Jia CURATED 2026 Bali Festival: 250+ Designers Champion Sustainable Materials

Event Overview and Focus

Jia CURATED 2026 took place at Pengembak Beach in Sanur, Bali, from August 13 to August 17. The five-day exhibition, now in its fourth year, brought together over 250 designers, architects, and brands. The event centered on sustainable design, operating under the theme 'Nature Weave'.

Co-founders Budiman Ong, Rudi Winata, and Yang Yang Hartono organized the program to emphasize local and Southeast Asian design, providing a platform for practitioners and businesses to explore new concepts and materials. The setting, encompassing sand, mangroves, river, and forest, was chosen to foster dialogue and creative inspiration within the design community.

Material Innovations and Exhibits

Lamitak, a main partner for Jia CURATED, presented a pavilion that showcased its high-pressure laminates, highlighting the product's green credentials. The exterior walls featured sample laminate squares, while interior displays communicated product details through graphics.

Sungai Design demonstrated furniture and objects, including chairs, shelves, carafes, and sound speakers, all made from 100% recycled river plastics collected from Bali's waterways. Budiman Ong’s studio, Ong Cen Kuang, launched its Janur outdoor lighting range, which includes two pendants and two standing lamps. These handmade lights are crafted from zippers.

Studio Aliri’s architectural installation, 'Suar', was constructed from glulam rubberwood on a 2.4-meter by 4.8-meter site, designed to respond to limited ground space in Indonesian cities. OAKEN, a fragrance business, featured a bunker-like pavilion built from blocks of pink Himalayan salt.

International and Collaborative Design

The festival included international participation, with the Taiwan Pavilion, named 'Current', showcasing object makers from Taiwan. A separate exhibit, 'TOMORROW', featured the work of 11 young designers and 10 heritage manufacturers from the Philippines, demonstrating the diversity of Filipino craft.

Project Benih, a new platform launched this year, facilitated collaborations between artisans and designers. Participants included Alvin Tjitrowirjo and Budiman Ong from Indonesia, Jin Kuramoto and Shogo Kishino from Japan, and Chang Po-Chieh and Shikai Tseng from Taiwan.

Additionally, 'Architecture in Scale' displayed 25 models from architectural practices such as andramatin, CHANG Architects, SHAU, KENGO KUMA + Associates, IBUKU Studio, Inspiral Architecture and Design Studio, and DDAP Architects, with guided tours led by curator Charmaine Chan.

Implications for Specifiers and Buyers

For procurement directors and specifiers in Asia, Jia CURATED 2026 reveals a continued emphasis on sustainable materials and design within the region. The showcased products, such as 100% recycled river plastic furniture from Sungai Design and Lamitak's green-credentialed laminates, offer concrete examples of available options for projects prioritizing environmental performance.

Designers seeking collaborators for projects with a Southeast Asian focus can review the participant list from Project Benih and the national pavilions to identify potential partners for craft, object, and architectural design. The event demonstrates the ongoing development of material innovation and local sourcing within Asia's building and interiors sectors.