TheJakartaPost
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Artists band together to teach others how to form art collectives
Artists in Jakarta have found a way to keep themselves afloat in the field through collective arts, whereby art community groups work hand-in-hand with other groups in producing works, raising money to fund projects and managing exhibitions to promote their works.
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Creative force: Jakarta-based art collective Ruangrupa is best known for its intense social commentaries in various artistic mediums, balancing them with bright colors and humor.
(Courtesy of Documenta/Gudskul/Jin Panji)
Every artist wants his or her artwork to be enjoyed by the masses. Some might struggle to achieve this, while others call it quits after repeated failure to introduce their works to a wider audience.
In Jakarta, however, artists have found a way to keep themselves afloat in the field through collective arts, whereby art community groups work hand-in-hand with other groups in producing works, raising money to fund projects and managing exhibitions to promote their works.
Convinced that up-and-coming artists in the country need to get on board with this method, they established Gudskul Contemporary Art and Ecosystem Studies, an informal art school encouraging artists to develop art communities and work with each other to stand the test of time.
“We teach the up-and-coming artists how to work collectively with others in a community, as we believe the power of collaboration is important for Indonesia's art scene to survive in the long term,” Marcellina Dwi Kencana Putri, manager of Gudskul, told The Jakarta Post on Tuesday.
Gudskul, which is located in Jagakarsa, South Jakarta, has operated since November 2018, teaching students about collective arts in a one-year-study program starting in September every year. The school is managed by Gudskul Ecosystem, an art collective created by three art communities in Jakarta: ruangrupa, Serrum and Studio Grafis Huru Hara.
The students, nine young artists from cities across the country, learn about creating and managing art communities as they study 11 subjects, including collective culture in society, collective sustainability study and developing collective arts in society. Such subjects are not taught at any formal art school. The lessons are applicable to any genre, be it fine arts, multimedia arts, graphic design or three-dimensional arts.
