their ideas, experiment with concepts, and connect with other creators in the industry. Venue: Sripakad Hotel, Sanpakoi
• LABBfest.2026 A platform connecting artists from Northern Thailand with audiences and networks in Thailand and abroad. The festival highlights music as a form of creative capital that creates memorable experiences and artistic enjoyment while contributing to the local urban economy. Venue: HOMPOY Live House, 5 - 6 December 2026, 15.00 - 00.00 hrs.

Chiang Mai Design Week brings together a diverse range of creative ideas, people, cultures, and works, providing opportunities for local potential and identity to gain wider recognition and develop into new opportunities at regional and international levels. Through the exchange of knowledge, innovation, and collaboration among creative networks in Thailand and abroad, the festival offers visitors diverse experiences, connects creators with entrepreneurs, and helps build partnerships and future business collaborations. These efforts reflect the festival’s role as an important driver of urban development through creativity, connecting local potential with opportunities on the global stage.

Join us in sparking local power and setting waves of global change in motion at Chiang Mai Design Week 2026 (CMDW2026), under the theme “Local Thunders, Global Transformation,” from 5 - 13 December 2026, across Klang Wiang, Chang Moi, Sanpakoi, and other locations throughout Chiang Mai.

For more information 
Website: www.chiangmaidesignweek.com
Facebook: Chiang Mai Design Week
Instagram: Chiang Mai Design Week
TikTok: Chiang Mai Design Week 

Posted in news-en on Nov 10, 2026