The Living Room as a Political SpaceThe Living Room as a Political Space

In Indonesia, contemporary art spaces often originate in private contexts and thus fade the distinction between public and private. Cemeti is one of the first contemporary art platforms in the country and emerged in 1988 in the domestic circles of its founders, Mella Jaarsma and Nindityo Adipurnomo.

This workshop will start with a viewing of the video work Tur Pertama Rumah Pertama (The First Tour of The First House) by Dito. In this work, Dito explored Cemeti’s history to understand its spatial historical narratives and the conflation of public and private that characterizes it. Following this, the workshop opens up into a wider discussion on the cultural and political dimensions of the living room, as well as the tensions between the public and the domestic, the informal and the institutional. The discussion will include reflections from artist/teacher reinaart vanhoe, artist/curator Angga Cipta, researcher Delany Boutkan, and others, based on their experience running different artistic practice spaces in domestic and institutional settings.

What if we view the domestic sphere as the earliest space for political encounter? The home, then, forms a tangible vessel for the institution of family, with its power dynamics, hierarchies, resource distribution and physical boundaries that become miniature reflections of broader societal structures. Building on Dito’s project Ruang Politik Pertama Bernama Rumah (The First Political Space Called Home), this workshop is an invitation to relate to the house as a political site – on a personal level or beyond.

• 15:00-17:00 Workshop/conversation
• 17:00-18:00 Drinks