Walk under the canopy at Art Jakarta 2026 and the ceiling reacts to you. Optical fibres wired to sensors respond to your movement in real time. The whole thing is built from thousands of metres of cable waste that iForte would otherwise have thrown away.

It's called Hutan Kabel (Cable Forest), by artist Agnes Hansella. It was one of the first things visitors saw, and it set the tone for the weekend.

At a glance

• 75 galleries, with 33 international and 19 first-timers
•  39 artist collectives in the SCENE section
• 14 South Korean galleries in Korea Focus
•  3 days: 2–4 October 2026

What is Art Jakarta 2026?

Art Jakarta 2026 is the 16th edition of Indonesia's contemporary art fair. It ran from 2 to 4 October 2026 at JIExpo Kemayoran, Jakarta. Fair Director Tom Tandio led it, and it brought together 75 galleries. More than half are Indonesian. The official release did not give a ticket price. Lead Partner BCA offered ticket discounts, cashback, and instalment options.

What was new this year?

The big debut was SCOPE, supported by MTN Seni Budaya, a programme from Indonesia's Ministry of Culture. Its MTN Market brought six emerging art fairs to Jakarta. They came from Malang, Pekanbaru, Banyumas, Gorontalo, Bekasi, and Yogyakarta, and were chosen through an open call.

Korea Focus also returned for its second year, with 14 galleries from South Korea.

What could you see and do?

Plenty, and most of it was hands-on. In the Julius Baer lounge, artist Handiwirman Saputra's Kuasa Alam (The Might of Nature) let guests design their own art print. Bibit and Stockbit showed Lost at Sea, a raft installation by Endry Pragusta, with a writing and origami corner for visitors' hopes.

Treasury's Gravity of the Unheld, by prize winner Etza Meisyara, works on sight, smell, and sound. It asks you to slow down and think about what "value" really means.

Then there was the coffee. DJOURNAL teamed up with artist Darbotz on three coffee creations and a custom sculpture. Aesop filled a library with more than 1,500 books by female authors, and visitors could take them home as gifts.

Here's the part you'll want to share: an art fair hosted a preview of a plastic surgery centre. The Transformation Lounge gave a first look at The Solitaire, an aesthetic surgery and longevity centre opening in Bali's Sanur Special Economic Zone. It even had a Stage talk on Sunday.

Why does Art Jakarta matter for Indonesia's art scene?

Because it is part of a bigger economy. Rita Christiana, Senior Vice President at BCA, said Jakarta's creative economy contributed IDR 407.8 trillion in 2025. That is 10% of the city's gross regional domestic product.

The fair is also growing beyond one weekend. Art Jakarta Papers ran in February and Art Jakarta Gardens in May. Both are spin-offs for paper-based art and outdoor work.

"Some things hold immeasurable worth without ever carrying weight." — Anang Samsudin, Head of PR and Partnership, Treasury

What was on the Stage?

Talks, book launches, and discussions ran from 2 to 4 October, all hosted by Mature.idn. On Saturday, "Street Culture in a Cup" explored art and coffee with Darbotz. On Sunday, writer Seno Gumira Ajidarma joined a book discussion at 12 PM about self-censorship and the market.