Countdown to JIA Curated 2025: Craft, Design & Culture at Bali Festival Park

The countdown has started as Jia CURATED will be opening doors on 14th August 2025. Running for five days (14–18 August), this immersive event dedicated to craft, design and culture will bring together more than 100 local and international exhibitors and over 200 participating brands for its biggest edition to date.

Over 10,000 sqm of the Bali Festival Park will become stage to site-specific exhibitions and displays, a series of new initiatives and installations as well as an extended programme of talks and performances.

Here are some of the highlights of the upcoming edition:

Exhibitors

This year’s exhibitor showcase spans disciplines from product design to architecture, construction, materials, and scent. Contributions from both emerging and established names responding to the theme “Evolving Perspectives” will offer a unique perspective, inviting visitors to explore how craft, design and cultural narratives intersect across disciplines.

Husband and wife duo – carpenter KalpaTaru and architect Conchita Blanco from Blanco Studio – will present the exhibition “The Living Character of Teak”, exploring the evolving nature of perspective through the materiality of wood and celebrating the layers and adaptability of teak and the dialogue it fosters between maker, material, and time.

“Rumah Kayu” by Java Teakindo, a traditional wood carving company, will embrace an eco-friendly concept by utilising selected reclaimed wood, creating harmony between aesthetics and sustainability. Its modular design and knock-down system offer flexibility to expand living space as needed, responding to the spatial challenges of today’s living.

Contemporary hand-painted wallpaper brand Sekata Living will introduce a new direction by integrating wallpaper and handcrafted elements such as ceramics, weaving, and textured finishes, inviting visitors to experience walls not just as backgrounds, but as living narratives.

Tegel Kunci, a family-owned heritage style tiles manufacturer from Java, will respond to the theme “Evolving Perspectives” exploring new design applications for their classic cement tiles. Introducing a unique marbling technique that brings abstraction to a traditionally pattern-based medium, this new application blends heritage with modernity, challenging expectations while honouring the past – presenting cement tiles not just as architectural elements, but as evolving canvases of cultural expression.

Design by Weld, a practice promoting culture infused architecture, will present the installation “Mandaragiri”, inspired by the dragons in Balinese ancient mythology. Using a very common element of Balinese architecture – the sirap (shingle) roof – Mandaragiri embodies the possibilities of bending and reshaping tradition into something more contemporary, transforming heritage manifestations into new, surprising implementations that can bring the material to life, infused with energy, vibration, and feel.

Nature continues to serve as source of inspiration for Bali-based handmade lighting atelier Ong Cen Kuang, launching the new collection Jamur (Mushroom). Crafted from hammered copper and woven copper wire, the Jamur pendants reflect Ong Cen Kuang’s unwavering focus on a consumer-centric design. These new pendants need to be shaped before installation, redefining the connection between decorative lighting and the consumer, transforming it from mere aesthetic appeal into a profound emotional bond.

The Ong Cen Kuang’s booth will take the form of a giant black box, symbolising the idea of “thinking outside the box.” The black box will slightly morph and distort with wind, representing nature as a catalyst for changing perspectives in their work.

Architecture in Scale

Centred on the idea of “scale,” this exhibition will present models (maquettes) by 24 architects practising across Indonesia including RAW Architecture, Ibuku, Pablo Luna Studio, Inspiral Studios, and Blanco Studio to name a few.

This varied group of practitioners – diverse in terms of age, gender, career stage, ethnicity, project size or typology – was selected to showcase excellence in practicing and contributing to the built environment in Indonesia.

To work with the theme “Evolving Perspectives”, they were each asked to submit a project that best encapsulated some learning or an evolution in their practice. From intimate residences to expansive public spaces, the works reveal a broad spectrum of design approaches. Curated by Suzy Annetta, Founder of Design Anthology, the exhibition emphasises the intersection of craft and design in architecture, and how it is quietly informed by diverse cultural contexts.

Art Trail

Featuring six site-specific installations across the park, this curated art route will display diverse materials and artistic principles: from organic forms to experimental structures.

Created by both local and international talents, each work responds to its surroundings with conceptual clarity, offering immersive and thought-provoking spatial compositions.

Participating artists are: Straft, Studio Metta Setiandi, Gaya Ceramic, Aharimu x Malka, Adinegara Ceramics and Han Awal & Partners Architects x Malka.

Waste to Wonder

Waste to Wonder is a new initiative by Jia CURATED promoting the use of discarded materials and simple, low-tech techniques to create sustainable design solutions, repositioning waste as a tool for craftsmanship within community-focused functions.

Through a series of context-responsive and explorative works, Waste to Wonder will highlight how discarded materials can be reimagined through functional design. From furniture to way-finding, retail concepts and spatial interventions, the focus is not merely on form, but on purposeful transformation, where waste is given new life through process and intent.

“Light Between Linesˮ BOOK SHOP by studio andramatin

studio andramatin reimagines the bookshop as a reflective retail space shaped by the Waste to Wonder principles, using reclaimed materials and modular design to create an environment that is both functional and intentional. Featuring a curated selection from Gavra Books, the space will become a point of access to ideas on design, sustainability, and material culture. Beyond retail, it will serve as a quiet educational corner, inviting visitors to read, reflect, and connect with the broader themes explored throughout the exhibition.

“Light Between Lines’ invites us to dwell in the quiet spaces – where light, thought, and perspective unfold.” — Andra Matin

This architectural installation, composed entirely of recycled paper tubes, reimagines a humble material through precise tectonic detailing. The structure rises not to dominate, but to respond – carefully framing and respecting the existing graffiti-covered walls, allowing the past and present to coexist in dialogue.

COMMUNAL OBJECTS: A collaboration between Millimeter Manifesto, CushCush, LagiLagi and CushCush Gallery

Millimeter Manifesto, CushCush and LagiLagi have collaborated to create benches, high tables, pedestals and way-finding scattered through the park. Each element will explore how sustainability can be meaningfully embedded into the objects and systems that shape our everyday lives, resulting in work that is not only conscious, but also practical, enduring, and adaptable.

Design Development by Millimeter Manifesto

Millimeter Manifesto provided the initial concept and design direction for the communal furniture – establishing a flexible framework that responds to shared, everyday environments. Their approach centres on openness and adaptability, allowing the pieces to be reinterpreted through making.

The concept is rooted in simplicity: designing communal objects that can be built without heavy machinery or complex fabrication, utilising only basic techniques such as stacking, tying, and gluing. Inspired by everyday resourcefulness, Millimeter Manifesto developed a series of benches, stools, high tables, and way-finding poles that are modular, adaptable, and intentionally low-tech, emphasising that good design doesn’t require elaborate processes, but clear thinking and purposeful intent. The result is a family of objects that reflect both community effort and design clarity, rooted in values of sustainability, accessibility, and collective craft.

Product Development by CushCush

CushCush took the design further, developing it into a system of easy-to-assemble modules suitable for hands-on workshops. From refining mock-ups to resolving structural details, they translated the original concept into something practical, accessible, and replicable.

Beyond function, these pieces are meant to be easy to make, easy to adapt, and easy to replicate. Built in collaboration with local banjar communities and university students through workshops facilitated by CushCush, the project promotes a shared sense of authorship and the spirit of DIY “Gotong Royong” (communal effort) culture.

Educational Programme by LagiLagi and CushCush Gallery

LagiLagi and CushCush Gallery co-organised a workshop programme in collaboration with universities, using the communal furniture as a platform for environmental education through making.

The Makers Project by The Balvenie, featuring Lianggono of Studio Lianggono

The Balvenie presents The Makers Project in collaboration with multidisciplinary artist and designer Lianggono of Studio Lianggono, featuring the immersive installation “Wang Sinawang”. Inspired by The Balvenie’s Five Rare Crafts – particularly its use of home-grown barley and the traditional malting floors – the installation reflects the brand’s unwavering commitment to craftsmanship and purposeful creation by the Makers.

Rooted in the Javanese philosophy of Wang Sinawang, which speaks to the act of wondering and finding beauty in patience, the piece invites guests to explore the art of making through a deeply sensorial experience.

Taiwan Pavilion by Studio Shikai

Every year, free exhibition space is offered to countries where the Jia CURATED’s founders see most potential in terms of creativity and innovation. Jia CURATED’s guest curator this year is Shikai Tseng from Studio Shikai, showcasing works from selected designers and brands from Taiwan including messagingleaving, zhēnzhēn lab, Erco Lai, yangshueiyuan, Atelier Yen-An, Tins Ground, Paper Object and Marc Lin.

Roof Installation by RAD+AR

RAD+AR – a group of architects, designers and thinkers based in Indonesia operating at the intersection of architecture development, urbanism and research – in collaboration with Ltech, Binar, Paperina and Dupont, will realise a roof structure made of tensed sling cables and fine yet strong Tyvek Paper, symbolising the delicate balance between individual strengths and the vital support provided by the community as a whole.

Talks Programme

The talks programme 360° Design Dialogues returns to Jia CURATED with a more diverse and inclusive group of panellists, representing voices from Indonesia and around the world – inviting reflection, exchange, and new insight and emphasising inclusivity, collaboration, and depth with a focus on underrepresented voices. Participants include keynote speakers Sabine Marcelis and Fernando Laposse; panellists Pietro Franceschini, Jin Kuramoto, Katrine Goldstein from Norm Architects and Craig Miller from Heatherwick Studio as well as local names such as Radit Mahindro from Potato Head, Suriawati Qiu from CushCush, and architect Dika Lim. Curated and moderated by Design Anthology, the programme will include eight talks exploring topics like hospitality design, new technologies and materials, craft, architecture and product design, and broadening the lens through which design can be explored and understood.

Performances

Happening daily during sundown, a curated programme of live music and cultural performances will enrich the sensory landscape of the event. From traditional rhythms to contemporary interpretations, live bands and DJ sets, each performance will offer a nuanced expression of place and identity.

“Jia CURATED has grown rapidly over the past three years, and our team has embraced the challenge of pushing boundaries. We have recognised the need to take risks, be bold, and harness our passion to create a larger platform to present the most talented Asian creators and their work.

While craft, design, and culture are at the core of Jia CURATED, our focus is also on creating an immersive experience that allows visitors to fully engage with the event. Alongside the exhibitions and carefully curated programmes and initiatives, we bring in performances, music and food, allowing people to relax, unwind, and fully enjoy their visit.

It’s not just about showcasing design and craft, but about providing a dynamic and engaging environment where visitors can really connect with creativity and culture, with the exhibitors and with each other.

Jia CURATED is about coming together – from the setting to the brief to the participants, it is very different from other design events. It is a cultural gathering celebrating design and craft.” – Budiman Ong, Co-Founder of Jia CURATED

Jia CURATED is organised by Jia, a company aimed at supporting local designers and brands through retail experiences and curated events.

More information, tickets and a full programme of activities: jia-curated.com