Established in 2000 as a small not-profit organization with a mere start-up budget of Rp 600,000 (US$60), the artists' initiative ruangrupa has evolved into an established art space, supporting art ideas within an urban context.

Today, the group has a gallery that holds six exhibitions a year, featuring work by young artists and its curators. The organization holds workshops and also hosts the Jakarta 32*c (32 degrees centigrade) Biennale, an exhibition that provides an art showcase for Jakarta's students.

Next year will be ruangrupa's 10th birthday and the group is planning a big event to celebrate the occasion.

"There will be exhibitions. It will coincide with the next Jakarta 32*c. We will also invite other organizations to take part as well as artists from around the world," ruangrupa co-founder and director Ade Darmawan said.

Ruangrupa's 10th anniversary is officially in March next year, but Ade said they would postpone celebrations until November to coincide with Jakarta 32*c.

"There will be a series of events leading up to the 10th anniversary celebrations," ruangrupa manager Julia Sarisetiati said.

Ade, founded ruangrupa with Hafiz, Lilia Nursita, Oky Arfie, Rithmi, Ronny Agustinus, and Ade Tanesia, after he returned from studying in Europe.

"We had the idea before I went to the Netherlands. When it started each of us chipped in Rp 100,000 and we set up a foundation," he said with a laugh.

"The idea came from the need for space for young artists. We wanted to provide space and media for art work that would not necessarily be accepted in mainstream art spaces," he said.

He said an example of art that is not yet mainstream is video. "Not many art spaces support art videos. We *support art videos* through workshops and a biannual event called OK. Video."

Ade said that in the early years they held exhibitions at their boarding houses and would rent a place to hold workshops.

One feature of ruangrupa is its focus on urban phenomenon.

Ade said that they chose that focus because art should be relevant to contemporary society. "Right here. Right now," he summarized.

"Because of our focus, people can relate to the art work and we have a broader audience. Our work has also become inter-disciplinary," he said.

He said for ruangrupa's 10th birthday they would like to share the culture ruangrupa has developed.

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