Jakarta (VNA) – The Indonesian city of Bandung lit up on the evening of October 3 with the opening of the Bandung Design Biennale (BDB) 2025, a major creative event running from October 3 to 25 at the Tamansari Laswi creative district.
Speaking at the opening ceremony, Prananda L. Malasan, lecturer at the Faculty of Art and Design (FSRD) of Bandung Institute of Technology and President of the Indonesian Industrial Designers Alliance, highlighted the spirit of innovation that defines this year’s showcase.
He said the creativity brought by designers to BDG Lights 2025 is not only visual but also symbolic of knowledge, connection, and innovation.
The festival began with a spectacular light art celebration. Historic buildings in the Laswi Heritage area – once a railway warehouse built nearly a century ago in 1928 – were transformed into immersive art spaces. Through facade mapping, interactive installations, light experience rooms, and multimedia performances, the old structures came alive with dazzling colour, motion, and imagination.
Visitors on the opening night witnessed how the interplay of light and shadow could reframe Bandung’s urban heritage, turning industrial relics into canvases for futuristic artistic expression.
BDB 2025 brings together designers not only from Indonesia but also from regional partners such as Thailand and Singapore, creating an international stage for collaboration. The biennial event serves as a platform to connect designers, artists, entrepreneurs, academics, and communities, encouraging knowledge-sharing and sustainable innovation.
For many participants, the light festival embodies the essence of Bandung as a creative hub where history and modernity meet, and where design goes beyond aesthetics to shape experiences, dialogue, and community spirit.
According to the organisers, the overarching theme of BDB 2025, “Archiving Innovation,” underscores the role of archives as living sources of knowledge. Rather than being static repositories, archives are presented as catalysts for contemporary creativity and sustainable renewal./.
