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arlier this year I spent a day visiting two friends, rising contemporary artists who are also one of the cutest married couples around, at their Yogyakarta-based studio and home. I can'€™t remember exactly how during the long conversation I had with the husband that we arrived at the topic, but we ended up questioning why the Indonesian art scene seemed so obsessed with artwork carrying social critiques. It seemed almost unimaginable these days to place value on an artwork that pinpointed to anything less than the flaws and fractures of our raggedy social fabric.

He mused that perhaps, beyond the ceremony-oriented tribal art we inherited from ancient times, the arts that Indonesians have been mainly exposed to are the ones created to voice disobedience against ruling powers. He had a point there. That situation, coupled with the inadequate art curriculum in our education system, has made art a subject that is, for most Indonesians, less understandable or desirable compared to other subjects such as science. Only those born with it can do art. For all the laughing at the elite that artists are prone to do, Indonesian artists tend to roam around in an elitist bubble of their own. I'€™ve said it before in this column and when I repeated this to my artist friend he chuckled and didn'€™t try to contradict me one bit.

Back to social critiques. True, art can be a powerful tool in delivering anti-establishment missives. Yet these days, when everyone and their dog can instantly post a rant on multiple social media platforms, most of the time without being subject to libel charges, how can art retain its power to voice issues?

The artistic minds behind the newly opened Jakarta Biennale 2015 seem keen to bring down the elitist walls surrounding the art world and bring art closer to the masses. This ambition is exemplified by the outreach programs to schools and communities undertaken by the event. A commendable effort that, seen from the crowd at the opening, has managed to attract art hipsters, thirty-something corporate types on a Saturday date and a handful of socialites in out-of-place Valentino stilettos.

Were people there at the Biennale to be illuminated by the beauty of art, to be inspired by the pulsating messages underneath or to snap an obligatory selfie at the '€˜it'€™ party on the ever-spinning urban social calendar? I'€™m sure for all three. It may take at least another generation for our government to properly educate Indonesians on art, so I'€™ll praise any and all public efforts to enmesh art more deeply into the lives of mainstream Indonesians.

Now, onto the art itself. What was offered at the Jakarta Biennale? There was plenty to enjoy for a regular Jane like me. Questions of social inequality stemming from natural resource exploitation were addressed creatively through installations by Maryanto, Iswadi Basri and Richard Bell (Australian). Yoppy Pieter languidly portrayed a grandma and her cat in a deserted, post-urbanization South Sumatran village. The Youngrrr unapologetically pointed at how the New Order manipulated Pancasila to mold Indonesians into docile citizens, something that I feel continues under the current administration. Arahmaiani, in a poignant installation and in a skit performed mere hours after the Paris attacks, condemned systematic violence across generations.

There was a healthy dose of self-journey too. The event featured a powerful installation and performance by the artist Kolatt from Myanmar. Dressed in crimson leotard and employing red platform stripper'€™s shoes, red apples and a smashed red chair on blood red mat, Kolatt enacted his struggles with childhood, religion and homosexuality.

I was recovering from a respiratory infection but I was glad I soldiered on last weekend. I encourage you to check out the Jakarta Biennale this weekend, be it at the main venue in the Sarinah Department Store Warehouse or in satellite sites across the city. Whether you find the social messages blistering or blasé or whether you get any message at all, is not the point. Just go and have some fun with art. The set-up is laidback and unintimidating and refreshing for anyone looking for something else other than chaotic weekend malls. Some exhibitions may need parental guidance but there are children-friendly installations and programs as well, details of which can be obtained through the event'€™s well-run social media accounts.

Nourish your weary heart, O Jakarta urbanites.