The Sacred Riana Wins France's Les Mandrakes d'Or, Marking a First for Indonesian Magic

A French honour brings Indonesian magic into focus

The Sacred Riana has received France's Les Mandrakes d'Or, becoming the first Indonesian magician to receive the honour, according to her announcement. The award adds to an international career that includes winning the second season of Asia's Got Talent in 2017 and appearing on America's Got Talent in 2018 and Britain's Got Talent: The Champions in 2019.

Riana accepted the recognition in the presence of magicians from several countries. In a message shared on social media, she described feeling grateful, proud and moved, saying she had never imagined that her journey in magic would lead to this moment. Being the first recipient from Indonesia made the occasion especially meaningful to her.

The achievement also connects with a practical effort at home. In a statement dated August 19, 2026, Indonesia's Ministry of Creative Economy recorded a meeting between Riana and Deputy Minister Irene Umar about creating more opportunities for magicians. Their proposed programme, Arcana of Nusantara, would bring performances to five cities and involve regional artists and small businesses.

Les Mandrakes d'Or combines an annual magic festival in France with recognition for performers. Often described as the magic world's equivalent of the Oscars, it honours artists whose work spans illusion, mentalism and other forms of stage magic. Illusion creates the appearance of something impossible, while mentalism presents effects that seem to involve reading thoughts or predicting choices.

Why the recognition matters to Riana

Riana's response centred on the distance between her beginnings in magic and receiving an international honour. She thanked the organisers and the people who had supported her career, describing an occasion that was difficult to put into words.

Her pride also had a national dimension. The first Indonesian recipient of an established international award gives audiences a new reference point for the country's magic scene, alongside the television performances through which many viewers first encountered her.

Riana has built that recognition around a distinctive stage character. Her performances use horror imagery, a cold expression and suspenseful storytelling alongside illusions. The audience follows a tense narrative as well as watching a trick unfold.

That combination helps explain the continuity between her television career and this latest recognition. Across different stages and audiences, the character remains central to the performance. The award adds a professional honour to a career already familiar to viewers of international talent competitions.

An award with a history stretching to 1990

The festival's official award history lists Mandrakes d'Or recipients beginning in 1990. That first group included Tina Lenert, Gaëtan Bloom, Juan Tamariz, Jean Regil and Pierre Brahma. Subsequent lists show several recipients in each year rather than a single annual winner.

The archive also records a separate category, the Mandrakes d'Honneur. Its recipients include David Copperfield in 2000 and 2019, Siegfried & Roy in 2001, Penn & Teller in 2018 and Criss Angel in 2021. The festival therefore recognises performers through more than one type of honour.

The 2025 Mandrakes d'Or list names seven acts: Trigg Watson, Ramo & Alegria, Nikolai Striebel, Celia Muñoz, Gaël Brinet, Francesco Della Bona and Mathieu Stepson. Riana's award year and ceremony date were not specified in her announcement, and the archive entries through 2025 do not include her name; Indonesia's ministry separately records her receipt of the French honour.

The history gives the award a concrete place in international magic. Riana joins a tradition that has recognised performers working in different styles over more than three decades, while the ministry's acknowledgement brings that achievement into its discussion of Indonesia's creative economy.

From talent competitions to a wider role

Riana's international career has developed through several distinct appearances. Her victory in Asia's Got Talent brought a regional competition title, followed by appearances on major American and British television programmes. Les Mandrakes d'Or adds recognition from a festival devoted specifically to magic.

The main milestones are:

• 2017: Riana won the second season of Asia's Got Talent.
• 2018: She appeared in season 13 of America's Got Talent.
• 2019: She appeared on Britain's Got Talent: The Champions.
• August 19, 2026: The Ministry of Creative Economy recorded discussions with Riana about supporting Indonesia's magic industry and planning Arcana of Nusantara.

The ministry also mentions Riana's inclusion in Les Magiciennes as part of her international profile. Its account presents her as an example of an Indonesian creative identity reaching audiences abroad.

For Riana, the next proposed role extends beyond her own performances. The discussions with the ministry concern stages, working spaces and opportunities for other people in the industry. Her public recognition is becoming part of a conversation about how more Indonesian magicians can sustain their work.

Indonesia's magicians need more places to perform

Deputy Minister of Creative Economy Irene Umar identified a shortage of performance opportunities during the meeting at the ministry's Jakarta office. The ministry's meeting statement connects support for magic with its broader work on creative businesses and performers.

Irene described the problem and proposed using the ministry's existing facilities to help address it:

"Magic performances in Indonesia are increasingly getting fewer opportunities to take the stage, even though this art form brings a unique sense of joy to its audiences. Therefore, let us collaborate to revitalize magic arts by utilizing Ekraf Creative Hubs as spaces for collaboration, business incubation, and capacity building for creative industry players," said Irene Umar.

Creative hubs are shared spaces where people can meet, develop projects and receive support. Business incubation means helping a creative idea become a workable business. Capacity building refers to developing the skills and resources needed to keep that work going.

Applied to magic, the proposal links artistic practice with the practical demands of earning a living. A performer needs opportunities to rehearse and appear before an audience, while a viable show also depends on equipment, organisation and people who can help bring it to a venue. The ministry's proposal would use creative hubs as places to coordinate some of that work.

A small industry reaches beyond its performers

The ministry cites an estimate from 2020 that Indonesia's magic community involved between 1,000 and 1,500 people. That figure includes performers, sellers of magic equipment, hobbyists and collectors. It is an older estimate of a broad community, rather than a current count of professional magicians.

The range helps explain why the discussion extends beyond booking individual acts. Equipment sellers and collectors support the tools and knowledge used in performances. Hobbyists form another part of the community around the art, even when performing is not their main occupation.

Indonesia's ministry describes a history running from traditional folk performances to modern stages. Its proposal seeks to connect that existing activity with business support and more opportunities to perform, giving people in different parts of the industry a place in the discussion.

Riana, speaking as an Indonesian magician after the meeting, welcomed the deputy minister's willingness to explore collaboration:

"We would like to express our deepest gratitude to Deputy Minister Irene Umar for providing valuable input, engaging in discussions, and being willing to explore this collaboration with us. This support makes us very happy and has renewed our enthusiasm to revive and advance the magic arts industry in Indonesia," said The Sacred Riana.

What Arcana of Nusantara would bring to five cities

Arcana of Nusantara is the concrete performance programme described in the ministry's statement. The plan calls for five events a year in five different cities, bringing together Indonesian and international magicians, regional artists and micro, small and medium enterprises, commonly called MSMEs.

The proposed performances would feature Indonesian folklore and cultural heritage. That gives regional stories and artists a place alongside the magic acts, while the involvement of small businesses would widen participation beyond the people appearing on stage.

Five events across five cities would spread the programme across several locations rather than concentrate it in one venue. For local audiences, the intended result is a chance to attend performances combining magic with cultural material from Indonesia. For participating artists, it would create another route to a public stage.

The ministry describes Arcana of Nusantara as a plan under discussion. Its statement gives no launch date, city list, venue details, budget or ticket arrangements. Those decisions will determine when audiences can attend and how magicians, regional artists and businesses can take part.

Turning recognition into opportunities at home

Riana's French honour and the Jakarta discussions address different parts of the same career. Les Mandrakes d'Or recognises an individual performer whose character has travelled internationally. The ministry talks focus on the conditions that allow a wider community of performers to work in Indonesia.

Irene's warning about fewer stage opportunities gives the proposed collaboration its practical purpose. Shared facilities would address preparation and business development, while Arcana of Nusantara would address public performance. Both proposals concern the work between gaining attention and sustaining a career.

Riana's involvement also gives the initiative a connection to someone who has moved between regional television, international programmes and a specialist magic festival. Her experience is central to the ministry's presentation of the project, which treats Indonesian magic as both a performing art and a creative business.

The immediate achievement is the award. The next concrete development for audiences and fellow performers would be an announced schedule for Arcana of Nusantara and details of access to the proposed creative hub support.

Key Points

• The Sacred Riana announced that she had become the first Indonesian magician to receive Les Mandrakes d'Or in France.
• The festival's official award history begins in 1990 and records several recipients in each year.
• Riana won Asia's Got Talent in 2017 and appeared on major American and British talent programmes in 2018 and 2019.
• Indonesia's Ministry of Creative Economy recorded talks with Riana on August 19, 2026, about supporting the country's magic industry.
• The proposed Arcana of Nusantara programme would hold five events annually in five cities, involving magicians, regional artists and small businesses.
• The ministry has not announced the programme's launch date, participating cities or ticket arrangements.