Indonesia | artists in Yogyakarta fight intolerance with creativity

As reported in the Jakarta Post: Yogyakarta artists fight against intolerance :

Artists in Yogyakarta have used a creative way to protest the intolerance that continues to grow in a city that claims to be a dignified city of culture.

At a recent art event, artists created murals and posters and staged musical performances to symbolize their fight against intolerant groups. These intolerant groups have tried to limit artistic freedom of expression of late.

In their resistance, street artists painted several strategic places black. On the Kewek railway bridge, they wrote out a sentence that read penyeragaman membunuh keberagaman ( The process of uniformity kills diversity ). They also created a large question mark painting to call into question the city administration’s tagline: Yogyakarta: city of tolerance.

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Several musicians have also moved to fight against intolerance by creating a group called Saksinada. They want to fight for social change by providing greater room for freedom of expression, tolerance and pluralism.

“We will participate in the fight against social problems. There are many conflicts in Yogyakarta,” said Bagus Dwi Danto, a member of musical group Sisir Tanah, during the launch of Saksinada at the Alliance of Independent Journalists ( AJI ) in Yogyakarta.

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Read full article from Jakarta Post by Bambang Muryanto

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Image: Get up, stand up for your rights – Musicians declare the establishment of Saksinada in Yogyakarta recently. With Saksinada, they want to participate in the fight against various social problems in Yogyakarta. (thejakartapost.com/Bambang Muryanto)