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For an entire month, starting December 2009, a major arts event has been held throughout the city of Yogyakarta, combining the spirit of popular art with the spirit of gotong royong, mutual self-help, for which the people of this city of culture are renowned. The Tenth Jogja Biennial (Biennale Jogja X) aims to be the starting point for true biennales in Indonesia.

Participants range from well-known musicians such as Djaduk Ferianto to women porters from Pasar Beringharjo traditional market. Performances ranging from Jathilan Kontemporer (a dance with mock horses) to a Parade of Ogoh-ogoh (giant statues) from Sanggar Dewata Bali enlivened the event.

More than 300 individuals and community groups are taking part in Biennale Jogja. They include contemporary artists whose works fetch billions of rupiah, such as Entang Wiharso, Nyoman Masriadi, Putu Sutawijaya, Ivan Sagita, and traditional artists who work behind the scenes at Wayang Orang performances, such as Mbah Ledjar Subroto and Mbah Sucipto.
Even the organizing committee is diverse, including both culture expert DR Sindunata SJ and Gandung, a becak driver who also gives massages.

Thus, it was entirely appropriate that on the opening night, the Minister of Culture and Tourism, Jero Wacik, said, “People always think of Yogyakarta as a city teeming with artists. It’s really easy to name 100 artists from Yogyakarta – Affandi, Rendra, Joko Pekik, Butet, and so many more. No wonder Yogyakarta is often called the City of Artists. And by holding this Tenth Jogja Biennale, culture is being placed in its proper position as the identity of the nation, not just a supporting factor that gets commercialized to promote tourism.”

According to the Director of Biennale X, Butet Kartaredjasa, the event is expected to serve as a medium for exchange of ideas among artists, a benchmark, and a venue for them to achieve greater prestige.

“Starting now, we’re learning not to simply buy and sell works on display. We are presenting this biennale in the same spirit as real biennales in other countries – more a festival than a commercial event,” he said.

Butet added that this effort to distance the event from the possibility of economic “contamination,” including by not having auctions of the works being displayed, does not indicate arrogance on the part of artists.

“Sultan Hamengku Buwono X strongly supports establishing a foundation, which is needed to facilitate Jogja Biennale activities in the future. It’s hoped that this institution could run the Biennale permanently, rather than having to set up a fresh organizing committee each time, as it’s always been up to now,” said Butet.

Gugur Gunung, another term for the aforementioned gotong royong, is easy to sense in the organization of this Biennale. The support of the local community is strongly evident everywhere. A whiteboard outside the Secretariat Office in a corner of Taman Budaya Yogyakarta is full of names of volunteers who are serving coffee and tea non-stop; artists, journalists and the cultural elite are hanging out this cultural center and exchanging ideas nearly 24 hours a day.

Works are on display not just at Taman Budaya Yogyakarta and the Bank Indonesia Building but also at the Jogja National Museum and Sangkring Art Space in the middle of Nitiprayan Village, Bantul Regency. All corners of the city – bus terminals, train stations, airports, major intersections, sidewalks, the Alun-Alun, billboards, and even red-light areas – are displaying works by from the Biennale participants.

The theme of Biennale Jogja X is “Jogja Jamming: Art Archives Movement” – proof that Yogyakarta is not just a City of Culture but also a city that has given birth to and raised artists who have become world famous.

This open and conducive situation is evidence that artists don’t see Yogya as just a place to live, but also as a place to transform their knowledge about art into reality in public spaces.
“During this month, we’re basically going to surround the whole city with art works. We’re Jamming so that people will know this is Yogyakarta – the barometer for arts in Indonesia”, said one member of the organizing committee.

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