Exploring Media Art Curating in Indonesia: A Case Study of a Locally-grown Curator Collective

: Year 2019 seems to be one of the most fascinating years in recent history of Indonesian media art. A number of media art exhibitions and festivals have been anticipated throughout the year by numerous organizers as diverse as artist collectives, independent curators, and government sectors. The return of the Cellsbutton, a media art festival led by Yogyakarta-based new media artist collective, MAG 19, which is the first showcase of Media Arts Globale organized by Europe-settled Indonesian independent curator, and Media Art Week (Pekan Seni Media) and Instrumenta, annual media art festivals hosted by Ministry of Education and Culture in Indonesia are part of this exciting map. In such diverse circumstances, an Indonesian curator collective called ARCOLABS has played an instrumental role in enhancing the development of media art curatorial practices in the country. In this paper, I begin with explaining ARCOLABS’s consistent efforts to building numerous thematic and aesthetic approaches in order to introduce media art exhibitions in Indonesia. Then, I further explore the importance of collaboration in media art curating with various individuals and sectors across disciplines. I also discuss the new role granted to audience at the participatory and interactive structure of the exhibition in which their multiple sensory experiences are the key elements in media art appreciation. Essentially, this paper aims to reveal the various facets of current phenomena of media art practices in Indonesia by answering to the questions of what knowledge is required in curating media art exhibition in terms of theory and practice; what new role is granted to media art curator; and what new experience is expected to audience.