What to Do in Jakarta, According to Five Creative People

Jakarta’s art scene is moving with a speed and urgency that feels at once exhilarating and uneasy. By placing a new generation of local artists in dialogue with international peers, Museum MACAN has staked its claim as a hub for emerging voices. Local galleries have picked up this momentum, cultivating cross-generational conversations and threading Indonesian practices into global currents. The result is a perceptible shift: Jakarta’s contemporary scene no longer sits at the margins but asserts itself as central to the debates shaping emerging art today.

This is a city of sharp contrasts: polished museum halls and sleek gallery programmes meet a nightlife that hums with energy, all set against volatile street politics, the looming threats of climate change, and the rise of independent collectives pushing back against entrenched hierarchies. What once seemed like the vocabulary of artists alone—lumbung and collectivity—has begun to filter into government cultural policy, most visibly at last year’s Jakarta Biennale, which made decentralisation and shared authorship its guiding principles. Yet doubts remain: can such gestures of decentring truly address Jakarta’s social and political crises, or are they simply another cycle of the art world’s self-repair—more aesthetic than structural?

This year, as ruangrupa marks its 25th anniversary alongside the bustle of Art Jakarta (3–5 October 2025), and in the lead-up to the Biennale Jogja (5 October–20 November 2025), the city itself becomes a stage for these tensions. To step into Jakarta now is to encounter a friction between optimism and critique, between recognition abroad and responsibility at home. It is precisely in this restless crossing of energies that Indonesia’s art scene feels most alive.

farid rakun, artist and member of ruangrupa

Listen

Jakarta buzzes with music legends this first week of October [Smashing Pumpkins and Foo Fighters tour to Indonesia]. Yet I quit attending massive gigs years ago. I’d rather chase the ones unknown to me at Rossi Musik, or catch the occasional show at Krapela. Two reasons: one, to focus my attention, time, energy, and money on those who deserve it more; two, the crowd always makes me feel kettled, like cattle.

See

For a more discerning way to explore the city, start with Taman Mini Indonesia Indah—or ‘Beautiful Indonesia Miniature Park’—the brainchild of the former first lady during the Old New Order, which casts a long shadow on today’s so-called New New Order. It’s a living archive: perverse, malleable, fleeting, layered, contested, subject to change, and, at the very least, publicly accessible—which soon might no longer be the case.

Then there’s Batavia PIK, part of North Jakarta’s sprawling land-reclamation project. Contested, yes, but visiting it for the first time reminds me of my one and only time being in Las Vegas. Vegas showed us the lessons of neon, excess, and chaos—could Batavia PIK offer other (but similar) lessons, then? Picture a Learning from Batavia PIK or a Fear and Loathing in Batavia PIK.

Dance

Don’t miss Synchronize Fest, marking its tenth year in spotlighting exclusively Indonesian acts. Still a bit massive for my taste, but at least the festival is testing out what else it can be as times get tougher. This year also folds in ruangrupa’s 25th anniversary—see y’all there.

farid rakun is a Jakarta-based artist and member of Gudskul and ruangrupa, with the latter presenting ruru25: Poros Lumbung at Gambir Expo (3–5 October 2025).

Natasha Sidharta, Collector

See

Art Jakarta is magnetic this year, welcoming international flagship galleries like Esther Schipper, Berlin, alongside returning names such as TKG+ from Taipei and Warin Lab from Bangkok, both known for strong presentations of Southeast Asian artists. Indonesian galleries ROH Projects and Yogyakarta-based artist-run space Ace House add to the impressive array, with the brand-new ara contemporary bringing fresh energy to the mix.

Don’t miss the Art Jakarta Scene section at the fair, which showcases collectives from across Indonesia, before the festivities continue: the Art Jakarta Young Collectors Board kicks off with New York DJ Lydo at Musro, an old-school disco, on 3 October, followed by a fair after-party headlined by top local DJs on 4 October.

Across the city, Stella Zhong’s solo at ROH Projects (27 September–9 November 2025), housed in a colonial mid-century house in the historic Menteng neighbourhood, looks particularly promising, while South Korean collective ikkibawiKrrr makes its Indonesian debut at ROH Projects’ recently opened project space b-side, located in the heart of Jalan Surabaya’s antique market (1 October–9 November 2025), ahead of their Singapore Biennale project. ruangrupa also marks its 25th anniversary at Synchronize Fest (3–5 October), held in the same compound as the fair.

Eat and Drink

For city life, head south to Blok M for its hip cafés and restaurants. My favourites include Kaum (elevated Indonesian cuisine), Costa (Mediterranean fusion), Pierre (French dining in a house setting), and Modernhaus (just ranked among Asia’s top 50 bars). For a stylish afternoon, try Cork & Screw Country Club in Senayan.

Travel

If you arrive early or stay on after the fair, explore the charming old town of Kota Tua, home to the Ceramic, History, and Puppet museums, and enjoy a meal at historic Café Batavia. For a longer trip, I’m heading to Yogyakarta for the Biennale Jogja (5 October–20 November 2025), co-curated by Eva Lin, Bob Edrian, and the collective Ketjilbergerak, featuring art collectives that engage local knowledge traditions and enter into a notable dialogue with Taiwanese Austronesian presences.

Natasha Sidharta is a collector based in Jakarta.

Jonathan Harjo, Director of Baik Art Jakarta

See

Jakarta is a city of contrasts, where dense urban life collides with a fast-rising contemporary art scene. At the centre of this dynamism is Baik Art, with outposts in Los Angeles and Seoul as well as Jakarta, channeling artists across the Asia Pacific who explore hybridity, diaspora, and intersections of culture.

Our art-week marathon began slightly early with Artifacts of Passage (26 September–8 October 2025), featuring six female artists from Northeast and Southeast Asia. The exhibition reflects on how art captures fleeting moments and enduring histories: pigments bleed into fabric (Hyunsun Jeon, Park Kyungryul, Jinju Lee, Le Thuy), incisions mark wood (Fitriani DK), and sculpted forms echo lived experience (Shin Min). Each work becomes a vessel, carrying a voice across the threshold of past and present.

Drink

For those drawn to reflection and resonance, Jakarta offers its own spaces of retreat. Just a short distance away in Senopati, Golden Tooth is a listening bar and all-day dining spot inspired by Japanese jazz cafés. Built around sound—featuring insulated walls, vinyl records, gramophones, and a dedicated listening corner—Golden Tooth is perfect for cocktails and conversation. Their signature drink is Hillary’s, a mezcal-based cocktail with pineapple, agave, citrus, and mint.

Jonathan Harjo is director of Baik Art Jakarta. Artifacts of Passage is on view 26 September–8 October 2025. The gallery is also exhibiting at Art Jakarta.

Stella Zhong, Artist

See

As I am still finding my rhythm in Jakarta’s art scene, I recently came across ara contemporary, a sleek young gallery hosting two sharp solos. Bangkok artist-curator Alisa Chunchue presents Wound, translating surgical suture techniques into painterly meditations. Running in parallel, Bali-based Mar Kristoff debuts with Interloper (both 27 September–2 November 2025), unfolding the space as if you’ve stepped into a family photo—walls in meltdown, paintings damp with memory, unsettling in their presence.

Outside the galleries, Jakarta offers moments of surreal familiarity. As someone from Shenzhen, the miniature pavilions at Taman Mini Indonesia Indah instantly recall ‘Window of the World’ back home—a condensed geography of nationhood.

Equally striking, the Istiqlal Mosque stands out for its futuristic presence, facing directly onto the Catholic Cathedral in a powerful architectural dialogue. In the old Chinatown, eccentric facades collide with history: most memorably the 1807 Candra Naya, a preserved Chinese courtyard now tucked beneath the Green Central City superblock and adjoining Novotel Gajah Mada.

Drink

And of course, the nights stretch on. Visit Modernhaus for sharp cocktails, then Art Jakarta’s after-parties, with Lydo on the decks this year.

Stella Zhong is a New York-based artist. Her solo exhibition Free-Range Suns is at ROH Projects (27 September–9 November 2025).

Deborah Iskandar, Founder of ISA Art Gallery

See

If you haven’t seen a guide for navigating Jakarta’s traffic, trust me: you’ll need a plan! The city’s art scene is wonderfully diverse, and a two-day exhibition hop is one of the best ways to take it all in.

Day one is best devoted to the museum cluster. From the grand halls of the National Gallery and National Museum to the contemporary edge of Museum MACAN, as well as Can’s Gallery, this route offers a sweeping view of Indonesia’s artistic heritage alongside international voices.

Day two is for exploring the galleries. Beginning in central Jakarta, you’ll encounter smaller, more intimate art spaces tucked into neighbourhoods where emerging talents often make their debut. These include ara contemporary, Gajah Gallery, ROH Projects, and JKT Art Hub.

Moving further south, the atmosphere shifts toward larger and more experimental venues—most notably ISA Art Gallery, with its dual presence at Wijaya and at its main gallery, creating a bridge between Indonesian and international contemporary art. Continuing along this path, you’ll discover established galleries and dynamic project spaces, such as CG Artspace, Baik Art, and Artsphere. Each contributes its own perspective to the city’s cultural rhythm.

Eat and Drink

Once you’ve completed your tour of the galleries, take a break at the nearby St. Regis Hotel, home to one of Asia’s top 50 bars, a fine art collection, and Indonesian artist Eddy Susanto’s mural, which riffs off Javanese art and the local love of jazz. Or head to GIOI or Kaum in Menteng for good Indonesian food in a stylish setting, or Plataran Hutan Kota for another excellent local dining option.

Deborah Iskandar is the founder of ISA Art Gallery. Conjunction of Drones is on view 20 September–6 November 2025. The gallery is also exhibiting at Art Jakarta. —[O]

Main image: View of Jakarta. Photo: Georgi Kovachev, Creative Commons.