SafeSpace Indonesia was born from what was a relatively very simple discovery: That younger Indonesians, in this day and age, "are super excited about expressing their [thoughts] and what they want to voice”, said one of its cofounders, Lulu Qonita to The Jakarta Post on Jan. 26.

"I see how, as it turns out, we need a platform for that," the 24-year-old further elaborated. "Among the youth, especially, there are so many ideas, [life] experiences, thoughts and perspectives, whether about arts or politics or things like that. Hopefully, SafeSpace could be that platform."

Andra Jatikusumo, a fellow cofounder of SafeSpace Indonesia and the husband of entrepreneur Putri Tanjung, gave his two cents as well. While self-expression might be of the essence, doing so in a community of shared passion might be more rewarding.

"In a panel, if we're open-minded enough, we could receive different feedback and perspective," said the 30-year-old. "For instance, in our first event, we were so grateful that the attendees ranged from the preteens to the older, sixty-something folks."

Lulu and Andra designed SafeSpace Indonesia to be a platform for the city's citizens to express themselves in various forms of spoken-word poetry, such as lyrics, runes and poetry musicalization. There is no requirement for its participants to be proficiently versed in literature or liberal arts. The two founders insisted on only two things: That anyone could attend its events free of charge and that their poetry piece would be received without prejudice or judgment.

Not 'scary', but 'comforting'

Lulu and Andra first got acquainted with one another due to their shared alma mater, New York University, New York, the United States, with the former being several years the latter's junior. "Not a lot of Indonesians could get accepted [to the university]. Only one for each year, so we [Indonesian scholars and alumni] were a tight community," Lulu opined.

Cut to several years later, the two pals returned to Indonesia and, during one particular lunch, they talked about their past and what they missed about their lives back in New York. One of the things they cherished was attending a free-of-charge spoken-word poetry open mic that was held in their alma mater's compound.

Lulu tried getting on the stage once and, to her surprise, "It wasn't as scary as I thought it would be!" she laughed.

"The essence [of the event] was being a safe space," Lulu reminisced. "It felt so comforting. I had absolutely no clue about poetry because I used to be a science major back in high school. Like, totally clueless. But, in college, I was like, 'Wow, this is pretty chill. Even though my poetry wasn't that good, everyone congratulated me and clapped anyway!'"

Moreover, for Lulu, what made spoken-word poetry both exciting and cathartic was its ability to "accommodate so many people, because not everyone could sing!" she chuckled.

Andra was on board with the idea of establishing a community for poetry enthusiasts in Jakarta, even though he and Lulu were not academically trained in arts and literature. His college experience taught him that "we are more than the major we attend and the career we pursue".

He asserted, "Just because I'm an investor or I'm a husband to my wife or I went to a school overseas or I'm an Indonesian or anything, it doesn't mean I don't have other things I could explore, things that could help other people."

'Gutsy' poets

SafeSpace Indonesia held its first open mic event on Dec. 10, 2022, at Galeri Salihara, South Jakarta. Both Lulu and Andra decided to set no expectation whatsoever, especially considering the jargon "spoken-word poetry" itself was still fairly uncommon in the city.

"We were simply being gutsy," quipped Andra. "If only five people had shown up [at the open mic], and they were our friends, it would have been alright."

Did it ever cross Andra's mind to ask for assistance from his high-profile in-laws?

"The answer is no," he said. "Because I didn't actively ask for help and I actively didn't ask for help."

Its modest fanfare aside, SafeSpace Indonesia's first open mic managed to draw in 150 attendees, with 32 of them volunteering to perform pieces that ranged from lyrics and poetry to unplugged musical presentations. Most of the attendees were amateur poets.

One of the most memorable performances of the night was when a female attendee performed an original piece that was meant to address the loss of her parent. She had previously asked the two founders whether they would allow her to scatter petals on the stage before her performance.

"She performed a eulogy," Lulu recounted. "The room, initially all perky, got quiet and respectful, to my admiration. As her audience, we were pulled by her performance. It was very memorable, seeing her so comfortable sharing [her grief] with a group of strangers."

For Andra, one of the night's most memorable performances was when a full-time data scientist was keen on performing his original lyrics in front of an audience, but almost got cold feet before his set began.

"But, once he performed: man, this guy!" he enthused.

After a successful debut open mic event, Lulu and Andra are currently brainstorming for its next one. Their biggest goal: To reach the spoken-word poetry logophiles outside Jakarta as well.

"That's why, from the very beginning, we called it SafeSpace Indonesia," said Lulu, underlining the last word.

To find out more about SafeSpace Indonesia, check out its Instagram account @safespace_indo.

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