
KANYA KIM
Bangkok Illustrator
Art / Culture & History / Thailand's Heritage

Projects
KKP New Year Gift "Lertwila"
“Lertwila” – Auspicious Cats for a Prosperous New Year. Rooted in the rich heritage of Thai culture, Loetwila draws inspiration from ancient Thai manuscripts on lucky cats—feline symbols believed to bring wealth, protection, and good fortune. For Kiatnakin Phatra’s 2025 New Year gift collection, these traditional feline motifs are reinterpreted through Kaya Kim’s contemporary artistic lens, transforming timeless beliefs into elegant, meaningful designs.
Each piece is not only a gift, but a blessing—honoring the past while wishing prosperity, happiness, and harmony for the year to come.

Bangkok Design Week 2025
" BangkokYai Daily " is a creative tourism activity designed as a cultural walking tour through the historic neighborhoods of Bangkok Yai. Participants collect commemorative stamps at key heritage sites while engaging with local stories, senses, and everyday life. The activity follows the 3S Principles—Stories, Senses, and Sophistication—offering an immersive and meaningful experience that connects visitors with the community through memory-making and respectful exploration.
This project is part of Bangkok Design Week 2025 and is a collaborative effort between House of Upa-In x Kanya Kim.

The Red Envelope
This design blends the eerie tradition of ghost marriages—where the living are wed to the dead—from Taiwanese folklore, with the playful, unexpected tone of a dark comedy.
By reinterpreting a deeply rooted belief through humor and surreal visuals, The Red Envelope presents a whimsical take on fate, love, and the afterlife.
Produced by Thai studio GDH, the film contrasts the ominous symbol of the red envelope with quirky elements, creating a balance between the absurd and the spiritual.

Bangkok Illustration Fair 2024
This showcase presents a reinterpretation of Himmapan creatures through the lens of contemporary art that seamlessly blends the beauty of both Western and Eastern traditions. The Himmapan forest, a mythical realm filled with wondrous beings, is depicted through modern illustrations reflecting the thoughts and visions of people in 2025—who have grown up in an era defined by technology and diverse cultures.
By combining Western artistic styles that emphasize technique and dimension with Eastern patterns and cultural symbols, this showcase invites viewers to explore and connect the legends of the Himmapan forest with modern-day realities—through the perspectives of belief, art, and storytelling.
