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Creative ideas, knowledge attract festivalgoers in Jakarta
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The crowd at Ideafest 2015. (facebook.com/ideafest/File)
G
raphic diaries may appear to be like comic books at a glance, but they are actually more personal, spontaneous and honest due to their accommodation of their creators' daily life. The benefits of keeping a graphic diary were discussed during Ideafest 2016's first day session in Jakarta, featuring Bandung-based comic artist Tita Larasati as speaker.
Tita, who is also the general secretary of Bandung Creative City Forum (BCCF), explained that graphic diaries have a positive impact on the senses. “When we create one, we directly observe our surroundings, such as where the door is located,” she said, adding that her graphic diary helps her reflect on the reality of her perceptions. It also helps her to narrate stories concisely without boring her readers, and it improves her empathy.
(Read also: BookWORM: Tita Larasati: A trilogy that inspires daughter's name)
In her first graphic comics, Tita illustrated how she had to cook Indonesian food for 11 people, went to IKEA, built her own bike, cleaned up her apartment, and do other daily activities. “It was actually just fragments of highlights of the day,” she said. Her books include the paperback version of her 2008 graphic diary, Curhat Tita (Tita Tells Her Stories), Curhat Tita: Back in Bandung (2008), Kid Stuff (2010), and Transition, which is published under her own publishing company Curhat Anak Bangsa. She also collaborated with other artists in various books.
Tita has loved drawing since she was little and went to Germany in 1995 for an internship program in a product design company. Her boss at that time urged her to keep in touch with her family by writing a letter every week. “I was too lazy to write, so I faxed my family a comic in a piece of paper,” she said. The comics were then copied by her mother and distributed to her family and friends.
(Read also: Over 200 tech minds to share ideas in Jakarta)
Tita is one of 150 speakers who participated in Ideafest's first-day session alongside film director Nia Dinata, screenwriter Salman Aristo and blogger Astrid Satwika.
One first-time visitor, Mega Kharismawati, said the event was full to the brim with knowledge from the professional speakers. “It offers many categories and topics that we can choose from depending on our preference,” she told The Jakarta Post. “There are so many sessions that I wanted to attend, but I think [some] good topics are being held at the same time, so people may find it difficult [to choose].”
In addition to new sessions, the second day of the event will also feature a conference and Indovidfest. Prominent figures scheduled to speak at the conference include President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo, presenter and journalist Andy F. Noya, Grab co-founder Hooi Ling Tan and Bandung Mayor Ridwan Kamil. Meanwhile, Indovidfest is a collaboration between Ideafest and Indovidgram that is said to be the biggest creative video festival in the country. (kes)
