Setting the event up as a meeting point for art, design and culture in Bali.
On Friday, September 11, the three-day Art & Bali fair commenced at Nuanu Creative City in Indonesia, bringing together more than 300 artists across its 23 galleries and art spaces.
Running alongside are the flagship exhibition called What The Body Remembers that puts 26 Indian and Indonesian makers in the same room to ask what a body inherits from the work of its hands, and Nuanu Future Talks: Fashion & Art, which then features more than 20 voices across art, fashion and culture.
Inaugurated by the Indonesian Ministry of Creative Economy, the second edition runs until Sunday, September 13 across a 44-hectare site, where gallery presentations sit among commissioned installations, performances and public programmes rather than inside a convention hall.
“Indonesia has extraordinary creative talent across art, fashion, craft and design. The opportunity now is to build stronger connections between these practices, their audiences and wider markets,” said Irene Umar, Vice Minister of Creative Economy of Indonesia.
Speaking on behalf of Nuanu Creative City, Lev Kroll said that creative ecosystems are built through connection and curiosity, noting that art has a “unique ability to bring people together.”
“At Nuanu, our role is to create a platform that allows people to discover new things, find inspiration, return, collaborate, and build something that lasts,” he added.
Furthermore, “Through Art & Bali, we want to channel the international attention that Bali receives toward the strength of Indonesian art, while also strengthening the connection between the creative industries and development. We believe development should also nurture, promote, and support the arts — because creating places that endure is not only about physical spaces, but also about bringing beauty into everyday life.”
Launched in 2025, the inaugural edition established the format, with this edition widening its reach, drawing designers, curators, collectors and cultural leaders from India, Southeast Asia.
“How creative practices that developed separately might now be read together?” That question runs through the fair’s continuing theme, Bridging Dichotomies, where they bisect tradition and modernity, nature and technology, craft and market. All seen in a program spanning contemporary art, fashion, material culture and public dialogue.
WHAT THE BODY REMEMBERS
Led by Bandana Tewari with Brina Paska as Assistant Curator, What The Body Remembers brings together 26 designers and makers from India and Indonesia around the premise of technique being a form of memory, and that a maker’s hands know things before language does.
The exhibition follows that knowledge through cloth, dye, weave and gesture—the practices that survive by being repeated, and that change each time they are.
From Indonesia, the participating designers include A. Sebastianus, Cinta Bumi Artisans, Iyonono, Kita Bisa Design, Lulu Lutfi Labibi, Sakde Oka, Sarita Ibnoe, Setia Cap Cili, Studio Jeje, TANGAN Privé, Tex Saverio and TOTON The Label.
Meanwhile, from India are 11.11 / eleven eleven, Ateev Anand of re-ceremonial, Ayni (who also hails from Indonesia), Chanakya School, Gaurav Gupta, Hiddenland, Morii Design, Princess Pea, and Raw Mango x Sanjay Garg.
What The Body Remembers will remain on view at Nuanu Creative City until November 29, 2026 — long after the fair closes, and open to the public throughout.
THE FAIR
Meanwhile, the three-day fair boasts a roster spanning established institutions, independent spaces and emerging platforms from Indonesia, Malaysia, Spain, Italy and America.
Participating exhibitors include Agung Rai Fine Art Gallery; Asia Pacific Print Club; Batu Belah Art Space; Callisto × ArtLab; Connected Art Platform (CAP); G13 Gallery; Grey Art Gallery; Gurat Art Project; LANÖ Contemporary Art Gallery; Mabiang Seni; MIWA PATTERN; Mus≡ Art Merchandise; and @Nutted_a_bust.
Philo ArtSpace; Pintu Saren; Ruang Arta Derau (RAD); RUANG//; Sangkring Art Space; Santrian Art Gallery; Studio Dinding Luar; Superlative Gallery; TONYRAKA Art Gallery; and Wianta by Wianta Art Studio round up the list.
NUANU FUTURE TALKS
On opening day, more than 20 speakers gathered at the Labyrinth Dome for six conversations on cultural ownership, the line between art and fashion, craft and materials, technology, and where creative culture in Asia goes next.
Speakers include Irene Umar, Kelsang Doma, along with many other personalities from the arts scene.
“The second edition is about building on the relationships that began last year. Art & Bali stays rooted in Bali while making more room for galleries, artists and makers from elsewhere to meet here — and to keep meeting,” said Kelsang Dolma, Founding Director, Art & Bali.
