14-07-2025
- Entertainment
- South China Morning Post
Indonesian private island popular with Singaporeans offers idyllic setting for artists
When strolling through a beach resort, it is not often that you pass a sculptor chiselling driftwood or catch sight of a textile artist steeping fabric in a vat of dye. But such scenes are a daily occurrence on Nikoi Island in Indonesia.
The private island resort about 50 miles (80km) away from Singapore in the Riau Archipelago not only welcomes tourists but also hosts Southeast Asian artists through its year-round Ubah Rumah Residency programme.
'There is an element of surprise when guests see someone who doesn't look like staff at work in the rumah [studio home],' says Ernest Goh, a Singaporean artist and co-artistic director of the programme.
'A lot of people stop in their tracks to watch.'
A boat sculpture on Nikoi Island inspired by Southeast Asia's indigenous Orang Laut seafaring communities. Photo: Ubah Rumah Residency
A popular weekend destination for Singapore residents, Nikoi is the epitome of barefoot luxury.
The 15-hectare (37-acre) island, with its white sand and turquoise waters, has just 18 villas strung along its shoreline.
