In 2025, the Creative Agency organizes for the fifth time the Isan Creative Festival, with the theme “ISAN SOUL PROUD”, celebrating the creative energy and cultural richness of Thailand’s northeast. The event will run from June 28 to July 6, 2025, across four central zones in Khon Kaen. 
The festival actively showcase Isan’s potential as a region full of creative opportunities through three core dimensions

Cultural Capital (Content Base)

The festival will showcase Isan’s rich cultural assets as Soft Power, emphasizing how creators can develop these resources with fresh ideas into new possibilities.

Regional Potential (Area Base)

The event will highlight the spatial potential across Isan’s provinces, cities, districts, and communities. It will promote Isan as a livable region, full of attractive lifestyles, tourism appeal, and investment opportunities. Attendees will explore a variety of experiences that reflect the area’s charm and energy.

Creative Industries (Industries Base)

The festival will spotlight opportunities within three creative industries: entertainment and content, handicrafts, arts, and design, and gastronomy. Organizers will facilitate business matchmaking platforms to help local creators reach real markets, both domestic and international. The festival will also strengthen academic and industry networks on an international level.

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A Creative Agency for the Isan Creative Festival

Isan Creative Festival 2025 (ISANCF2025) invites creative professionals, entrepreneurs, educational institutions, and creative networks from all 20 Isan provinces to come together, and experience Isan from a new perspective. Join the celebration from June 28 to July 6, 2025, at five major venues: TCDC Khon Kaen, Focus Arena, Colombo Creative District, Pullman Khon Kaen Raja Orchid Hotel, Sawasdee Community, and other locations throughout the region.

The Isan Creative Festival 2025 will feature over 200 programs spread across nine days. These include activities in music, film, food, crafts, design, and creative business. The festival aims to express Isan’s soft power and cultural strength through a dynamic and diverse program.

Organizers have divided the activities into seven core areas:

• Academic Program
• Creative Business Platform
• Showcase & Exhibitions
• Talk & Workshop
• Event & Entertainment Program
• D-KAK Market
• Creative District Project

These programs will take place across four main venues in Khon Kaen and in various other locations across Isan.

Over the past four editions, the festival has welcomed more than 1 million attendees, according to the Creative Agency. Over 6,000 creators and exhibitors participated, with 321,772 visitors attending the 2024 edition, a record-breaking turnout over nine days.

What to Expect at Isan Creative Festival

While the English theme is officially “Isan Soul Proud,” the Thai version cleverly plays with English loanwords to also read as “Isan Show Power” or “Isan Show Proud.” The festival actively transforms the region’s identity into one that is livable, investable, and full of charm, while amplifying Isan’s soft power through music, food, crafts, design, film, and more.

Over nine days, festival-goers can explore over  200 programs across seven categories:

• Academic Conferences & Talks
• Business Networking & Matchmaking
• Exhibitions & Installations
• Entertainment & Performances
• Creative Markets & Workshops
• Community Projects
• Walking Tours & Local Showcases

Highlights of the Festival

Academic Program

• Isan Creativity and Innovation Summit 2025 – Khon Kaen University, Mekong Institute (MI), and Thailand Convention & Exhibition Bureau (TCEB) will co-host this landmark international summit focused on design and innovation.
• Content Lab: Newcomer – This industry-centered forum will explore emerging career paths in Thailand’s thriving film and series industries.

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Creative Business Platforms

• ISANCF x KUPPER Art Fes 2025: Sky Limitless – Regional artists, galleries, and collectors will join this energetic art festival themed around unlimited creativity.
• ISANCF x ISAN MICE Expo 2025 – This platform will connect local creators with buyers through showcases, seminars, and curated business matchmaking events.
• The Secret Sauce Business Weekend: Global Isan – Entrepreneurs will engage in two days of talks, workshops, and showcases designed to help Isan-based businesses go global.

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Exhibitions and Showcases

• ISAN Showcase – The works of 30 outstanding creators and businesses from Isan will be displayed with a focus on real-world market integration.
• “Muniverse” & “The Pavilion” – These special exhibitions will celebrate crafts, regional beliefs, and local innovation in the creative economy.
• NEXT STATION “Pla Ra” – This installation offers a deep cultural dive into Isan’s iconic fermented fish.
• Digital Zone powered by Microsoft Copilot – This collaboration will demonstrate how AI and digital tools can drive creativity and productivity in Isan’s creative industries.

 

Creative Talks and Workshops

• Creative Wisdom Talk x H.O.W. – This one-day conference will feature leaders in design, branding, food innovation, and data storytelling.
• Creative Workshop Zone – Attendees can participate in over 18 hands-on craft workshops, including embroidery, ceramics, natural dyeing, and Isan-style mask making.

Events and Entertainment

• ISAN SOUL PROUD Fashion Show – A standout runway event featuring the top 10 Isan designers, live Isan music performances, and storytelling.

Festival Zones & Venues

Festival organizers will spread the main activities across four key venues in central Khon Kaen:

• TCDC Khon Kaen – The festival’s headquarters and primary exhibition hub.
• Pullman Khon Kaen Raja Orchid Hotel – A central location for business forums, networking sessions, and hospitality events.
• Colombo Creative Community – A vibrant creative district hosting installations, workshops, and live performances.
• Sawasdee Community Zone – A local hotspot that will spotlight Isan’s authentic charm through walking tours, traditional cuisine, and grassroots cultural activities.

Isan Creative Festival, Khon Kaen, Thailand, June 28-July 6, 2025

For professionals and general public
Size: 200 programs, over 3000,000 visitors
Various locations 
Activities are generally free admission
Some activities requires an entry fee 
Visit IsanCreativeFestival.com for info