Biennale Jogja is set to return on Oct. 20 to Nov. 30, highlighting "Indonesia together with Southeast Asia" theme. Taking place at Taman Budaya Yogyakarta and Jogja National Museum, the event’s executive director, Alia Swastika, made a statement at a press conference on March 11.
"This year's exhibition will be different as it won't view Southeast Asia from an urban perspective, but instead enters an unfamiliar area such as Pattani, Sabah, Kelantan, Mindanao or the historical Mekong River; we will see Southeast Asia from an outskirt perspective."
The Equator series of the Biennale is said to have travelled half the globe after previously collaborating with artists from countries along the equator, such as India in 2011, Saudi Arabia in 2013, Africa in 2015 and Latin America in 2017. The Equator series itself will end in 2021 with collaborative works with Asia-Pacific artists.
Since it has travelled half the globe, Alia feels that it’s time to view Indonesia and the Southeast Asia region. Southeast Asia was chosen since it served as a united culture (not countries) that historically boasts tremendous cultural richness, however also faces many important issues that are rarely discussed in a mainstream platform. She also added, "Biennale Jogja serves as a tool to highlight the platform of history, identity and ecology that have been marginalized."
Three curators chosen for the Biennale Jogja #5 are Arham Rahman and Akiq AW from Indonesia and Penwadee Nophaket Manont from Thailand. Meanwhile, among the artists invited to participate are 30 Indonesians and 21 artists from Southeast Asian countries.
The artists that are invited will be showcasing rarely discussed issues of marginalisation among the public in their artwork. Among the three, such issues involved the subjects, the issues themselves and life practices — to focus on certain issues of marginalization, such as gender.
Alia added that Biennale Jogja, which has been held since 1988, makes Yogyakarta one of the centres of contemporary fine arts, attracting curators and museum directors from many countries. To which she added, "This Equator series also serves as a medium for Yogyakarta people to view the world and to destroy certain stereotypes about a country."
Source: The Jakarta Post