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View all search resultsArt Jakarta 2026: A bigger canvas for contemporary art
The three-day fair brought together 75 galleries, including 33 international exhibitors, alongside emerging art markets, large-scale installations and cross-border collaborations.
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Drawing in the air: Kadek Armika’s 'Drawing Sculpture' combines synthetic nylon paper and flexible fiber rods inspired by traditional Balinese kites. (Courtesy of Kadek Armika/-)
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prawling across three halls at the Jakarta International Expo (JIExpo) Kemayoran in Central Jakarta, Art Jakarta returned from Oct. 2 to 4 with the scale and energy of an international art fair, bringing galleries, artists, independent initiatives and visitors together in a vast universe of contemporary art.
This year’s edition brought together 75 galleries, comprising 42 Indonesian and 33 international exhibitors, with 19 participating for the first time. Art Jakarta’s official program describes the fair as a platform focused on connecting Asia’s contemporary art ecosystem, with Southeast Asia remaining at its core.
But numbers told only part of the story. Perhaps more significant was the effort to broaden the fair beyond established galleries and conventional art centers.
Making its debut was AJScope, a new section featuring MTN Market, supported by the Culture Ministry’s National Talent Management for Arts and Culture. It brought independent art-market initiatives from different parts of Indonesia into the fair: Mini Art Malang from Malang, East Java; Artists Art Fair from Pekanbaru, Riau; ART HEY from Banyumas, Central Java; Maa Ledungga from Gorontalo; Hello Goodbye Photo Market from Bekasi, West Java; and Watercolor Art Fair from Yogyakarta.
According to Art Jakarta, MTN Market was conceived to give these locally developed initiatives opportunities for greater visibility, networking and knowledge exchange while supporting the sustainability of art ecosystems outside the country’s established centers.
Their presence alongside major galleries was refreshing. Rather than treating the regions merely as sources of artistic talent to be brought to Jakarta, AJScope gave their emerging art markets a place within the fair itself.
Art Jakarta’s international connections were equally visible through AJX, its platform for collaborations with Indonesian and overseas institutions.
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