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Jakarta Post
Colonial roots: Visitors ponder 'Long Hanging Fruits’ by Elia Nurvista, an installation reflecting on the exploitative legacy of oil palm trees, introduced to Indonesia by the Dutch in 1848.
JP/Sylviana Hamdani
Colonial roots: Visitors ponder 'Long Hanging Fruits’ by Elia Nurvista, an installation reflecting on the exploitative legacy of oil palm trees, introduced to Indonesia by the Dutch in 1848. JP/Sylviana Hamdani
Art & Culture premium

‘Beyond Unsettled Past’: Revisiting Indonesia’s colonial legacies

The exhibition, held at in Erasmus Huis in Jakarta, reexamines colonial legacies through a distinctly Indonesian lens. Curated by historian Sadiah Boonstra and artist Sukiato Khurniawan, the show features powerful works by six artists that confront the lingering imprints of colonialism on society.

6 days ago
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Dancing in harmony: 75 Years of Indonesia-Thailand diplomacy

From the graceful Thai Blessing Dance to the vibrant Indonesian Puspa Mekar, the performance blended traditional melodies and symbolism, captivating the audience with a shared spirit of peace and unity.

1 week ago
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Diponegoro lives on, two centuries after the fact

Although the Java War started two centuries ago, the story of Diponegoro's heroism remains fresh to Indonesians today thanks to many serious scholarly works as well as the products of pop culture which advertise his trials and tribulations. The following is a non-exhaustive list of scholarly works and popular retellings of Diponegoro's life.

1 week ago

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Art & Culture

UNESCO recognizes Ramadan meal tradition of iftar

Iftar, which follows the sunset call to prayer during Ramadan, is associated with gatherings "strengthening family and community ties and promoting charity, solidarity and social exchange," the UNESCO said.

1 year ago
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‘Repatriasi’: Reclaiming Indonesia’s heritage from the shadows of colonialism

The National Gallery of Indonesia is holding an exhibition until Sunday showcasing repatriated artifacts looted by the Dutch colonial power. The exhibition intends to show to the public how rich Indonesia is culturally, and that Indonesians could preserve such precious heirlooms.

1 year ago
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'Masa Depan Batik': Unveiling the industry’s challenges and reshaping its future

Batik has a long tradition in Indonesia and has been recognized by UNESCO as an item of intangible heritage in 2009 while at the same time there are concerns about its future. Dutch artisan and researcher Sabine Bolk, however, is determined to keep up the spirit and skills, ensuring batik will always have a future.

1 year ago
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‘Bicara Melalui Kain’: Redefining textile narratives in Indonesia

Researcher and artisan Lusiana Limono was intrigued to find an old baby blanket made up from a patchwork of cloth pieces by her great-grandmother. The discovery led her to deep-dive into the world of textiles.

1 year ago
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Batik Durian: Weaving the essence of Lubuklinggau into global fashion

Durian and batik may not come naturally in the same breath but that was what one woman leader managed to do in Lubuklinggau city – promoting durian through batik artistry despite the absence of batik history in the city.

1 year ago
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What happens when art meets nature? Meet Semesta's Gallery

Standing on a lush, sloping hill in South Jakarta's Lebak Bulus, Semesta's Gallery has steadily clinched a reputation as one of the most distinctive art galleries in the city.

1 year ago
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Pura Mangkunegaran presents royal heritage in Angsukayana batik exhibit

The Mangkunegaran duchy has launched an exhibition and fashion show to present its rich batik heritage that has developed over the centuries.

1 year ago
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Konnect ASEAN: Bridging cultures through friendship and art

Artists from across Southeast Asian nations and South Korea made friends and discovered new skills through Konnect Asean residency programs.

1 year ago
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OMAH Library: Tangerang's comfy fountain of knowledge

Comfortably nestled within the Taman Villa Meruya housing complex just outside Jakarta, the library-slash-cafe is currently enjoying cult status as a serene haven for passionate architectophiles and urban bibliophiles.

1 year ago
Art & Culture

Guilty as charged?: New documentary reignites debate on Jessica Wongso's infamous case

A new Netflix documentary about the controversial “cyanide coffee case” sheds light on Indonesia’s current legal system but does not share any new information regarding the murder of Wayan Mirna Salihin.

1 year ago
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Fulfilling a promise: Teater Abnon revives Betawi’s ‘gambang kromong’ with ‘Janji Soekma’

Teater Abnon features Betawi traditional gambang kromong music in their upcoming production and celebrates its 14th anniversary. 

1 year ago
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‘Sandyakala Smara’: Reviving the timeless elegance of Kudus batik

Denny Wirawan, in collaboration with the Bakti Budaya Djarum Foundation, presented a fashion show in Kudus, Central Java, featuring the forgotten splendor of Kudus batik. 

1 year ago
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Lies AR of trailblazing Dara Puspita passes away

Lies Adji Rachman, or Lies AR, cofounder and guitarist of Indonesia’s legendary all-female rock and roll group Dara Puspita, died at 77 on Sunday night in Mojokerto, East Java.

1 year ago
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A Bohemian rhapsody in Jakarta

Lovers of classical music in Jakarta got a hefty dose of a rhapsodic evening of music from Bohemia through the works of Leos Janacek, Bohuslav Martinu, Gustav Mahler and Antonin Dvorak.

1 year ago
Art & Culture

Black and White of RI Fiesta of Democracy

General elections are also known as pesta demokrasi (democracy festivals) and they occur every five years. Millions of people helped prepare for of the much-awaited 2019 general election. Volunteers folded ballot papers and distributed ballot boxes to the polling stations (TPS) across Indonesia.  

1 year ago
Art & Culture

Living hope of children on Jakarta's coastline

The hustle and bustle of daily life in Jakarta has created many inspirational stories, such as the creation of Kelas Jurnalis Cilik (Junior Journalism Course). This outdoor classroom has narrated stories about journalism to children in coastal areas of North Jakarta. Despite their limitations, the children have been able to produce honest work filled with meaningful messages.

1 year ago
Art & Culture

Iconic Freddie Mercury memorabilia sells for over £3 million

The Sotheby's auction room echoed to the sound of the track "We Will Rock You" before bidding began at the black-tie evening auction.

1 year ago
Art & Culture

Burning Man festival road reopens, allowing thousands to escape muddy trap

Unexpected summer rain turned the weeklong, annual counterculture arts festival into a muddy nightmare.

1 year ago
Art & Culture

The land that is slowly sinking

For the past several months, roads connecting settlements in Cemarajaya village, Karawang, West Java, have been severely damaged by coastal erosion, which has also caused many houses in Cemarajaya’s coastal communities to collapse.

1 year ago
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"Robert Johnson" of Indonesia's Orkes Melayu music finally comes out from the shadows

After months of woodshedding, the band gathered enough materials that they would use to join a recording session at Irama Records studio in Menteng, Central Jakarta, supervised and engineered directly by founder of the legendary label, Suyoso "Mas Yos" Karsono. 

1 year ago
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‘Litter Critters’: Transforming trash into treasure

Erasmus Huis Jakarta hosts an exhibition that reimagines litter as artworks and inspires people to reconsider how they treat their garbage.

1 year ago
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Artjog festival returns

The festival runs from June 30 to Aug. 27 with the theme “Motif: Lamaran” (Motif: Proposal).

1 year ago
Art & Culture

A room of one's own

In the last few years, a new term has cropped up among urbanites that highlights the need for a private space that is not their home: staycation.

2 years ago
Art & Culture

Indonesian children’s choir wins international festival in Italy

The Resonanz Children’s Choir (TRCC) took home the grand prix prize in the Leonardo Da Vinci International Choral Festival in Florence, Italy, on Friday.

2 years ago
Art & Culture

Halls of Time

In its nearly five centuries of history, Jakarta has evolved along with its people, from trading port to major metropolis and now the largest city in Southeast Asia.

2 years ago
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Lost In Time

Time stops for no one, or so they say. For most of us, certain special places evoke a world of reminiscence, calling forth precious times in our lives. And when one of those places is removed, a part of ourselves goes away too. 

2 years ago
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A trip through old Dublin, in Jakarta

What is it? says John Wyse. —A nation? says Bloom. A nation is the same people living in the same place. —By God, then, says Ned, laughing, if that’s so I’m a nation for I’m living in the same place for the past five years.

2 years ago
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Yogyakarta botanical artist wins gold medal at UK exhibition

Sole Indonesian and Southeast Asian representative Eunike Nugroho, a Yogyakarta-based botanical artist,  has won a gold medal at the Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) Botanical Art & Photography Show at Saatchi Gallery in London, which opened June 16.

2 years ago
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Albania's communist pyramid at last has a point

Built as a bizarre memorial to Albania's paranoid communist dictator, now a brutalist pyramid hopes to become a beacon of the Balkan country's transformation.

2 years ago
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Creative industry players embrace AI as new tool

Beyond artificial intelligence (AI) machine-learning inclusion from tech to finance industries, its recent progress has also given rise to more sophisticated and refined models, like voice-converting software that mimic other people’s vocals or the language processing chatbot ChatGPT.

2 years ago