Dr Wulan Dirgantoro1, Dr Edwin Jurriëns1, Ms Samantha Mintio2, Ms Yoana Wida Kristiawati3, Mr Gustaff H. Iskandar4, Dr Intan Paramaditha5, Ms Putri Raharjo3
1The University Of Melbourne, Parkville, Australia, 2Ketemu Project, Denpasar, Indonesia, 3Nalitari, Yogyakarta, Indonesia, 4Common Room Networks Foundation, Bandung, Indonesia, 5Macquarie University, Sydney, Australia
Co-Chairs: Wulan Dirgantoro & Edwin Jurriens
Overview:
This panel seeks to examine the close entanglements between art, activism and politics within the Indonesian art ecology. Indonesia has established itself as a key player in the regional and global development of modern and contemporary art. Recent exhibitions such as Contemporary Worlds: Indonesia (2019) at the National Gallery of Australia and the continuous presence of the Indonesian Pavilion at the Venice Biennale since 2015 appear to highlight the Indonesian art world’s success in negotiating the power relations in the global art world.
While activism has become one of the markers of identity for the practices of many Indonesian artists, the global art world’s appetite for the new is often celebratory and lacks critical engagement with artistic practices outside its perimeter. This panel will discuss the complexities of practising art and activism in Indonesia within and beyond the gallery sphere, particularly in effecting change within local communities. The first panel in this series is on ‘Pioneers of art education and experimentation’; the second panel on ‘Contemporary networks of art and social inclusion’. We conclude with a roundtable. The presenters will discuss issues such as institutional critique, environmental activism, transregional networks, feminist strategies, and social inclusivity and empowerment through creative practices.