Gedung Kesenian Jakarta or Jakarta Arts House is an old historic heritage building of the Dutch government, which is still standing today in Jakarta. Jakarta Arts House is located in Jalan Gedung Kesenian No. 1, Central Jakarta.

This neo-renaissance style building was built in 1821 in Weltevreden, and at that time was known as the Schouwburg Weltevreden Theater, also known as the House of Comedy. The idea came from the Governor-General of the Netherlands, Daendels, and then realized by the British Governor General, Thomas Stamford Raffles in 1814.

This fancy-looking building was once used for the first Youth Congress (Kongres Pemuda) in 1926. On August 29, 1945, the first President of Indonesia, Ir. Soekarno, inaugurated the Central Indonesian National Committee or the First Parliament (KNIP). KNIP several times held meetings in this building.

As an arts venue, the Jakarta Arts House has good and sufficient facilities, including performance space measuring 24 x 17.5 meters with an audience capacity of about 475 people, a stage measuring 10.75 x 14 x 17 meters, lighting equipment, CCTV cameras in every room, a TV monitor, a foyer measuring 5.80 x 24 meters, as well as outdoor facilities such as an electric billboard for publication purposes.

How to get here (see the route map):

From Gondangdia /Cikini go to platform 1 and  take Red Line or Blue Line heading to Jakarta Kota and stop at Juanda. Take a 9-minute walk to the eastern direction.

From Tanah Abang go to platform 3 and take the Yellow Line heading to Depok/Nambo/Bogor and stop at Manggarai. Go to platform 3/5 and  take Red Line or Blue Line heading to Jakarta Kota and stop at Juanda. Take a 9-minute walk to the eastern direction.

From Sudirman go to platform 2 and take the Yellow Line heading to Depok/Nambo/Bogor and stop at Manggarai. Go to platform 3/5 and  take Red Line or Blue Line heading to Jakarta Kota and stop at Juanda. Take a 9-minute walk to the eastern direction.

For a map illustration, click here, or see the map below.