WANITA | Women's Art Network Indonesia to Australia

The exhibition WANITA: Female Artivism – Jakarta runs at Footscray Community Arts Centre, Melbourne from 1 October – 8 November, with a workshop and conversation co-curated by Indonesian contemporary arts collective Ruangrupa, Jakarta. Artists Marishka Soekarna, Ayu Dila Martina and Ika Vantiani have been at the forefront of a new movement in DIY arts ‘n’ crafts in Jakarta, Indonesia. Leaders of brave experimentation and self-created enterprise. Fearless adventurers in painting, fashion, collage, zines, print-making, punk bands and video, these women are paving a new territory for female artists in Indonesia. An exhibition of works (part of Footscray's Collaborate Asia program) features music video clips, crafts, installations and illustration by female contemporary artists of Jakarta. Learn more about the group in an Art Radar interview with Sooji Kim, Co-founder of the WANITA: Women’s Art Network Indonesia to Australia.

In 2014, Australian-Korean artist Sooji Kim set out on a tour to Indonesia with her band Empat Lima. However, she wanted to do more than just perform around the country; she wanted to make the most of their time there by connecting with local artists. That’s when an idea struck her: she would form a network of women artists, WANITA: Women’s Art Network Indonesia to Australia. After the tour, Sooji Kim brought the network back home, introducing WANITA to Australian audiences with a launch event on 29 March 2015 at Copacabana. They invited Indonesian band White Shoes and the Couples Company to perform with them and opened up the event for market stalls and a fashion show, as well as releasing a zine and mixed tape with Indonesian artists they’d met in 2014. In October 2015, the second WANITA event kicks off in Melbourne. Footscray Community Arts Centre will host the exhibition WANITA: Female Artivism – Jakarta (1 October – 8 November), a workshop and conversation curated by Indonesian collective ruangrupa, who helped run the WANITA workshops in 2014 in Jakarta. The theme of the exhibition is ‘works by women’ and features 13 contemporary women artists from Jakarta: Nastasha Abigail, Diela Maharanie, Monica Hapsari, Nengiren, Ruth Marbun, Sanchia Hamidjaja, Aprilia Apsari, Sarita Ibnoe, Yaya Sung, Keke Tumbuan, Ayu Dila Martina, Ika Vantiani and Marishka Soekarna. The artwork ranges from music video clips and collages to zines, prints and illustrations.