A spatial support structure for Cemeti – Institute for Art and Society
Location: Cemeti – Institute for Art and Society
Date: 04 – 27 May 2017
Time: 10:00 – 17:00
Thursday 4 May 2017: Opening Program
15.00-17.00
I’m just going outside and may be some time, a walking tour by Hannah, Jorgen and Fiky (start and finish at Cemeti)
17.00-19.00
Art in Public Space, a discussion with Collective Works
19.00-21.00
Opening reception
AS PART OF our current year-long programme Maintenance Works, Cemeti Institute for Art and Society invited the Netherlands based design duo Collective Works (Karin Mientjes and Peter Zuiderwijk) for a residency. As one of the results, they explored and reconfigured the use of our physical spaces: from our office, to our entrance “joglo” house, to our interior garden. Testing various spatial strategies for how the institute might connect to different constituencies from across Yogyakarta. During their research process Collective Works worked with a team of volunteer researchers consisting of Jorgen Doyle, Hannah Ekin, Fiky Maulana, Yuramia Oksilasari and program assistant Daud Sihombing. Together they explored mobile libraries in the Yogyakarta river community of Ratmakan, the perception of the city through different modes of transport and public newspaper display in Cemeti’s neighbourhood of Ngadinegaran, all the time reflecting and asking:
If the new tagline of Cemeti is ‘Institute for Art and Society’, presumably the connection between “institute” and “society” is made through art. What implications does this have for the spatial infrastructure of the institute? Should encounters between art and society take place within the building of the institute? Or should the building be perceived as a basecamp? A point of departure and a place to report? How could a spatial infrastructure support this renewed usage? What is needed for the exploration of society (by artists) and what kind of facilities are needed to report on their findings? What (indirect) materials and (direct) activities are brought into and leave the building of the institute and how do these relate to an audience?
On Thursday 4 May 2017, we will initiate Collective Works’ still evolving design, which will include a public kitchen, the re-functioning of our entrance spaces and a community newspaper stand on the curb in front of Cemeti. These physical structures will be overlaid with a research-based presentation centered on an expansive map detailing issues explored, connections made and propositions for potential uses of the space. Leading up to the opening, from 15.00-17.00 hrs, research group members Hannah, Jorgen and Fiky will organise a detail-oriented walking tour in Cemeti’s neighbourhood, culminating in concrete poetry. From 17.00-19.00 hrs, there will be a discussion with Collective Works. They will speak about their ongoing research at Cemeti, some of their previous projects and their relation to a changing notion of public space and the role that art can play in proposing alternatives. We hope to see you this Thursday at Cemeti!
This project is generously supported by: the Cultural Department of Yogyakarta Province (Dinas Kebudayaan); the Embassy of the Netherlands in Jakarta and Stroom The Hague (the Netherlands).
This exhibition is part of Cemeti’s longterm program Maintenance Works (January 2017-June 2018).
Exhibition view of the The Sum of (Almost) All Things.
Artists’ Biography
Collective Works (the Hague, the Netherlands) is a collaborative work-structure that specializes in research-based design founded by Karin Mientjes and Peter Zuiderwijk. Starting from an expanded notion of design, Collective Works actively engages with the context they are in, this not only includes the physical site and its surroundings, but also, and particularly, the social relationships that make it into a place. By orchestrating failures, intervening in the social fabric and providing platforms for exchange, Collective Works not only shapes the project, but also actively creates its context(s), often engaging with places and people over a longer period of time. Their work takes the form of activist campaigns, institutional programming, analytical reflections, situational identity branding, spatial proposals, and social interventions, amongst others.
CEMETI 