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s has been in the last few years, August will see arts events take over Jakarta. With the exception of Art Stage Jakarta, which opted to sit this year out, exhibitions from street art to fine art are mushrooming across the capital like a Yayoi Kusama installation covering a map.

The oft-called “punk uncle” of Indonesia’s contemporary art scene, Basel-based Eddie Hara returns with a series of drawings at the Ruci Art Space. On opening night (which I sadly missed), he finished a wall-sized sketch that is the decisive headliner of this “Got Paper?” exhibition. Most of his drawings here are in a much smaller scale than his typical works, but his signature urban angst remains apparent on the beguiled bunnies, cocky cats and one particularly fishy octopus.

The “Got Paper?” exhibition also features other artists with a respectable following in so-called street art. One work by Feransis, largely known by his social media handle @tuhanzilla, made the Peanuts fan in me burst into laughter, as it aptly captured how Lucy van Pelt casually bullies her younger brother, Linus.

The same playfulness can be found in “Museum Cake” at the Art 1 Gallery in North Jakarta, where Japanese artist Osamu Watanabe is showing sculptures from docile kittens to gritty skeletons, covered in materials that would remind anyone of a child’s birthday cake.

I first stumbled onto Watanabe’s sculpture at the Art Stage Singapore a few years ago; looking at the rising interest of pop-art among young Jakartans, it’s not surprising that he’s built quite a fan base here. His works are craftily meticulous, visibly delightful and unapologetically Instagrammable.

On the opposite spectrum is fine art, which is being offered this month by none other than the well-respected Ciputra Artpreneur and the Indonesia National Gallery.

Property tycoon Ciputra has long been known as a patron of the late master painter Hendra Gunawan, who would have turned 100 this year. Having supported the independence struggle and serving time as a post-1965 political prisoner, Hendra had a unique touch in portraying the juxtapositional aspects of Indonesian life.

His women are busty with heavily lidded, long-lashed eyes, yet they are depicted in a dusty rural setting. Their nails are painted, yet their feet are bare and almost Hobbit-like in size from working in fields and fishermen’s villages.

Aside from his readily recognizable paintings of women, the “Prisoner of Hope” exhibition also boasts Hendra’s other exceptional works, including the one he never got to finish — Diponegoro’s face was yet to be painted when the artist passed away. It is truly an enjoyable exhibition with the added bonus of a next-door exhibition featuring installations by contemporary artists that pay homage to Hendra.

Another must-see fine art exhibition is the third installment of the Indonesian State Palaces art collection at the National Gallery. This time, to celebrate the return of the Asian Games to Indonesia after 56 years, the exhibition has been curated on the themes of sports and art diplomacy, so more sculptures and other works from foreign artists are on display than in the first two exhibitions. I particularly enjoyed the grafted crystal pieces which, I believe, are a tiny fraction of the precious crystals and china used for state dinners.

I also appreciated the special section dedicated to 1962 Asian Games memorabilia, the newsletters and mementos of which show that even back then, Indonesia had already put out a decent production. Inasgoc, the organizer of the 2018 Asian Games, has their work cut out for them. After 56 years of technological advancement, Indonesia should be able to put together a much more professional Asian Games production this month.

Between the recent natural disasters in Indonesia and the exasperating political jockeying for 2019, at least Jakartans are being served a healthy dose of diverse art on a platter this month. Soothe your souls a bit, o’ weary Jakartans.

— Lynda Ibrahim is a Jakarta-based writer with a penchant for purple, pussycats and pop culture.