Some of the featured sketches tell the stories of the hustle and bustle of a big city, kampungs that may soon be replaced by skyscrapers and a tranquil moment in a church.
hose of an artistic disposition will be familiar with sketching as a precursor to artwork, but sketches take center stage this time around in a month-long festival at the National Gallery.
Dubbed Sketsaforia Urban, the festival runs from Sept. 12 to Oct. 12 at the National Gallery in Central Jakarta, with additional events held in various cities across the country from Medan in North Sumatra to Manado in North Sulawesi.
The festival also includes workshops, public discussions and sketch walking, which will culminate in a sketch battle on the closing night. All events are free of charge and open to the public.
The National Gallery has previously hosted sketch exhibitions, such as works of its KamiSketsa GalNas sketching community in 2017 and “[Re]Kreasi Garis” last year.
The gallery’s head of exhibitions and partnerships, Zamrud Setya Negara, said Sketsaforia Urban was the first exhibition to utilize every part of the gallery, including outdoor areas, as well as the first sketch festival to be held in Indonesia.
The main exhibition is being held in all four buildings of the gallery, displaying a total of 616 sketches by 122 artists and communities, including archive pieces dating back to the 1950s by the likes of Harijadi Sumadijaja and S. Sudjojono.
The sketches displayed also include 76 works selected out of an open call of 411 entries, along with 140 sketches from 34 invited artists and another 400 sketches from two cultural foundations and 10 communities.
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