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Charles Esche: Imagine the world differently
ArtribuneWorld-renowned curator Charles Esche is in the capital for preparations toward the much-awaited Jakarta Biennale
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Artribune
World-renowned curator Charles Esche is in the capital for preparations toward the much-awaited Jakarta Biennale.
Expectation is high for an interesting event that could even attract non-artistic communities, especially because of the presence of Esche, the recipient of the 2014 Audrey Irmas Award for Curatorial Excellence.
He is the man behind numerous international exhibitions, including the Sao Paulo Biennial in 2014; the ninth Muslim Mulliqi Prize Exhibition 'It Doesn't always have to be Beautiful Unless it's Beautiful' at the National Gallery of Kosovo in 2012, 'Strange and Close' in Bordeaux in 2011, the fifth U3 triennial in Ljubljana, 2010, the second and third Riwaq Biennales in Ramallah, Palestine in 2007 and 2009, the ninth Istanbul Biennial in 2005, the 2002 Gwangju Biennale in South Korea and 'Intelligence: Tate Triennial' at Tate Britain, London in 2000.
The Scotsman found contemporary Indonesian art 'fascinating' when he first visited Jakarta in 2001.
During the visit he met Ade Kurniawan of the art community Ruang Rupa. Ade is now the executive director of Jakarta Biennale Foundation and is credited with helping to build up Indonesia's art system after the reformasi era.
'The biennale is just a bigger platform for more people to realize the process [of the development of art]. We're actually standing on the shoulder of the works that have been done in the past 15 years. We're doing our best [for the exhibition]. The more time we get, the better we do our job,' he said, referring to his team that comprised six emerging Indonesian curators who started working in January.
Born in England in 1962, Esche, who currently divides his time between Edinburgh, Eindhoven and Jakarta, first became interested in the world of art after he lost his trust in politics and politicians.
A politician since his 20s, Esche became disillusioned with the way he saw the world when refracted through politics.
'It's all about the game of power, there is no imagination. Then I thought about where I could contribute to think differently, and imagine a better world. At that time I found art. I can't be an artist, but I can give the world a curatorial voice.'
Esche started by setting up small exhibitions for emerging artists and overtime built up a network of art communities.
'I always started with practical curating. By going and doing work with an artist you will start to ask questions and it leads you to reading and studying about the theories of curating and not the other way around,' he explained.
Esche was director of the international arts venue Tramway in Glasgow from 1993 to 1997 and founded an art education program called the Proto-academy at the Edinburgh College of Art. He later served at the Rooseum Center for Contemporary Art in Sweden between 2000 and 2004 before beginning his present position in Eindhoven.
He believes that no one can change the world without art and that museums are the best places available to us to tell different stories about history.
'In this world, we can write the history of the loser as well,' he said, adding that the museum is a place where people can go to find their identity, to reflect about the present and to think about the future.
'The government must realize this before investing in arts and culture. Political possibilities have to first exist to invest in it. Art can be a tool to create a creative society. With a creative society the government can benefit from creative economy.'
