TheJakartaPost
Please Update your browser
Your browser is out of date, and may not be compatible with our website. A list of the most popular web browsers can be found below.
Just click on the icons to get to the download page.
Establishing self-empowerment through art
Sixteen-year-olds Isabel Pangestu, Ellentina Hartono Putri and Adella Sugiarso extend their own joy in artistic expression in establishing Paint Your History.
Change Size
Meliyanti's artwork is among 15 exhibited canvases created by participants in the weekly art classes held by nonprofit organization Paint Your History, which focuses on providing art classes to young children living in low-cost apartment (Rusunawa) Pesakih in West Jakarta. (JP/Liza Yosephine)
T
hirteen-year-old Meliyanti took the brush to her palette and with careful strokes swept a vibrant shade of red onto a canvas, filling in the outlines of her rose petals.
"I like drawing nature," Meliyanti said during the Paint Your History charity exhibition held at the Mitra Hadiprana Art Gallery in Kemang, South Jakarta, on Sunday.
Meliyanti's artwork is among 15 exhibited works created by participants in the weekly art classes held by nonprofit organization Paint Your History, which focuses on providing art classes to young children living in low-cost apartment (Rusunawa) Pesakih in West Jakarta.
Established in 2017, Paint Your History was cofounded by three 16-year-old Indonesian high school students, Isabel Pangestu, Ellentina Hartono Putri and Adella Sugiarso, who came together to create the organization following a year-long volunteer stint with the children at the Rusunawa. The organization also works together with Lions Clubs Indonesia, which has focused on the development of Rusunawa Pesakih in recent years.
Read also: Music lessons can improve your child’s grades
Cofounder Isabel, currently a student at the British School Jakarta (BSJ), said Paint Your History's mission was to create a sustainable and long-running project through art, specifically with a focus on highlighting Indonesian heritage.
"These children from the communities get a chance to embrace their heritage through incorporating cultural aspects into their designs and their artwork," Isabel said.
A post shared by PAINT YOUR HISTORY (@paintyourhistory) on
In the two-hour-long classes held every Saturday afternoon, participants learn about Indonesian historical and cultural aspects through painting, such as learning about rumah adat (traditional homes), wayang (shadow puppets) and batik prints that are expressed in their artworks.
"And we also hope to teach them more about Indonesia's history and culture so they'd be more aware of it and they'd also help preserve the culture and history," said Adella, who studies at Jakarta Intercultural School (JIS).
Beginning with honing artistic expression, Paint Your History's long-term plan also includes introducing entrepreneurial skills to its young participants.
"Besides teaching them to embrace their artistic side, we also want to teach them how to create a sustainable business, to incorporate an entrepreneurial aspect into their lives," said Ellentina, a fellow BSJ student.
Some of the artworks have already been made into merchandise, such as postcards, which are also sold to collect funds to provide the kids with adequate tools and printing sites for the program.
"So, we are going to teach them how to create the art, how to contact the sources, how to print the merchandise and also to do it independently without our help in the future," Ellentina added. (mut)
