Art & Bali
Opening in Nuanu Creative City This Week
The first edition of Art & Bali will open on 12 September 2025. It is situated within the new Nuanu Creative City, which spans 44 hectares in Bali, Indonesia. The city is committed to harmonious living, with dedicated spaces for education, art and culture, entertainment and wellness, based on the foundation of nature-inspired living. “Nuanu was built as a home for ideas and creative energy,” says Lev Kroll, CEO, Nuanu Creative City. “Art & Bali brings that vision to life, welcoming the world to experience Bali as a place where art and culture can inspire real change.” The art fair will run for three days, until 14 September.
Art & Bali Director Kelsang Dolma in the exhibition space. Image courtesy of Art & Bali.
The Art & Bali team is led by Director Kelsang Dolma. They have their sights set on building an anchor event with the art fair. “Art & Bali is an invitation to connect, collaborate and shape a growing art ecosystem in Bali, while building meaningful exchange between culture and commerce,” says Dolma.
Altogether, 17 galleries are taking part. They are mostly based in Bali, and include Santrian Art Gallery, Bagia Art Space, CONNEC ART, Dalam Seniman, Kotak: Art Collective, LAKU Art Space, Lucy Dream Art, N-CAS ISI BALI, Purga Artspace, RUANG//, Spacecraft Gallery, Superlative Gallery, Umah Seni Shibumi and Waworuntu Gallery. Other participants are The Asia Pacific Print Club, a representative organisation for printmakers, print studios, and printmaking communities across Asia Pacific, Feb Gallery Tokyo, known for its focus on cross-cultural experimentation, and Art Agenda, a gallery with spaces in Jakarta and Singapore.
Wanti Amelia, Narika I, 2024, acrylic and beach sand on canvas, 100 x 80cm. Image courtesy of Art Agenda.
Leila Shirazi, Untitled ( حرکت جوهری ۷// Substantial Motion VII), 2024, gouache, acrylic, and watercolour on tea-stained, hand-treated cold-press paper, 30 x 42cm. Image courtesy of Art Agenda.
Two artists exhibiting with Art Agenda, Leila Shirazi and Wanti Amelia, have been in residency at Nuanu since late August. They will present their bodies of work, including the ones made onsite, at the gallery’s booth, which measures 40 square metres. Among other works, Art Agenda will also be showing works of the late photographer and sculptor Arthur Fleischmann–who had spent a significant amount of time in Bali–and the works of Kurt D. Peterson, a contemporary folk artist, storyteller and mythologist.
A point of note is that in alignment with Nuanu Creative City’s commitment to sustainability, instead of temporary, one-use walls, the art fair booths will be made with galvanized steel cores and MDF panels, made from wood, which can be reused in future editions of Art & Bali.
Simultaneously, the exhibition Terra Nexus, featuring 30 artists from Indonesia and abroad will be on show. It is curated by the Switzerland-based Indonesian curator Mona Liem. It explores the intersections of art, science, and the environment through immersive media, virtual reality environments and other experimental mediums. “For many of these artists, this is their first encounter with new media,” says Liem. “It’s a laboratory for experimentation and a chance to see how traditional contemporary practices evolve within the digital space.” Among the artists are Geddi Jaddi Membummi, I Made Teler, and Susur Galur Collective, selected from the J+ Art Awards, a competition that called for fine art, as well as new media art and street art.
THK Tower. Image courtesy of Nuanu Creative City.
An installation by Indonesian artist Heri Dono will be unveiled at the art fair, and represents Art & Bali’s commitment to promoting Indonesian art. At the same time, the second phase of the THK Tower, a landmark within Nuanu, designed by Arthur Mamou-Mani in collaboration with Bali-based artist Chiko will also be unveiled. In the continued theme of hybridising the old with the new, the landmark pays attention to the Balinese Tri Hita Katana philosophy of harmony among people, nature and the divine. At the same time, visitors will be able to contribute to the evolution of the work through a dedicated app.
Labyrinth Art Gallery and the Dome. Image courtesy of Nuanu Creative City.
Altogether, there are over 50 programmes that will further enhance the art fair experience, including talks and masterclasses. There will also be performances at sunset, as well as concerts, DJ sets and light shows into the night.
Bali Mystic performance at the Dome. Image courtesy of Nuanu Creative City.
Given the art fair’s unique placement within Nuanu Creative City, one of the perks for Nuanu homeowners is the Art Collectors Pass, which they can use at Art & Bali. It contains USD2,000 in art credit, and also offers personalised advisory services and VIP access to cultural events. It is part of the creative city’s efforts to encourage art collecting and cultural patronage within the community, towards engendering an engaged cultural community.
This article is presented in partnership with Art & Bali.
Art & Bali takes place from 12 to 14 September 2025. For more information, click here. To find out more about Nuanu Creative City, click here.