YOGYAKARTA – Yogyakarta is known as Indonesian centre of contemporary art. Compared to Jakarta and Bandung, Yogyakarta is a city comfortable for artists. This does not come as a surprise as almost everyday there are exhibitions, concerts and other arts and cultural events that are organised by artist communities. The artists also run many social programmes among society that are delivered in artistic presentation to get the message across. Thus was the result of research conducted by art management researcher from Osaka City University, Tomoko Hayashi. He reported the result in a meeting of 11 researchers of Urban Research Plaza (URP), a collaboration between UGM, Institut Seni Indonesia (ISI) Yogyakarta and Osaka City University in the multimedia room of UGM, Monday (18/2).
Hayashi said the result showed that the availability of alternative space for artists in Yogyakarta has given them room to be creative. “The development of alternative space in Yogyakarta has its own history which cannot be understood through western context,” he said.
In his opinion, such development cannot be found elsewhere. The availability of space makes it easier for artists to play their role among society.
In the context of contemporary arts in Yogyakarta, the practices of artists are more focused on their own stance among society instead of a representation of arts. “This means that the move of alternative space in Yogyakarta can be acknowledged as the social practices of artists,” he said.
Meanwhile, architect and observer of cultural heritage from Architecture study programme, Ir. Ika Putra, M.Eng, Ph.D, said the government needs to give access to society to enjoy cultural events, particularly in city roads, including “Access for people with special need,” he said.
In his opinion, visitors to cities who want to enjoy cultural events generally will enjoy access, attraction, and facilities through memories along the roads that they pass through. The memories are then passed on to other people through narrative. “The image of cultural city is understood esthetically through road and environment access they saw,” he said.
Chairman of the meeting, Wulan Tri Astuti, S.S., M.A., said the Forum discusses public space and cultural events in urban areas that can facilitate wider social interaction, particularly in Japan and Indonesia. “This is important to know how culture has become the vehicle for social accessibility in the past and to explore potential in the present and the future to articulate the ‘voice’ of the people,” she said.