Indonesian Institute of Architects (IAI) presents Jakarta Architecture Festival (JAF), an event that celebrates Jakarta with all of its past, present and future from architectural and urban planning point of view. The theme is Transit(ion), denoting the status of Jakarta as the capital of Indonesia that will soon end once IKN, the new capital city located in Kalimantan, is ready to operate.
The festival is running from 9-30 September 2023 and taking place in several venues. The opening ceremony, Exhibition in Altitude and Sketching Workshop are held in Thamrin 9, the Talks sessions at CGV Grand Indonesia and Djakarta Theater, and the International Conference at Astra Tower. There are also outdoor activities like city tour by bus, walking tour with culinary theme, island hopping, and a heritage bike tour, all in Jakarta.
The speakers at Talks and International Conference come from multiple disciplines, although the majority are architects. They include Cosmas Gozali, Alwi Sjaaf, Doti Windajani, Novriansyah Yakub of Atelier Riri, Abimantra Pradhana of AGOarchitects, Christie Damayanti, Miranda Gultom, Fify Manan and Markus Tomaselli. The International Conference’s speakers include Ken Yeang, Anton Siura, Daliana Suryawinata of SHAU Architects, and more. The topics presented in the forums varied, from public housing to biophilic city, from disabled-friendly city to approaching social media platforms. The participants consisted of professionals, students and anyone interested in the topics.
Exhibition in Altitude displays the works of more than 100 participants in the forms of architecture models, photos, videos and sketches. It is held in the tallest building in Indonesia, Autograph Tower Thamrin 9. The exhibition is curated by Cosmas Gozali, Prima Abdullah, Imelda Akmal, Sigit Kusumawijaya and Alwi Sjaaf.
Jakarta is approaching its 500th year in 2027. All these years it has gone through numerous changes in various aspects and directions. It is hoped that JAF will help to spark ideas and actions in participants in making Jakarta a better, sustainable and liveable global city.