Jakarta Biennale 2013

Venue: Plaza and basement of Taman Ismail Marzuki

9-30 November 2013

Artistic Director: Ade Darmawan
Main Curator: Hafiz Rancajale (Indonesia)

In 2013, the Jakarta Biennale arrived with the 15th edition. The theme chosen was “Siasat”. With this, the 2013 Jakarta Biennale wanted to reexamine the citizen’s position and artistic practices in getting around all the limitations, uncertainties, problems, threats, potentials, and opportunities faced in the city spaces and how these strategies were born organically, growing in fits and starts to become their own structures and patterns, and to finally play a role in the city life. These strategies grew in the already fragmented city of Jakarta, a city that has no whole or comprehensive spatial experience for its citizens. That’s why since 2009 the Jakarta Biennale had not only displayed works in the exhibition hall, but also held art projects and artistic interventions in urban spaces. The 2013 Jakarta Biennale tried to expand artistic experiences in areas that had not been touched by contemporary art activities, such as the East, West, and North. Artists, both individuals and collectives, from within and outside the country, were challenged to process their artistic ideas in public spaces, which in this year’s event were manifested in markets, parks, city walls, schools, and settlements. At the next level, it was very important to see the art practices that involved themselves with social issues as part of daily struggles, so that these were not only celebrated but also questioned, criticized, and optimized. Therefore, the focus this time was on project-based works, research, interdisciplinary work, and joint works that involved citizens’ participation.