Strains of live jazz filled the courtyard at Komunitas Salihara last Thursday night, and DJ beats floated off the rooftop as representatives of Jakarta's cultural scene gathered to celebrate the opening of Salihara's new caf*, lounge and art store.

The launch was the latest step for an art center with roots dating back to the Soeharto era. The Salihara arts community grew out of Komunitas Utan Kayu, a cultural enclave founded by patrons of Tempo magazine after the Soeharto government banned the magazine in 1994.

Determined to keep Tempo's independent spirit alive, artists, journalists and intellectuals who had gathered around the magazine organized a number of cultural societies, including the Institute for the Free Flow of Information and Radio News Agency 68H.

Ultimately, the community was able to outlast the president, hosting lectures, performances and underground meetings for local and international artists and intellectuals.

After more than a decade, Utan Kayu's artistic wing - Galeri Lontar, Teater Utan Kayu and Cultural Journal Kalam - decided to build a permanent home for their activities.

The fruit of their labors, the Komunitas Salihara, opened in August 2008. Nestled on a narrow, twisting street near the Universitas Nasional campus, the complex is surprisingly expansive, standing on more than 3,000 square meters of land.

The center's most striking feature is Galeri Salihara, a corrugated cylindrical structure designed by architect Marco Kusumawijaya. The gallery's smooth, rounded walls are currently hung with "IndividualistS", a group exhibition featuring slick, commercial-looking portraits by four young Indonesian photographers, which also celebrated its formal opening on Thursday.

At the complex's beating heart is Teater Salihara, a 252-seat black box theater, designed by architect Adi Purnomo. A simple, intimate space, the theater was the first of its kind in Indonesia.

This month's performance, which opens Friday, features Lampung's Teater Satu performing the play Aruk Gugat, the story of an honest but lazy orphan trying to restore his family's honor.

Last Thursday, however, attention was directed to the ground floor of the main building, where Salihara's new projects are located.

"It's part of our promotion, to say to the public that we're here," said Salihara spokeswoman Rama Thaharani.

"Not only as an art venue, but also for small industries, and as a place where they can sit and relax in the Kedai."

The caf*, Kedai Salihara, will function both as a meeting space and as a cozy, informal lounge with a Wi-Fi connection and signature dishes such as Rawon soup and tofu noodles.

"We're still running it as usual for shows and discussions, and also for the community," said Thaharani. "Groups we see have the same vision as us can use the space for free."

The program for June is centered around a free public lecture series called "Rethinking Humanism", which aims to explore humanistic and anti-humanistic thought from the classical era to the postmodern age.

Future events, Thaharani said, will focus on philosophy, young artists, history, archaeology and other themes often neglected by mainstream popular culture.

Adjacent to the lounge is the new store, 27.II a Concept Art Store, co-managed by Salihara and Vivi Yap, who also runs Vivi Yap Art Room. With racks full of art books, bright plastic beaded jewelry, silk-screened t-shirts and leather handbags decorated with skulls, the store aims to serve as a distribution for work created by Komunitas Salihara members and other local producers.

The community is also hoping the new projects can help sustain the center's cultural activities.

"It's our business wing," explained Thaharani. "The theater is non-profit, so we hope they can support us."

Thursday's event was also in part a plea for funds, an attempt to attract new members to "sahabat Salihara" a network of artists and socialites committed to financially supporting the community's work.

Thaharani said that after the gala opening, she is optimistic about the network's future prospects. "We saw interest in the place and the event tonight. We hope they will also support us."

In the meantime, she said, Komunitas Salihara is busy preparing for upcoming events, including Festival Salihara, running from July 8 to August 15, which will bring in artists from across Indonesia, and from as far away as New York and the Netherlands.

Komunitas Salihara is located at Jl. Salihara 16, Pasar Minggu, Jakarta Selatan. For more information, call 021-789-1202 or visit www.salihara.org

The writer is an intern at The Jakarta Post.

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