Reinterpreting Alternatives: Movement and Collective Action in Bandung after the Reform
| Date | Thursday, 15 August 2024 | Time | 12:30pm – 1:30pm |
| Venue | Sidney Myer Asia Centre, Room 321 | Location | The University of Melbourne |
‘Collectivism’ in the Bandung (West Java), Indonesian art scene, as well as in other cities, is deeply intertwined with Indonesia’s specific historical socio-political context.
Bandung experienced a period of immense growth in the number of alternative communities, movements, and spaces until after the Indonesian Reformasi Era post-1998, and the downfall of the Suharto New Order government. However, the Reformasi Era arguably became an ‘anti-climax’ and a pseudo-utopia period for these movements.
Dr Kiki Rizky Soetisna Putri from the Bandung Institute of Technology (ITB) will dismantle the myths surrounding ‘art collectivism’ in the city of Bandung, by looking at the existing power dynamics that creates hegemonic domination of the local art scene, the education system, as well as the economic and political situation in the region.
This seminar was chaired by Dr Wulan Dirgantoro, Co-Convenor of the Indonesia Forum and Lecturer in Contemporary Art at the School of Culture and Communication.
About the speaker
Dr Kiki Rizky Soetisna Putri is a researcher and lecturer at the Faculty of Art and Design, Bandung Institute of Technology (ITB). She currently serves as a lecturer and head of the library at the Center for Indonesian Visual Art Studies (CIVAS ITB).
Dr Putri holds a PhD from the ITB Graduate School, where her research focuses on the intersection of individual and collective practices with sociocultural issues in the Bandung art scene.
Dr Putri is currently engaged in several research activities, including reconstructing the artistic practice and working process of the late Bandung female artist Umi Dachlan. Her work explores Dachlan’s artistic method using archives study and in-depth interviews with related sources.
