Jia CURATED 2026 is now underway, opening its doors in Bali on 13 August. Running through 17 August, the five-day event brings craft, design and culture together at Pengembak Beach, Sanur.
With more than 250 brands participating, this year marks the event’s largest edition yet. More importantly, its new beachfront setting becomes part of the exhibition itself.
Nature Becomes the Canvas
This year’s theme, Nature Weave, explores the relationship between people, design and natural systems. Meanwhile, pine trees, mangroves and the shoreline provide an unusually raw backdrop. Rather than simply displaying objects, exhibitors respond directly to the landscape.
Materials, structures and installations therefore become part of an ongoing conversation with nature. The programme also draws from Gotong Royong, Indonesia’s tradition of collective effort. Consequently, Jia CURATED places collaboration and creative exchange at the heart of its programme.
Design, Reimagined
Across the grounds, exhibitors explore materiality, craftsmanship and circular design through immersive installations. Blancostudio x Kalpa Taru Bali creates a pavilion inspired by childhood gathering places. Raw teak, playful game boards and a growing canopy turn it into a living meeting point. Meanwhile, Post+Beam presents a modular system designed around adaptability, recyclability and renewal. Its aluminium structure treats design as something capable of evolving rather than remaining fixed.Bell Living Lab examines coffee waste through Good Streams. The installation reveals how discarded resources can become new materials, products and opportunities.
Elsewhere, STVMP’s The MetalLab transforms industrial remnants and recycled materials into collectible objects. Furniture, architecture and collectible design meet inside this experimental laboratory. Living Designs Bali x Nawangseta takes a more poetic route. Water droplets and 100 traditional Topeng Buduh masks explore identity, nature and the fragile balance between permanence and change.
From Bali to Asia
Tokyo-based Method inc. brings Dutch designer Sander Wassink and his evolving V-Series to Bali. Visitors can also join a workshop using modular components and locally sourced bamboo and reclaimed wood.
Meanwhile, Taiwan’s CURRENT platform introduces contemporary Taiwanese design through cultural exchange and material exploration.
Bali lighting atelier ONG CEN KUANG unveils Janur, its first outdoor lighting collection. The pieces merge with the surrounding landscape while keeping material use conscious and restrained.
The atelier also reworks A Walk in the Forest, a modular bar originally created for Tirtha Bali. Its presence demonstrates how existing objects can find new lives instead of becoming waste.
At the centre of the material conversation, Lamitak presents The Intelligence of Surfaces. Created with DDAP Architect, the immersive exhibition considers how materials can shape more enduring spaces.
A Philippine Perspective
This year’s regional spotlight turns to the Philippines through Tomorrow, curated by Gabriel Lichauco of NEWFOLK. The exhibition brings together nine designers and ten Filipino craft workshops. Together, they explore indigenous knowledge, craftsmanship and contemporary design. Rather than treating sustainability as a separate idea, Tomorrow considers how design can reconnect everyday life with the Earth.
Waste Finds Another Life
Jia CURATED’s Waste to Wonder 2.0 continues the event’s circular design story. Discarded materials are being transformed into furniture, way-finding elements and communal installations.For instance, last year’s Tyvek roofing becomes patio umbrellas and outdoor cushions. Cardboard tubes and reclaimed timber also return as exhibition structures. Meanwhile, Lamitak packaging crates become seating throughout the venue. The result turns yesterday’s waste into part of today’s experience.
A Place to Pause
The Jia CURATED Media Lounge, redesigned by Bali architecture practice ATMA, offers journalists and creators a quieter corner of the event. Inspired by the Balinese ideas of tetaring and natah, the open structure encourages gathering, pause and reflection. Recycled timber also reinforces the event’s commitment to thoughtful material reuse.
Planting New Creative Connections
New for 2026, Project Benih brings artisans, manufacturers and designers from Indonesia, Japan and Taiwan together. The name means “seed” in Indonesian, reflecting the project’s ambition to plant new creative relationships across Asia. Nine designers will present their work alongside Indonesian artisan and manufacturing candidates.
The nine participating designers represent three distinct creative landscapes. From Indonesia, Alvin Tjitrowirjo of alvinT, Budiman Ong (Designer and Jiā Curated Founder) of ONG CEN KUANG, and Denny R. Priyatna of AIEVL join the programme.
Taiwan is represented by Chialing Chang of messagingleaving, Po-Chieh Chang of zhēnzhēn Stained Glass Lab, and Shikai Tseng of studio shikai.
Meanwhile, Japan brings Jin Kuramoto of JIN KURAMOTO STUDIO, Sae Honda of Sae Honda Design, and Shogo Kishino.
During Jia CURATED 2026, each designer presents an existing work that reflects their creative identity. Indonesian artisans and manufacturers will simultaneously showcase their techniques and materials.
They will then select collaborators to develop new works together. The project will continue beyond this year’s event, culminating in a collective presentation at Jia CURATED 2027. It will subsequently travel to Japan and Taiwan.
Architecture You Can Hold
Following its 2025 debut, Architecture in Scale returns with maquettes from 25 architecture practices across Indonesia and Asia. The exhibition includes names such as Kengo Kuma & Associates, andramatin, Bensley, Alexis Dornier and IBUKU.
Curated by design writer Charmaine Chan, it examines how architecture responds to local knowledge, culture and environment. This year, the exhibition also considers biophilia through air, water, light and spaces designed for both prospect and refuge.
Conversations Beyond the Object
Meanwhile, 360° Design Dialogues, curated by Design Anthology, brings international and regional voices into the conversation. Keynote speakers include Bethan Laura Wood, Peter Stutchbury and Fiona Lynch. Panellists include Kwangho Lee, Cheng Tsung Feng and Gabriel Tan. Together, they explore design, nature, materials, culture and community while widening the conversation around underrepresented perspectives.
What Happens Afterwards?
Perhaps the most intriguing question at Jia CURATED 2026 comes after the exhibitions end. The programme asks what happens to temporary architecture, materials and installations once their original purpose disappears.
Rather than treating exhibitions as fleeting moments, Jia CURATED is considering their afterlife through reuse, relocation and reinterpretation. It is a fitting question for an event built around Nature Weave. After all, nature rarely creates anything without consequence, continuation or renewal.
Beyond the Exhibition
As the sun sets each day, live music and cultural performances bring another rhythm to Pengembak Beach.
Traditional practices meet contemporary dance, live bands and DJ sets, creating a more relaxed space for cultural exchange.
International buyers are also arriving to discover regional designers, makers and material-led practices. Their presence opens another pathway for collaboration beyond the event itself.
Ultimately, Jia CURATED 2026 is less interested in presenting design as a finished object. Instead, it treats design as a living conversation between people, materials and place.
And in Sanur, that conversation is currently unfolding against one of Bali’s most elemental backdrops: the sea, the trees and the shifting light.
