Architectural and design ecosystems are important elements in sustainable urban development for a number of reasons. Architecture and design can play a role in improving people's quality of life, creating comfortable public spaces, and encouraging the growth of the creative economy. It is not just about creating physical buildings or structures but also includes functional, aesthetic and environmental aspects. What’s more, it is one of the sub-sectors in the creative economy that has an important role in the economic and social development of a country. Not to mention, interesting architectural and design works can be a key tourism draw for a region or country.
The development of the Architecture and Design subsector in Jakarta is accelerating in tandem with Indonesia's economic expansion. Nonetheless, it also faces several challenges such as the gap between designers and society, as well as a lack of collaboration between institutions and communities.
The DKI Jakarta Provincial Government, especially Department of Tourism and Creative Economy (Disparekraf DKI), is committed to supporting the expanding and sustainable architecture and design subsector in accordance with Creative Economy Law Number 24 of 2019. One of its initiatives is to organise the Jakarta International Architectural Forum (JIAF) through the DKI Jakarta Provincial Tourism and Creative Economy Office. The objective is to realise Jakarta as a creative, participatory, and collaborative city.
JIAF 2023 will be held on 3-4 November 2023 at The Brickhall Fatmawati City Center, South Jakarta. The programs include Forum, Installation Exhibition, Communities, and Architecture Book Fair.
The Forum will feature international and national speakers on the theme “Building an Architecture and Design Ecosystem through Collaboration and Community Empowerment.” It will allow participants to exchange ideas about the role of the architecture and design ecosystem in supporting sustainable city development. It will draw 150 people from varied backgrounds, including architects, designers, community activists, and design stakeholders. The Forum speakers are:
Calvin Chua (Singapore) - Festival Director Archifest 2023, Cosmas Gozali (Indonesia) - Curator Jakarta Architecture Festival 2023, IAI Jakarta, Danny Wicaksono (Indonesia) – Founder & Curator Bintaro Design District, Osrithalita Gabriela (Indonesia) – Co-Initiator Ibu Arsitek, and William Ti (Philippines) - Founder & Festival Director Anthology Festival 2020.
Meanwhile, the JIAF 2023 exhibition will feature innovative architectural and design works by professionals and members of the community. The exhibition will feature installations by Cosmas Gozali, Ren Katili & Mira Prihatini, Photography by Sonny Sandjaya, the Community of Organic Art Supply (Komunitas Alat Seni Organik), sketches from Heritage and Sketch community, photos from the finalists of Architecture Photography Competition, Playo creative studio, Indonesian Drawing Community (Komunitas Menggambar or KOMA-ID), Milisifilem film production learning community, Jakarta Playground, and Architecture Books by Architects.
For more information on JIAF 2023, head to the social media accounts of Disparekraf DKI and Jakarta Creative Economy.