The show also explores colourful lifestyles in 10 Arab countries, journeying from the nomadic tents of the Tuaregs and Bedouins, via Moroccan kasbahs and Damascan manor houses, to modern domestic architecture designed by Hassan Fathy, Pierry Khoury and Elie Mouyal.

The exhibition is co-organised by TCDC, Berlin's Vitra Design Museum, Institut Valencia d'Art Modern, Valencia in Spain and Kunsthal Rotterdam in the Netherlands.

Mateo Kries, curator of the Vitra Design Museum, will give a talk on November 24 at 7pm, using examples from the exhibition to show how space is laid, divided and then used according to different regional Islamic traditions. He will also discuss the meanings of the various types of housing in Arab countries, along with their decorations, emblems and household rituals.

TCDC is on the sixth floor of the Emporium shopping centre. It's open Tuesday to Sunday from 10.30am to 10pm.

Call (02) 664 8448 or visit www.tcdc.or.th.

Jim Thompson turns  100 

After an absence of 40 years, the "king of Thai silk", Jim Thompson, returns to his Bangkok home for his 100th birthday on November 24 - in spirit at least.

To celebrate this special occasion, the James HW Thompson Foundation has invited internationally recognised artist Navin Rawanchaikul to present the multifaceted exhibition "Lost in the City" at Jim Thompson House.

Join the birthday bash where Navin and his collaborators will ambitiously recreate the spirit and growth of Bangkok, recounting the fascinating life of Thompson.

The party begins at 6pm and will continue till late. The exhibition runs from November 25 to March 31.

Jim Thompson House is on Soi Kasemsan 2, opposite the National Stadium on Rama I Road. It's open daily from 9am to 5pm.

Call (02) 216 7368.

Life is a game

Bundith Phunsombatlert is inviting members of the public to Bangkok University's art gallery to play the computer game he has designed.

"On the Ball (The Game Has Begun: Beware Crossing the Grid)" is an interactive installation which aims to draw comparisons between the lives we live today and the computer games we play.

The artist is known for his clever use of materials  to criticise consumerism and his satirical take on truth and illusion.

The show will run from Saturday to December 16. Bangkok University's gallery, Kluay Nam Thai campus  is open Tuesday to Saturday from 9.30am to 7pm.

Call (02) 350 3626.

Shades of grey

Timothy Yarger Fine Art Bangkok is showing "Light/Shadow" by American landscape painter Curtis Philips from Saturday to January 31.

With influences that range from Rembrandt to the plein air painters of the American West, he is best known for using a monochromatic palette to explore light and shadow. His works are created with a centuries-old process that involves layering translucent pigments and beeswax.

The gallery, on the ground floor of Promenade Decor on Wireless Road next to the Nai Lert Park Hotel, is open Monday to Saturday from 10.30am to 6pm.

Call (02) 655 0882.

Spots of time

Korakot Punlopruksa and Gino Benelli are presenting "A Moment Piece" at Gallery F-Stop until December 14.

Korakot offers intimate visions of spiritual discovery in far-flung corners of Asia - not monuments, but happenings and revelations in daily life, from incense and clothing to holy scripture and paint.

Italian Benelli, a long-time resident of Vietnam, is showing 10 collages that gather fragments of reality and proffer "an arrhythmic sense of being".

The gallery is in the Tamarind Cafe on Sukhumvit Soi 20. Drop by any weekday from 3pm to midnight or weekend from 10am.

Call (02) 663 7421 or (02) 663 4261.

Etched on their faces

Vietnam's Lim Khim Katy makes her Bangkok debut with "Symphony of Thoughts" at La Lanta Fine Art until November 26.

Katy's fascination with people shows through in her art, where the emphasis is on expressions that give away inner feelings. Her 20 paintings portray the Vietnamese middle-class struggling to make ends meet.

The gallery is in the Baan Silom complex on Silom Soi 19 and is open Tuesday to Saturday from 10am to 9pm and Sunday from noon to 7pm.

Call (02) 266 9180-1 or visit www.lalanta.com.