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Colonial roots: Visitors ponder 'Long Hanging Fruits’ by Elia Nurvista, an installation reflecting on the exploitative legacy of oil palm trees, introduced to Indonesia by the Dutch in 1848.
JP/Sylviana Hamdani
Colonial roots: Visitors ponder 'Long Hanging Fruits’ by Elia Nurvista, an installation reflecting on the exploitative legacy of oil palm trees, introduced to Indonesia by the Dutch in 1848. JP/Sylviana Hamdani
Art & Culture premium

‘Beyond Unsettled Past’: Revisiting Indonesia’s colonial legacies

The exhibition, held at in Erasmus Huis in Jakarta, reexamines colonial legacies through a distinctly Indonesian lens. Curated by historian Sadiah Boonstra and artist Sukiato Khurniawan, the show features powerful works by six artists that confront the lingering imprints of colonialism on society.

5 days ago
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Dancing in harmony: 75 Years of Indonesia-Thailand diplomacy

From the graceful Thai Blessing Dance to the vibrant Indonesian Puspa Mekar, the performance blended traditional melodies and symbolism, captivating the audience with a shared spirit of peace and unity.

6 days ago
Art & Culture premium

Diponegoro lives on, two centuries after the fact

Although the Java War started two centuries ago, the story of Diponegoro's heroism remains fresh to Indonesians today thanks to many serious scholarly works as well as the products of pop culture which advertise his trials and tribulations. The following is a non-exhaustive list of scholarly works and popular retellings of Diponegoro's life.

1 week ago

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Art & Culture premium

Back on the reel: Arkipel 2025 channels ‘Years of Living Dangerously’

The organizer took the theme, reflecting on the current geopolitical situation, that colonialism persists, particularly in Palestine, some 70 years after the conference. 

1 week ago
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‘ProGress’: An exhibition for looking ahead

At Neo Gallery’s ProGress exhibition, former art insiders step into the spotlight as they trade their roles as curators and collectors to finally become artists themselves.

1 week ago
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‘Ghosts of Hell Creek’: Echoes of mass extinction and a call for harmony

The piece transports audiences into the prehistoric world, just before the Chicxulub asteroid struck earth 66 million years ago. At the heart of the story is the Acheroraptor, one of the last dinosaurs to walk the planet.

1 month ago
Art & Culture

From youth to rhythm, Sarawak’s twin celebrations of sustainability and culture

From rainforest dialogues to global rhythms, Sarawak is hosting two of Southeast Asia’s most dynamic events, the Rainforest Youth Summit 2025 (RAYS) and the Rainforest World Music Festival 2025 (RWMF) this week, charting a bold, intergenerational vision for sustainable tourism, environmental leadership and cultural connection in the heart of Borneo.

1 month ago
Art & Culture premium

‘The Hidden Treasures of Sudjana Kerton’: Remembering for tomorrow

Amid today’s digital art surge, the exhibition, running from June 11 to 26, invites us to reflect on Indonesia’s history through his powerful, timeless works.

1 month ago
Art & Culture premium

Jia CURATED 2025: Celebrating evolving perspectives in design, art and culture

Jia CURATED returns bigger than ever, showcasing 70 curated presentations and spotlighting around 150 designers and brands from Indonesia and Southeast Asia.

1 month ago
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Art therapy: Healing the mind, freeing the creative spirit

An art therapist leads sessions online and at her studio in Florence, Italy. But she believes anyone can enjoy art as a form of emotional release or self-expression from the comfort of home.

1 month ago
Art & Culture

Johann Strauss's 'Blue Danube' waltzes into outer space

But the world-famous waltz truly travelled among the stars on Saturday when the European Space Agency's antenna broadcast a live performance of it into space to celebrate the composer's 200th birthday.

1 month ago
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Highlighting Kei Imazu’s oeuvre at Museum MACAN in Jakarta

Inspired by the Batavia shipwreck incident in the 1600s, the exhibition underscores the lasting colonial impact alongside Jakarta’s pressing environmental challenges.

2 months ago
Art & Culture

French-Brazilian photographer Sebastiao Salgado dies aged 81

The photographer leaves a unique legacy of images from his hundreds of journeys through the Amazon rainforest and across the planet, from Rwanda to Indonesia, capturing with his lens human tragedies such as famine, wars and mass exoduses.

2 months ago
Art & Culture

Museums should serve as pillar of national cultural infrastructure: Fadli Zon

Commemorating this year’s International Museum Day, Culture Minister Fadli Zon has reaffirmed his commitment to making museums a pillar of national cultural infrastructure.

2 months ago
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A Fold in Time: Southeast Asia's women artists explore identity, history

The relatively small exhibition features 12 women artists who use a varying range of mediums in a diversity of artistic expressions to explore collective realities.

2 months ago
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‘The Knight’s Dreams’: When artists' dreams and reflections collide

The exhibition takes its title from one of the collaborative sculptures, which depicts three characters working together in a "panjat pinang" competition as it represents the Indonesian spirit of "gotong royong".

2 months ago
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‘Sunting’: A tribute to the women who shaped Indonesia

The exhibition follows the footsteps of women who were instrumental to national development through their contributions in education, medicine and journalism.

2 months ago
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Female force: Kartini's legacy inspiring today’s changemakers

Through her letters, she challenged injustice. Now, in an era shaped by digital voices and collective movements, her voice continues to inspire generations.

2 months ago
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Art Jakarta Gardens 2025: An oasis in the urban sprawl

Tracing its beginning to the COVID-era lockdowns, the fourth installment of Art Jakarta's "garden edition" exudes freshness and renewal through crafts, sculptures and innovative pieces.

3 months ago
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Mulatu Astatke: long journey for the 'father of Ethio-jazz'

Now despite that long journey and his 81 years of age, the Ethiopian music legend cannot even "think about retirement".

3 months ago
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‘Ireland’s Eye’: Bridging distant shores through art

This year’s exhibition features eight works by six Irish artists: Aaron Sunderland Carey, Electronic Sheep (Brenda Aherne and Helen Delany), Isobel McCarthy, Mary Sullivan and Olivia Normile.

3 months ago
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‘Semesta Arkiv’: A whimsical playground of art and reflection

The exhibit, which runs until May 11 at the National Gallery, showcases over 100 pieces by Bandung artist Arkiv Vilmansa in a glorious burst of whimsical shape, form and color that offers escape from today’s realities.

4 months ago
Art & Culture

Rarely seen cave art holds prehistoric secrets in France

Discovered in 2000 by an amateur cave explorer, the Grotte de Cussac in the Dordogne department holds ancient human remains, traces of long-extinct bears and stunning, fragile artworks its custodians go to great lengths to preserve.

4 months ago
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Vania Gracia: Melding Irish and Indonesian cultural icons

The concept behind the batik paintings was to narrate Irish folklore through the intricate language of batik.

4 months ago
Art & Culture

Israeli-Palestinian film wins Oscar, directors assail US, global political stances

The documentary highlights the parallel realities in which the two friends live - Abraham with his yellow Israeli number plate that lets him travel anywhere, Adra confined to a territory that only ever gets smaller for Palestinians.

4 months ago
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Resistance, rebellion and song: How Pramoedya's spirit lives on in art

The renowned author, best known for his critical essays and the Buru Quartet, continues to be a force for justice through his spiritual successors in activism, music and of course, literature.

5 months ago
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The perseverance of Wayan Karja

Sitting on a wooden chair in an open pavilion bordering that beautiful panorama, painter I Wayan Karja glanced south toward his spacious family compound anda thin, almost unseen, smile formed on his lips.

5 months ago
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Blora takes up Pramoedya's torch to fight injustice

A literary and arts event from Feb. 6 to 8 in Blora kicked off a yearlong centenary celebration of Pramoedya, but a misinformed protest shows that while this is a solid first step, a broader wave might be needed to restore the reputation of Indonesia's most renowned writer, almost 30 years after the downfall of the New Order.

5 months ago
Art & Culture

Rare Stradivarius violin sells for $11.3 million at Sotheby's

Known for its extraordinary sound, the "Joachim-Ma Stradivarius," named after its distinguished former owners, became the third most-expensive musical instrument ever sold at auction.

5 months ago
Art & Culture

Hashim Djojohadikusumo chairs trustees board for museums and cultural heritage

Fadli envisions a future where museum development expands beyond Java, aiming for the country to be recognized as a "nation of a thousand museums".

6 months ago