Art Jakarta returned to JIExpo Kemayoran on 2-4 October 2026 for its 16th edition, with 75 galleries, 33 of them from outside Indonesia.
Alongside them were six art fairs from other Indonesian cities, a Korea Focus showcase of 14 South Korean galleries, and 39 collectives and collaborative projects, each in its own section of the fair.
Nineteen of the international galleries were first-time participants. The galleries were based in Tokyo, Taipei, Seoul, Hong Kong, Bangkok, and Phnom Penh, as well as Jakarta, Bandung, Yogyakarta, Bali, Semarang, and Surabaya.
Five sections and programmes ran alongside the booths:
SCOPE
SCOPE is a new section supported by MTN Seni Budaya (National Talent Management for Arts and Culture), a programme of Indonesia's Ministry of Culture.
Its first presentation, MTN Market, brought six emerging art fairs to Jakarta, selected through an open call.
They were Mini Art Malang (Malang, East Java), Artists Art Fair (Pekanbaru, Riau), ART HEY (Banyumas, Central Java), Maa Ledungga (Gorontalo), Hello Goodbye Photo Market (Bekasi, West Java), and Watercolor Art Fair (Yogyakarta).
SPOT
SPOT gave space to works that don't fit a standard booth, with four artist presentations from Indonesia and Southeast Asia.
Nguyễn Phương Linh (Vietnam, ara contemporary) showed Pulse 1 and Pulse 2, printed on PVC sheets, from a practice about landscapes and bodies, natural or artificial, that keep shaping one another.
Henryette Louise (ArtSociates) presented Mammalian Locomotion, intaglio printed on gypsum, treating making as linked gestures that push back against speed and linear progress.
Albertho Wanma and Budi Santoso (ROH) showed The Nature Womb (Karwar Series) and Mother Trees, sculptures in mahogany and jackfruit wood with political edge and spiritual weight.
Angki Purbandono (SAL Project) contributed Berbunga-bunga, a scanography, light box, and bamboo installation highlighting the community-led movement in South Papua to defend Indigenous lands.
SCENE
SCENE is for artist collectives and collaborative projects, bringing together practices from across Indonesia.
It grew to 39 participants this year, 18 of them from Jakarta and nine from Yogyakarta, with the rest spread across Bandung, Bali, Malang, Surabaya, Bogor (West Java), and Payakumbuh (West Sumatra).
Names on the list include Kembang Jati Art House, Sanare Space, artmeru, and Matri-Art Lab.
AJX
AJX covers Art Jakarta's collaborations with institutions and cultural agencies.
Korea Focus returned for a second year, supported by the Korean Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the Korea Arts Management Service. Fair Director Tom Tandio described the 14 galleries as "young" and "promising", and they include APOproject, dive.seoul, PAGEROOM8, and THEO.
Natta-Cita Art Space (N-CAS) from ISI Bali also took part, presenting Balinese contemporary artist-academics.
AJ Talk
Among the talks and book discussions on the Stage, hosted by Mature.idn, were:
- Friday, 2 October, 7-8 PM: "The Art of the Edition", with Lio Adrian and Arin Dwihartanto Sunaryo.
- Saturday, 3 October, 3.30-4.30 PM: "Street Culture in a Cup", on art, coffee, and everyday excitement, with Darbotz and other speakers.
- Saturday, 3 October, 6.30-7.30 PM: launch of Martin Suryajaya's Primbon Panduan Riset Seni & Humaniora.
- Sunday, 4 October, 12-1.30 PM: a discussion of Seno Gumira Ajidarma's Tinja dalam Susastra: 100 Esai (1981-2026), with the author and Dewi Kharisma Michellia, named after the line that self-censorship for the market is more dangerous than censorship itself.
- Sunday, 4 October, 2-3 PM and 3.30-4.30 PM: "Beyond the Centre: How Local Art Markets Are Growing Across Indonesia", bringing together the six SCOPE art fairs across two sessions.
Tom Tandio said the fair's artists, galleries, collectors, and curators "grow together with us", and that Art Jakarta hopes to keep serving the region's art ecosystems.
