The Drift-Kōrewa: ruangrupa Podcast Series

As part of Te Kōrewa-The Drift, a curatorial programming platform initiated by Artspace Aotearoa, ruangrupa were invited to collaborate and organise a series of digital ‘studio visits’ that take to its core the concept of Lumbung which is a type of collective governance that ruangrupa have implemented to form the curatorial base for documenta fifteen.
These events took place between November 2020 until January 2021. They intend to give insight within the unique cultural and social position of Aotearoa as a place for cultural and artistic production as well as offering examples of sharing approaches in proximity and relevance to Aotearoa.

The visits focus on examples of collective approaches within various fields of the creative sector that continue to produce clear alternatives within artistic work and often centralise Indigenous pathways. The following conversations in this series are a starting point as we acknowledge the importance of non-urban activity plays, especially here in Aotearoa.

You can listen to the whole talk series here.

ruangrupa

ruangrupa is a Jakarta-based collective established in 2000. It is a non-profit organisation that strives to support the idea of art within an urban and cultural context by involving artists and other disciplines, such as the social sciences, politics, technology, media, etc., to offer critical observations and views on Indonesian contemporary urban issues.
The Indonesian word “ruangrupa” loosely translates as “a space for art” or “a space form.” ruangrupa also produce collaborative works in the form of art projects such as exhibitions, festivals, art labs, workshops, research projects, as well as books, magazines, and online-journal publications. ruangrupa’s work is an all-encompassing social, spatial, and personal practice, strongly linked to Indonesian culture in which friendship, solidarity, and community are central values.
ruangrupa runs an art space in South Jakarta. The collective has participated in many cooperative projects and exhibitions, including the Gwangju Biennale (2002 and 2018), the Istanbul Biennial (2005), the Asia Pacific Triennial of Contemporary Art (Brisbane, 2012), the Singapore Biennale (2011), the São Paulo Biennial (2014), the Aichi Triennale (Nagoya, 2016), and Cosmopolis at the Centre Pompidou (Paris, 2017). In 2016, ruangrupa curated transACTION: Sonsbeek 2016 in Arnhem, the Netherlands. In 2018, the collective (together with two other Jakarta-based collectives, Serrum and Grafis Huru Hara) founded GUDSKUL, an educational and networking project for creatives based on cooperative work. At documenta 14, ruangrupa participated with its internet radio station as a partner of the decentralized radio project Every Time a Ear di Soun, which brought together eight radio stations from around the world.

Lumbung

Lumbung as an artistic and economic model will be practiced alongside its values of collectivity, generosity, humor, trust, independence, curiosity, endurance, regeneration, transparency, sufficiency, and connectivity between a multiplicity of locales, rendering them planetary as a result.

Talk 1: High Energy Schooling
TCB Arts, Artery, Samoa House.

This talk looks at self organised educational models. How have certain artists organised themselves where there is a disbelief in universities? TCB Art and Artery from Melbourne Australia will be speaking with Samoa House, an artist-run library that was initiated after the closure of the local art school library closure.

Talk 2: Refusal
Nigel Borell, Tanu Gago, Leilani Kake, Iokapeta Magele-Suamasi, Ema Tavola.

The second iteration of the ruangrupa, titled Refusal looks at the uneven power dynamics between Indigenous people, institutions and the level of commitment between both parties. This podcast features; Nigel Borell, Tanu Gago, Leilani Kake, Iokapeta Magele-Suamasi and Ema Tavola. This talk provides an insight into alternative modes of artistic expression and organisation, that look to community consultation as the primary informant of making and doing.

Talk 3: The Echo
Samara Alofa, Nikolai, Lucreccia Quintanilla and Liquid Architecture.

For The Echo we invite Samara Alofa, Nikolai, Luccrecia Quintanilla to speak with Liquid Architecture, who have been working with artists who work with sound and listening. Liquid Architecture investigates the sounds themselves, the ideas communicated and the meanings around sound in relation to the act of listening.

Talk 4: Tuakana
Ngahuia Harrison, Cameron Ah Loo-Matamua, Leah Mulgrew, Bridget Riggir-Cuddy Ashleigh Taupaki, and Jasmine Tuiā.

This conversation is an opportunity to look at the tuakana / teina concept, a way of understanding mentorship and education embedded within Indigenous knowledge. Looking for increasing opportunities to share work and peer review, more artists in Aotearoa are organising themselves within this framework for support.