Dinda Mulia
Terlihat / Terasa Exhibition by Rajata Hakim Asks How Much a Face Can Really Tell Us
There are 150 faces in Rajata Hakim’s Terlihat / Terasa, and almost as many reasons to distrust what a face seems to reveal. Now showing at The Darmawangsa Square, Second Floor, Unit 66, Kebayoran Baru, the multidisciplinary artist’s exhibition pairs portraits with anonymous recorded voices and historical figures, letting recognition repeatedly slip into uncertainty. Opened
Power, Memory and Regret Meet in Tadashi Suzuki’s King Lear
William Shakespeare’s King Lear, directed by Japanese theatre director Tadashi Suzuki, will make its first Jakarta appearance at Gedung Kesenian Jakarta on 16 and 17 September 2026 at 8pm. Led by Indonesian actor Jamaluddin Latif in the title role, the production brings performers from eight countries into Suzuki’s stark reworking of Shakespeare’s ageing king, placing
Wilsen Willim and Dian Sastrowardoyo Create a New Vocabulary for the Kebaya
Designer Wilsen Willim and actress Dian Sastrowardoyo have joined forces on a ready-to-wear capsule collection that brings kebaya, beskap, surjan and other Indonesian dress forms into a contemporary wardrobe. Launched on National Kebaya Day on 24 July 2026, the 13-piece first chapter arrives ahead of Indonesia’s Independence Day celebrations, with the complete collaboration scheduled to
‘Orfeus’ at SIPFest 2026: Melati Suryodarmo Morphs Grief into Movement
Six dancers sit on plain grey chairs, they’re barefoot and folded forward, hands heavy on their thighs. Behind them, a filmed figure walks along a brick wall while a woman in a long dark-grey dress crosses the stage. Nothing is dramatic about it, and maybe that is part of the beauty of the show, it
100% Manusia Film Festival Marks 10 Years with ‘A Decade of Love Language’
The 100% Manusia Film Festival will celebrate its tenth anniversary from 6 to 15 August 2026 with 86 films from 21 countries, free screenings and a programme of public activities across 11 venues in Jakarta, Bali and Yogyakarta. Held under the theme ‘A Decade of Love Language’, the festival’s latest edition uses cinema, literature, art
From Wilhelmina Park to Istiqlal Mosque: The History of Jakarta’s Most Symbolic Site
The site on which Istiqlal Mosque was built near Pasar Baru in Central Jakarta, was once the colonial-era Wilhelmina Park, which also extended towards the Jakarta Cathedral. The historic Lapangan Banteng square and Medan Merdeka are also nearby—both clear examples of how post-independence Jakarta rewrote the meaning of its inherited spaces. Long before Southeast Asia’s
How Restaurant Design Shapes Jakarta’s Dining Experience
Isn’t it remarkable that before even entering a restaurant, we’re able to gauge, roughly, what type of experience awaits inside? At first, we might think that design is simply an attempt for venues to differentiate themselves, after all, in a city as competitive as Jakarta, they need to stand out. Whilst true, that’s not the
What Makes A Design ‘Indonesian’ Today?
Indonesia’s diversity is something to celebrate, but even blessings can come with complications. Just as defining Indonesian cuisine remains a constant debate among culinary experts, defining contemporary Indonesian design leads to a similarly elusive answer. The question appears simple, yet few experts seem able or willing to offer one definitive description. Does contemporary Indonesia have
BINUS SCHOOL Simprug’s New Principal on Leading a People-First and Future-Ready School
As the new Principal of BINUS SCHool Simprug, Aaron Wise steps into the role with a focus on people: students, teachers, and a community moving with shared purpose. In a conversation with NOW! Jakarta, he tells us how BINUS’s Visible Learning philosophy, wellbeing, technology, and the wider BINA NUSANTARA ecosystem come together to shape a
MONDIAL Dreams Collection Weaves Jewellery, Art and Ambition with Mangmoel
MONDIAL Dreams returns with a new creative chapter, bringing its latest diamond jewellery collection into conversation with contemporary art. This year, the signature MONDIAL collection takes the ribbon as its central motif, translating its shape into pieces that speak of hope, commitment and the pursuit of personal ambition. Within MONDIAL’s wider line-up of signature collections,
BIKO Group’s Next Round Begins
From Beer Garden to new digital touchpoints, dining-led concepts and bar venues with serious food credentials, BIKO Group is shifting how Jakarta eats, drinks and gathers From the Very First Pint The year was 2010, and a simple after-work drink in Jakarta was starting to feel expensive. People wanted somewhere easy-going to let off steam,
Time Capsule: Hotel des Indes and Its Many Afterlives
Once a colonial hotel, later Duta Merlin, and now part of an MRT-linked future, this Harmoni site has moved through several urban afterlives It is not an exaggeration to say that at Harmoni, one stretch of ground has carried more than one city upon it. For much of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, that ground
Turning Animals into Mirrors: HOARSE HORSE by Ida Lawrence at ISA Art Gallery
The paintings displayed at the HOARSE HORSE exhibition by Berlin-based artist Ida Lawrence do not behave like paintings. They hang, slack-backed and unstretched, as if they have shrugged off the polite posture of the gallery wall. Some are tethered with straps and rope; others carry hardware in the form of collars, leashes, and fastenings. The
