Tourists Invited To Unmissable Arts And Culture Festival On Return To Bali’s Ubud 

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Bali’s most impressive arts and culture museum is counting down until the return of ARMA Fest 2025. On the 27th and 28th of September 2025, the ARMA Museum in Ubud will be hosting its annual celebration of art and culture through performances, workshops, exhibitions, and more. 

Ubud is known as Bali’s arts and cultural capital, and the epicentre of that cultural hive can be found at the ARMA Museum. Known by its full name as the Agung Rai Museum of Art, the ARMA Museum is more than a gallery and museum; this is a living cultural hub that is also an immersive tourism resort. Travellers looking to immerse themselves in Balinese and Indonesian culture would be wise to book a stay at the ARMA Resort, where, for the duration of their stay, they can eat, drink, breathe, and sleep in the heart of Bali culture. 

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The theme for the ARMA Fest 2024 was ‘Tradition Reimagined’, and building on from that focus point, the theme for the upcoming 2025 event will be ‘Preserving Culture’. Day passes for international visitors are IDR 100,000 per day, and entry for Indonesian nationals is free. 

The full program is yet to be announced, with the ARMA Fest team still teasing what attendees can expect from the event. More information is being revealed daily at the ARMA Fest Instagram account. It has just been confirmed that on 27th September, at 6 pm on the ARMA Open Stage, the festival will see a Barong Prakpak performance.

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This is more than a typical Barong dance; this Barong Prakpak Dance will be one of the top performances of its kind in Bali in recent months. The ARMA Fest team explains, “The Barong Prakpak Dance is formally presented as a series of ceremonies.”

“It is inspired by the animism benefits and the traditional philosophy in life in Bali, Tri Hita Karana. It is the guiding principle for all Balinese people that focuses on maintaining harmony with God, nature, and other people.”

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The Barong Prakpak performance, which will depict the full story of the Barong, is set to showcase both the deep craft of Balinese cultural performers and the philosophy in a relatable and inspiring way.

ARMA Fest continues, “The dance manifests our concern for the phenomenon of the destruction of nature by humans. The Barong Prakpak dance metaphorically describes the harmonious relationship between the trees, the animals, and the forest. But two hunters came to hunt the animals and cut down the trees in the first, and destroyed them.”

ARMA Fest has also promised a jam-packed program of events, including art performances, workshops, exhibitions, talk shows, and movie screenings. Tourists set to be in Ubud on the 27th and 28th of September must make sure to mark their calendars. The ARMA Museums can be found on Jalan Raya Pengosekan Ubud, and all taxi drivers and guides will know the way. 

Those unable to attend ARMA Fest but keen to explore what the museum has to offer can do so in plenty of ways to get involved. Open 7 days a week, tourists can visit the galleries and exhibitions at ARMA Museum and get involved with cultural workshops too, as well as live performances. 

As described by the ARMA team, “ARMA is more than a museum. It is a centre for visual and performing arts, allowing the visitor to enjoy the permanent collection of paintings, special temporary exhibitions, theatre performances, dance, music and painting classes, bookshop, library and reading room, cultural workshops, conferences, seminars and training programs.”

Cultural workshops include a 2-hour immersive rindik class. The rindik is one of the most important instruments in the Balinese Gamelan orchestra and is made of bamboo tubes, a little like a xylophone.

Guided by an expert local musician, workshop attendees leave the session with a deeper understanding of Balinese music and a few new tunes up their sleeves.

Traditional Balinese egg painting, silversmithing, and offering making are all popular workshops on offer at ARMA Museum throughout the year.