A first for Bali: new contemporary art fair showcases Indonesian artists

Despite news of heavy rain and flooding in nearby Denpasar the day before, it was perfectly sunny when Bali’s first contemporary art fair opened on September 12. The prayers from three priests, hired by the organisers of the event to ensure clear weather, must have worked. Over the course of three days, more than 150 artists – a 70/30 split from Indonesia and abroad – were showcased in an art fair that was more akin to a festival, with around 50 programmes including performances, talks and...

Despite news of heavy rain and flooding in nearby Denpasar the day before, it was perfectly sunny when Bali’s first contemporary art fair opened on September 12. The prayers from three priests, hired by the organisers of the event to ensure clear weather, must have worked. Over the course of three days, more than 150 artists – a 70/30 split from Indonesia and abroad – were showcased in an art fair that was more akin to a festival, with around 50 programmes including performances, talks and workshops aimed at bringing art to the public. In addition to an indoor gallery, the inaugural edition of Art & Bali extended into other parts of Nuanu Creative City, a tourism and lifestyle hub founded by Russian businessman Sergey Solonin. Immersive art experiences featured in the Aurora Media Park, a large outdoor area that is home to the THK Tower, a 30-metre-high (98-foot) rattan and wood tower designed by French architect Arthur Mamou-Mani with Balinese artist Chiko Wirahadi, to honour the local philosophy of harmony between people, nature and the divine.

According to Art & Bali director Kelsang Dolma, the fair was launched to build a meaningful exchange between culture and commerce. “The contemporary art industry [generally] is a very niche market,” she says. “It’s a market built around gatekeeping, years of relationship-building and networking. [But] Bali is built on community. That’s what makes it such an important place to reimagine an art fair.” Although Bali is home to many artists and creatives, it is not considered a major contemporary art centre within Indonesia. Jakarta, Yogyakarta and Bandung hold that distinction. Instead, Bali’s long history of producing batik cloth, puppet theatre and rich performance arts that blend Hinduism and local folklore has been its artistic trademark since the 18th century. Dolma, who moved to Bali three years ago, is keen to expand the perception of Balinese art by blending old and new, and to present Balinese culture in a holistic manner. “Balinese art was always more than aesthetics for me – it was tied to the rituals and ceremonies,” she explains. “It’s not necessarily about parachuting in a model from outside, but about amplifying what already exists here and giving it a larger platform.”

More broadly, the art fair wants to promote Indonesian art to international visitors. “We think Indonesian art is under-represented globally,” says Lev Kroll, the CEO of Nuanu. Although Indonesia is the fourth most populous country in the world, only a few Indonesian artists active today are internationally recognised. One such artist is Heri Dono. His Trojan-Horse-meets-Komodo-dragon sculpture, Trokomod, first shown at the 2015 Venice Biennale, was acquired by Nuanu and Art & Bali, and put on display during the fair’s opening alongside an evocative Balinese dance with lights and music that captured the powerful spirit of the work. Panggah Pambudi, co-founder of Yogyakarta gallery Laku Art Space and a participant in the art fair, is pleased to have an opportunity to showcase artists such as Agus Noor, who is also a well-known writer. “He now expresses his 30 years of writing experience in painting. We featured Messiah, which explores the relevance of technology as a saviour. If Jesus was the saviour 2,000 years ago, will technology save us in the future?”

Balinese artist Satya Cipta wants to subvert general impressions of contemporary art in Indonesia with her painting style. “My speciality is using traditional techniques to tell the story of my life. When I started 10 years ago, I was only labelled as a traditional artist.” Using Chinese ink, gold and vermilion as her mediums, she employs a Balinese art technique called sigar mangsi, a delicate process of layering to produce a smoke-like effect that takes patience and precision. “You have to practice pranayama [yogic breathing] to ensure lines flow smoothly,” she says. An exhibition called “Terra Nexus”, curated by Switzerland-based Indonesian curator Mona Liem, was among the events at the fair that showcased an array of experimental works addressing universal issues at the intersection of art, technology and nature. “I love interdisciplinary innovation – we can talk about coding, technology, things that are new to us, and people can both learn … and enjoy art,” she says.

Pieces included a “sambal synthesiser” that played the sounds of the ingredients that make up the spicy sauce; a Minecraft-inspired game retelling folklore stories; and a light-activated installation sharing the sounds of jungle creatures. Many Indonesian artists address sociopolitical issues in their work, such as the country’s wealth disparity that prompted mass demonstrations in Jakarta in early September, as well as environmental concerns. For Gilang Propagila, hardcore punk is the language he uses to start a conversation. “I’m just an ordinary person who uses art as a tool,” the environmental activist and community organiser says. His colourful prints feature figures wearing mohawks, sunglasses and leather jackets with slogans such as “We Need Every Punk to Every Change!” “We must take responsibility to care about our situations,” Propagila says, in reference to the continued development of Bali that is primarily aimed at tourists; the island welcomed more than 6.3 million foreign visitors in 2024, according to leaders in Bali. “We must try to critically question everything and empower our surroundings to build our community.”

Nuanu, which contains hotels, restaurants and a beach club, is keen to give back to the community and help local artists thrive, Dolma says. “To underscore our commitment to supporting the growth of Indonesian contemporary art, we launched the Nuanu Art Residency [programme], which hosted eight artists over eight weeks for eight public artworks. “Each was awarded 100,000,000 rupiah [US$6,000] to create site-specific public artworks using sustainable materials designed to withstand the outdoors at Nuanu. In addition, through the Open Art Call Grant, three Indonesian artists have received up to US$26,000 each to create large-scale public artworks.” On the business front, booths for the galleries at the art fair cost an accessible US$2,000 to US$4,000, and the fair saw a footfall of around 10,000 visitors. “Twenty-five per cent of the artwork sold, which, for an inaugural edition, I’m extremely proud of,” Dolma says. “At the heart of it, I just want to make sure that we’re sensitive to the community. Because if you want to survive in Bali, you have to respect the community.”