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RURU marks first decade with art smorgasbord
Not mainstream: A collection of works created by art collective Ruangrupa over the last 10 years
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span class="inline inline-left">Not mainstream: A collection of works created by art collective Ruangrupa over the last 10 years.: Courtesy of Ruangrupa.org The artist initiative Ruangrupa (RURU), which started out by organizing small exhibitions in boarding houses, has grown into a hub for contemporary urban art in Jakarta.
A decade old now, the Tebet-based alternative art space is holding its biggest event yet: a month-long art, video and music festival dubbed “Decompression #10: Expanding the Space and Public”.
The event, which took a year to put together — according to the organizer — and will run from Dec. 28 to Jan. 27, promises a smorgasbord of alternative art.
Video, film, installation, photography, performance art, multimedia art, painting, sketches, posters to T-shirt, comics and mixed media, will be presented in 11 venues across Jakarta, with the National Gallery in Gambir and Taman Ismail Marzuki (TIM) art center in Cikini as the main venues.
Co-founder and director Ade Darmawan said “Decompression #10” was not only a celebration of Ruangrupa’s 10th anniversary, but also a reflection of the changes witnessed in urban art over the last 10 years.
“The last decade is an important period considering the social, cultural and political context,” Ade said.
Since Ruangrupa’s inception in 2000, the community attached to the artist initiative has commented on current social and political events through its art.
For this anniversary, more than 60 local and international artists who have worked with Ruangrupa will exhibit their works — new and old. There will also be art collaborations and seminars. Films and video screenings will be held at the National Gallery and Kineforum in TIM.
Included in “Decompression” is Ruangrupa’s Biennale “Jakarta 32 Degrees Celsius”, an exhibition of dozens of university students’ artworks.
Ade explained Ruangrupa was a fan of collecting and archiving, thus the organization would also display 10 years of its archives.
Curated by Farah Wardani and Ugeng T. Moetidjo, “RURU.Zip” — as is named this exhibition —
will not only trace Ruangrupa’s journey as an organization and art lab documentary but also revisit
art, social and culture trends and other issues.
But the archiving does not stop at Ruangrupa. The fringe program “Video Musik Indonesia” (Indonesia Music Video) will also revisit music video clips from the early 1990s to 2010.
From Dewa 19’s first music video Kangen (Miss you) shot in 1992 at Semarang train station Tugu, to Agnes Monica’s 2010 video clip Godai Aku Lagi (Tease Me Once More), audiences will be able to witness the changes in music video clips in Indonesia.
Art lovers and students will have the opportunity to soak up knowledge during seminars and public lectures from artists like French Jean-Gabriel Periot, who works with visual archives, and curator as well as writer Charles Esche from the Netherlands.
Ruangrupa will also launch a book titled Initiative. Edited by Ardi Yunanto, Ruangrupa’s online quarterly KarbonJournal editor, Asian art expert from Sydney University Thomas Berguis and writer Arief Ash Shiddiq, Initiative features more than 30 essays and interviews.
Coordinator for Support and Promote Indra Ameng is also inviting Jakartans to watch film screenings dubbed RURU.mov and attend RRREC, a music festival.
A highlight of the film screenings will be Belkibolang, an anthology of short films on Jakarta at night from nine young Jakartan directors.
Meanwhile RRREC will feature dozens of indie musicians, including celebrated Efek Rumah Kaca and indie pop pioneer Bangkutaman.
Ruangrupa has always included the indie music scene in its events. RRREC will showcase musicians the art space has worked with in the past decade.
For “Decompression”, Ruangrupa collaborated with dozens of local and international arts or cultural institutions, cultural centers, governmental bodies and NGOs as well as universities.
In 2000, along with Hafiz, Lilia Nursita, Oky Arfie, Rithmi, Ronny Agustinus, and Ade Tanesia, Ade founded Ruangrupa after returning from studying in Europe. The founders felt the need to create a space for young artists whose works would not necessarily be accepted in mainstream art spaces.
They set up the art space with a mere Rp 600,000, initially running exhibitions in friends’ boarding houses and holding workshops in rented spaces.
Today, the group has a gallery comprising works of young artists and its curators.
Decompression #10
Dec. 28, 2010 to Jan. 27, 2011
Visit ruangrupa.org for schedule and venues
