The International Association of Art once stated that a biennale is organised in 46 countries. This means that the huge art event is actually held in nearly a quarter of the world’s countries.
Of all the biennales in the world, the Venice Biennale is considered as one of the most famous art affairs. Staged for the first time in 1895, the Venice Biennale is believed to be the first biennale that inspired other countries to organize the same. For years, biennales have been known among the creative community as grand exhibitions that celebrate contemporary art. They are typically named after the city that organizes them, and is managed by major players within the creative sector: public museums, art and cultural institutions, government and private associations.
From November 5 to December 10, 2017, Jakarta is staging its ninth biennale with the theme jiwa. The curators aim to reinforce how humans use their mental, affective and intuitive capacities to make sense of the world around them. More importantly, the idea behind jiwa is to encourage visitors to use the aforementioned capacities to assess the evolving nature of Indonesian arts and culture.
Apart from art exhibition, visitors are also invited to join a series of programmes that aim to address pressing issues within the Indonesian society such as, talk shows, symposiums and live performances. Participating local museums for this year include the Jakarta History Museum, the Jakarta Museum of Textile, the Museum of Fine Arts and Ceramics, the Museum Prasasti Jakarta and the Wayang Museum.
For those who are curious with how Jakarta Biennale is doing compared to other capital cities, this would be the perfect time to find out.
Jakarta Biennale 2017: JIWA will run until December 10, 2017 at Gudang Sarinah Ekosistem from 11am-7pm. For more information about Jakarta Biennale 2017: JIWA head over to www.jakartabiennale.net.
