Design postcard from Indonesia: Jia Curated is an ecosystem of creativity in the heart of Bali

Immersive design, craft and architecture event Jia Curated returns to Bali Festival Park from 14-18 August. The 2025 edition has almost doubled in size, with some 70 ‘displays’ and over 200 participating brands from Indonesia, the rest of Asia, and beyond. This year’s theme is ‘evolving perspectives’ exploring how shifting perspectives can create new avenues for creative practice.

Jia Curated was launched in 2022 and grew out of a venture founded in 2020 by Budiman Ong, Rudi Winata and Yang Yang Hartono called Jia Collective, a retail space in Canggu, in south-eastern Bali, that eventually grew into a platform with dozens of brands centred around the concept of home (Jia in Chinese). In 2022 they launched Jia Curated in a bid to do something bigger 'that wasn’t too corporate, or dry,' explains Ong. 'For us it's about creating an experience, telling stories and getting to the core of who the brands and designers are.'

One of the event’s unifying principles is an Indonesian term called Gotong Royong, which means ‘communal effort’. It harks back to a time when people came together to help each other out in villages across Indonesia during the harvest season explains Ong. 'You can still see this spirit and sense of community in Bali, and more widely in Asia.' What this means at Jia Curated is that brands, designers, manufacturers and social enterprises often show together in one space and even make, design or create it together. 'The idea is that we are connecting people and building a design ecosystem that continues to grow after the event,' says Ong.

The venue for Jia Curated, for the second year running, is a section of an abandoned nine-hectare former theme park dotted with half-crumbling buildings featuring Balinese-style carvings and covered in graffiti. 'Because it’s been abandoned for more than 20 years it’s overgrown with bushes, trees and roots and has a bit of an Indiana Jones vibe!' says Ong with a smile.

Craftsmanship and innovation are important watchwords for the event, he continues, and the emphasis is on fostering a deeper understanding and appreciation of Indonesia’s artisanal heritage among local and international audiences. 'I think more and more people understand the value of craftsmanship and one-of-a-kind items or products with stories,' says Ong. 'We are at a very exciting point in terms of design in Indonesia, where there are a lot of manufacturers and a lot of young and talented creatives graduating from Indonesian design schools, but I don't believe the two are joining together in an ideal way yet. That is what we're trying to achieve so that people associate Indonesia with excellent manufacturing capabilities as well as incredible design talent.'

Jia Curated: designers, brands and collaborations to look out for

Lana Daya

Indonesian home textiles label and studio Lana Daya was founded by Clarissa Nilistiani and Theresya Tan in 2020. The pair work with artisan weavers in Java, Indonesia’s most populous island, and are inspired by the exploration of new materials and forgotten traditions. At Jia Curated 2025, they are collaborating with interior architecture studio Thufeil.

Du’Anyam

Social enterprise Du’Anyam empowers and improves the livelihoods of over 1,600 women artisans in rural villages in Eastern Indonesia who have been wicker weavers for generations, transforming humble palmyra leaves into sophisticated contemporary pieces. The company regularly collaborates with designers, hotels and retailers. At Jia Curated, they are presenting pieces alongside established furniture brands such as Lumikasa and Sekata Living (see below).

Citizen of Nowhere

Another project giving traditional crafts a bold and seductive new lease of life comes to Jia Curated from Thailand. Founded by designer and artist Saran Yen Panya, Citizen of Nowhere, which is also a showroom and a tearoom in Bangkok, collaborates with non-profits to create limited edition collections that celebrate the underrated creative talents of craft communities across the country.

Ong Cen Kuang

Bali-based lighting atelier Ong Cen Kuang, launched by Jia Curated co-founder Budiman Ong back in 2008, crafts innovative pieces out of sumptuous materials that are allowed to shine. The brand now debuts Jamur, a new collection of lighting pendants made out of hammered copper and woven copper wire. Their 100sq m installation will also host Japanese dancer Jasmine Okubo in a site-specific choreography.

Studio Shikai

Every year free exhibition space is offered by Jia Curated to countries the event founders consider to have a lot of potential in terms of creativity and innovation. This year, designer Shi Kai Tseng, founder of Taipei-based Studio Shikai, is the guest curator of a Taiwan design showcase. Nine designers and brands from Taiwan, such as Messagingleaving, Zhēnzhēn Lab, Erco Lai, Yangshueiyuan, Atelier Yen-An, Tins Ground, Paper Object and Marc Lin are taking part.

Straft

Japanese craft duo Straft reinterpret age-old straw craft techniques for a contemporary sensibility and explore - in narrative form - the dialogue between people and nature. 'We invited Tamaki Ishii and Kazuma Yamagami to come and visit Bali earlier this year, and they discovered that Indonesia and Japan share a belief in the spirituality of the natural world,' said Ong. For Jia Curated, Straft created an installation (which is part of a wider art trail of six site-specific installations) named Garuda, after a mythical bird in Hindu mythology. Made out of bamboo that has been scorched to create a gradient effect; in daytime the piece appears grounded, while at night it takes on a floating quality, as if flying away.

More to discover

Elsewhere in the park Jakarta-based Sekata Living, who create bespoke wall coverings that fuse digital techniques and hand painting, will create immersive tableaux featuring wallpapers, ceramics and woven pieces and textured finishes.

Meanwhile, husband and wife duo, carpenter KalpaTaru and architect Conchita Blanco from Blanco Studio, will present ‘The Living Character of Teak’, an installation and exhibition exploring the materiality of wood, and internationally-known Indonesian furniture brand Balagi will bring its sumptuous handwoven rattan lifestyle pieces to the show.

Also showing is Italian architect and designer Pietro Franceschini, who will unveil Rotella, his first rattan furniture collection made in collaboration with Indonesian manufacturer CVP and crafted by local artisans. Both rigorous and playful, its coils were inspired by the iconic 90s Haribo liquorice wheel.

Tokyo-based For The Metal People, a collective attempting to revitalise the metalworking industry of the Tsubame-Sanjo region of Niigata in northern Japan, is showcasing a collection of sleek cutlery, knives pots and pans while Jakarta-based Alvin T, will exhibit handcrafted pieces from his latest collections.

Alvin T founder Alvin Tjitrowirjo is also one of the founders of the Millimeter Manifesto, a collective of nine leading Indonesian product designers that has collaborated with Bali-based designer makers CushCush and social initiative LagiLagi to create a series of so-called ‘Communal Objects’; modular and easy-to-assemble benches, high tables, pedestals and wayfinding systems that are scattered throughout the park during the festival. Part of Jia Curated’s new ‘Waste to Wonder’ initiative, the pieces were made out of discarded materials and design waste and put together with the help of university students during a series of workshops — a prime example of ‘Gotong Royong’.