Museum MACAN from 15 January until 15 May will hold its new exhibition project titled “Present Continuous / Sekarang Seterusnya”, a collaborative project organised by Museum MACAN in partnership with five contemporary art organisations: Biennale Jogja, Indeks, Jatiwangi art Factory, LOKA and Makassar Biennale.

According to Museum MACAN Director and Project Director of “Present Continuous / Sekarang Seterusnya” Aaron Seeto, the pandemic has required them to imagine new ways to connect artists and audience, as well as to think differently about research and collaboration.

“We came to the realisation that organisational collaboration, where we can bring together curators who are working on the field in their own cities and neighbourhoods, could be one way to work through these structural limitations. This is what led to ‘Present Continuous / Sekarang Seterusnya,’” he stated. 

The exhibition is co-curated by Anwar Jimpe Rachman, Arie Syarifuddin, Elia Nurvista, Putra Hidayatullah and Rizki Lazuardi along with Museum MACAN’s curatorial team. 

The five co-curators have selected four artists and two art collectives, namely Arifa Safura and DJ Rencong from Banda Aceh, Mira Rizki from Bandung, Muhlis Lugis from Makassar, Udeido Collective from Jayapura and Unit Pelaksana Terrakota Daerah from Majalengka.

Each artist and art collective explores the relationship to ideas of the neighbourhood; mythology and plants; and artist-led “creative” industries that result in real policy change and ground-up economic development.

Dicky Takndare from Udeido Collective said that for the exhibition, Udeido incorporates local wisdom from Papua in the past, including philosophy, beliefs, local knowledge, folklore, or songs with the current contemporary narratives. Similarly, Muhlis Lugis brings a traditional ritual from his hometown, Bugis, to his work. 

Arifa Safura who collaborates with DJ Rencong and Mira Rizki put emphasis on sound and music. Arifa created an installation and produced the music, paintings and sketches derived from the collective memories and narratives of two women who experienced trauma from conflict in Aceh. 

Mira Rizki explores the concept of “gated communities” within the Regol district in Bandung, observing a changing sonic environment within the urban middle-class .