June and July 2026 might just be the most creatively inspiring months to be in Bali this year.
From the Bali Arts Festival to Galungan and Kuningan, through to the Bali FOTO Festival and the opening of a new gallery and community arts hub in Canggu, Bali really is the place to be.
With just a few more days of Galungan and Kuningan here in Bali, now is the most beautiful time to slow down and create space for inspiration to flow. In Bali, the 10-day Galungan and Kuningan festival happens every 210 days.
In 2026, the celebration occurs just once, making it even more energetically potent. Galungan Day was observed on 17th June, and Kuningan Day will be observed on 27th June 2026.
Galungan and Kuningan are the Balinese Hindu celebration of the triumph of dharma over adharma, of good over evil. Balinese Hindus believe that on Galungan Day, the ancestors descend to earth from the cosmic realms to clear the way and to visit their loved ones. On Kuningan Day, the ancestors return to the cosmic realms, leaving peace and harmony in their wake.
Anyone looking for artistic inspiration in Bali needs only to walk down the street…any street! Every street in Bali right now is lined with impressive Penjor. These are beautifully decorated towering bamboo poles that are installed outside every household and most businesses as a sign of gratitude, devotion, and to guide the ancestors home.
The penjor is all handmade and made using only natural materials. It’s seriously inspiring, incredibly photogenic, and a beautiful reminder to those who feel it that we are connected in bigger ways than we think.
June and July every year in Bali is the incredible Bali Arts Festival. The month-long festival will kick off on 13th June, and programming will run until 11th July.
The event is really only just getting started! The team confirmed earlier this month that Bali Arts Festival 2026 will involve 673 art groups and foundations with a total of around 20,929 artists, a huge increase from last year’s event, which involved 562 groups and 14,229 artists.
For the 48th year of the festival, the theme is Atma Kerthi – Jiwa Sidha Parisudha, which translates to mean ‘Honouring the Perfect Soul’.
Through to the 11th July festival, goers can expect cultural performances including dances, puppetry, traditional orchestra and theatre performances, parades, competitions, workshops, exhibitions, talks, and so much more.
What is perhaps most impressive about the Bali Arts Festival is that entry is free to the public, including international visitors. Information about programming can be tricky to find if searching online for ‘Bali Arts Festival’, the event is just as often referred to by its Indonesian name, Pesta Kesenian Bali, and is more often than not simply referred to as PKB.
The official Instagram is the best place to get up to speed about all the different events, which are hosted at the Taman Werdhi Budaya Art Centre in Denpasar.
For a little more community-based art, tourists in Bali should check out the new Wija Reksa Quoriena (WRQ) Art Hub & Residency in Banjar Kulibul Kawan, Tibubeneng Village.
Tibubeneng Village is known to most tourists in Bali simply as Canggu. The newly opened art hub was founded by Daniel Ginting and Quoriena Ginting as part of the Ginting Institute.
The Wija Reksa Quoriena (WRQ) Art Hub & Residency has opened with a groundbreaking art exhibition that focuses on sustainability, creativity, and culture.
Speaking to reporters about the centre’s inaugural exhibition, Curator Yudha Bantono explained that the Tibubeneng Sustainable Art Exhibition has been designed as a space for creative dialogue between artists, children, villagers, and stakeholders across the area.
He explained, “This exhibition showcases how art can contribute to building awareness while offering solutions to the environmental challenges we face together.”
Adding “Tibubeneng Sustainable Art is an awareness-raising art event initiated by the Ginting Institute in collaboration with Tibubeneng Village. Combining environmental education approaches and sustainable art practices, the project operates through two main pillars.”
The Tibubeneng Sustainable Art Exhibition is open to the public until 30th June 2026, so there is plenty of time to arrange a visit to the Wija Reksa Quoriena Art Hub & Residency.
Those not in Bali right now should keep an eye on the Wija Reksa Quoriena Art Hub & Residency. This new arts space is already pioneering art culture in Bali, and we expect to see lots more from here in the coming months.
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