Art&Bali art fair has just wrapped up its very first edition (12-14 September) with a small but tightly curated suite of 17 galleries.
Having spoken previously to Fair Director Kelsang Dolma about the vision to upturn traditional models, the fair was admittedly more conventional than I’d expect: white walls, gallery booths and floating galleriests/artists.
But it certainly lived up to the brief of placing a spotlight on Indonesian art, with around 70% of the galleries being Indonesian, including many that are local Balinese.
Art&Bali – quick links:
Highlights include punk protest posters by Gilang Propagila and marquee chairs casted in aluminium by Bali-based Australian sculptor Rodney Glick at Dalam Seniman Contemporary Art Space; the array of meme-inspired prints at Asia Pacific Print Club; and a carefully curated selection of works that tap into material, memory and myth at Umah Seni Shibumi.
The fair was complemented by a new media exhibition, Terra Nexus, curated by Mona Liem. It brought together a spectrum of artists, from the established OGs such as Heri Dono – who reimagined Indonesia’s islands into fantastical beasts – to emerging talent including Mukhamad Aji Prasetyo, whose acrylic cutouts of birds and insects would let out shrill calls when coming into contact with light.
But for visitors to Nuanu Creative City, Art&Bali might not necessarily be the biggest attraction. People come to the 44-hectare culture and wellness hub to seek leisure and respite, or have the quintessential beach club experience. Perhaps well aware of these competing attentions, Art&Bali has a strategy to incentivise buyers.
Art&Bali’s Art Collectors Pass
Art&Bali’s Art Collectors Pass is an initiative backed by Nuanu Real Estate that grants every Nuanu homeowner (the numbers are currently undisclosed) free entry to the fair plus a US$2000 budget to spend on art and art advisory services.
In most cases an art fair credit of US$2000 wouldn’t really allow you to furnish a living room, but at Art&Bali where prices start in the double digits, it’s a generous incentive to support the exhibitors and bring home a mini collection.
From the exhibitor’s perspective, a single Art Collectors Pass spend can cover partially, if not all, of their booth costs, which ranged from US$2000-4000.
And it’s not hard to see how this is a win-win situation for the funding party too, with Nuanu Real Estate advertising its newest Flower Estates – an exclusive 20-villa development starting at US$500,000 that projects an annual ROI of 12-13% – at the collectors launch.
According to statistics shared with ArtsHub, Art&Bali welcomed around 10,000 people for its inaugural fair with over 25% of the art on display sold by the end of the three-day event. Art fairs usually have a carry-on effect, so deals and transactions can still occur post-event with the relationships established contributing towards a long-term collector base.
The Art Collectors Pass has the potential to establish a self-fulfilling ecosystem – more residents equal more potential spending at the fair, and more arts and cultural offerings can incentivise further investments and settlements. At the outset it seems like there are many plus sides, but against the critical juncture of recent protests in Indonesia and the looming problem of overtourism, thinking about art’s immediate beneficiaries may not be enough. Like many overly utopian arts initiatives, things are better approached with cautious optimism – it’s a watch-this-space for sure.
To date, 20% of the Art Collectors Passes have been distributed to homeowners, including from the Nuanu Real Estate and 618 Development Vol. 1, 2 and 3.
More highlights from Art&Bali 2025
Programming at Art&Bali 2025 is multidisciplinary, built on the vision of a festival-like event that attracts a broad range of audiences as well as collectors and art lovers.
Highlights include the unveiling of Heri Dono’s Trokomod, an installation that blends the shape of the Trojan horse with Indonesia’s native Komodo dragon, originally commissioned for the 2015 Venice Biennale. It was accompanied by a powerfully witchy dance performance from Balinese group Kita Poleng.
Nuanu is also well-positioned for its after dark offerings, with golf buggies that can zoom you from one end of the precinct to the other, ticking off major light installations like The Earth Sentinels by Daniel Popper (quite the sight) and the 30-metre tall rattan THK Tower designed by the French Arthur Mamou-Mani and lit by Jakarta-based Geddi Jaddi Membummi, winner of the J+ Art Awards 2025, for Art&Bali.
With food, drinks and accomodation all catered for on-site, as well as a blend of high energy activities alongside spaces for relaxation, Art&Bali hosts a well-rounded suite of offerings where visitors will never need to set foot outside its precinct. And it is indeed the hope that more will stay to help build its community.
The 2025 debut offers a glimpse into Art&Bali’s potential, as well as the possible questions that it will have to tackle to ensure its longevity as a destination event into the future.
This writer travelled to Bali as a guest of Art&Bali 2025 and ArtsHub was a media partner of the event.
