Goethe-Institut Indonesia and Museum MACAN present a virtual panel discussion on art manifestoes in Indonesia. Exploring the contextual understanding on manifestoes in Indonesia, this discussion will highlight the ways art and the struggles towards freedom in Indonesia have birthed a few significant manifestoes.

Manifestoes exist to push, shift, change and challenge existing norms and status quo, as seen within the Indonesian society, art and government from 1960s to now.

Responding to the pandemic that has positioned Indonesian art in an unchartered territory, this discussion will explore the historical experience from the birth of art and culture manifestoes in Indonesia, while attempting to find out possibilities of new art manifestoes as a byproduct of this crisis.

This discussion is part of BINGKIS (Bincang Kamis / Thursday Talk), a communicative and educative regular virtual discussion initiated by Goethe-Institut Indonesia. This discussion is held in bahasa Indonesia.

Goenawan Mohamad
In 1963, Goenawan and a few fellow artists including Rendra, HB Jassin, Sapardi Djoko Damono, signed Manifes Kebudayaan (Culture Manifesto) - a petition that refused the principles of "politics as commander" and "socialist realism". The Led Democratic Indonesian government at the time prohibited the manifesto, resulting in Goenawan being banned from writing in mass media, and eventually left Indonesia to continue his studies in Belgium. After the fall of Led Democratic and President Soekarno, Goenawan could write publicly again although with a pseudonym.

In 1971, he established and led weekly magazine Tempo, which the New Order government closed in 1994 as it was regarded as an opposition that was harmful to the government. When Tempo could not be published, Goenawan was involved in the underground publication of "Independen." After Reformation, he returned to leading Tempo for two years, before founding Komunitas Salihara - a multidisciplinary art centre - in 2008. Goenawan has written a few poetry books, plays and essays, also a novel. His essays collection "Catatan Pinggir" (translated to English as "Conversation with Difference" and "Sidelines: Writings from Tempo") has been published in 13 volumes.

Siti Adiyati
Siti Adiyati is one of the few female students involved in the 1974 event of Black December, which was trigerred by the awarding system of artworks in the final result of Second Jakarta Painting Bienale, and in turn received the academic penalty from STSRI ASRI (Indonesian Academy of Fine Art). In 1975, together with fellow STSRI ASRI graduates and Bandung Institute of Technology students, she organized an exhibition in Taman Ismail Marzuki, Jakarta and named the movement as Indonesian New Art Movement, which emerged from the aspiration to experiment freely, without any strict rules. Both events turned out to be influential in the birth of contemporary art in Indonesia. In 1993, Siti received the honorary award from the French government, Legion d'Honore Chevalier des Arts et Lettres. Siti was a fine art lecturer between 1976-1982, before moving to Paris and publishing various books and essays compilation, including "Dari Kandinsky Sampai Wianta". Up to now, Siti is still actively exhibiting in both solo and group presentations around Indonesia, Europe, and Asia.

Taring Padi
Formed in 1998, artist collective Taring Padi is known for its raw and uncompromising activism, as well as posters with messages of political and social justice, using the technique of woodcut on paper or canvas. Besides their printmaking works, Taring Padi also creates murals, banners, wayang (Indonesian traditional puppets), three-dimensional, street theater performances, as well as punk rock and techno music. Taring Padi's works have been exhibited in both informal and formal settings, including Indonesia's National Gallery and 31st Century Museum Chiang Mai, Thailand. Taring Padi published a book titled 'Seni Membongkar Tirani' (Art Destroys Tyranny) in 2011, covering 10 years of artistic journey and the collective's academic articles. In 2018, they celebrated 20 years of being a collective with a retrospective exhibition in ISI Yogyakarta. Taring Padi proclaims their existence with a mission declaration on 'Five Cultural Demons' in Yogyakarta's Legal Aid Office in 21 December 1998.

Moderator: Asep Topan
Asep Topan is a Curator at Museum MACAN (the Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art in Nusantara). He is a Master’s graduate of Art Management and Curatorship in Institut Teknologi Bandung (Bandung Institute of Technology) and a Fine Arts undergraduate at Institut Kesenian Jakarta (Jakarta Institute of Arts). He worked as a Vice Director of Jakarta Biennale (2016-18), and has collectively and individually participated in numerous exhibitions, public programs and long-term art projects, including the de Appel Curatorial Program, Amsterdam (2015-16). He is also a lecturer at Institut Kesenian Jakarta, focusing on Art Activism.

Join the discussion on:
Thursday 4 June 2020
17.00 – 18.30 (GMT +7)

on
Youtube Goethe Indonesia
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This discussion is held in bahasa Indonesia.

For further info on the discussion, please contact education@museummacan.org or send a WhatsApp to the number below.

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