During a residency period of three months, Dutch artists as well as Indonesian artists are ‘landing’ in Yogyakarta. In LANDING SOON, the local, as well as the global, are researched through different themes, visions and conditions. Artists are given the opportunity to concentrate on their work and go into depth by experimenting and interacting with other artists, professionals and specific communities.

LANDING SOON is a three year exchange programme organised by Artoteek Den Haag, The Netherlands and Cemeti Art House, Yogyakarta, Indonesia.

This project is supported by Artoteek Den Haag, the Netherlands and the Culture & Development Programme of the Royal Netherlands Embassy in Jakarta.

About the LANDING SOON Residency Program

Concrete information on the Landing Soon residency program since 2006 can be broken down into three general categories:
a. period of creatively producing ideas of aesthetics and ethics;
b. period of assisting art and community movements in Yogyakarta;
c. period of encouraging young artists to dive into the discourse of the contemporary art world.

The Cemeti Residency Studio is supported by an infrastructure of one studio manager, an assistant artist who is rotated every three months, and a night guard and household staff.  The participating artists are free of financial burdens for accommodations and living costs for three months.  The artists receive financial support for experimentation of ideas, aesthetic production and preparation of a catalogue.  The exhibition and presentation space at Cemeti Art House is available for one week.

The initial three weeks following arrival are for introductions and adjustment to the climate.  The artists are required to make a presentation on the development of their individual projects in the second or third week to a forum of artists from various disciplines, art activists, art critics, journalists, etc.  This forum is intended as an effort to neutralize the curriculum vitae references of the individual artists, so that they will integrate and mix more easily with their environment, and better understand and appreciate each other.

At the same time, this forum serves as a witness that their residencies have begun. During the first four to six weeks, the artists, both individually and collectively must design a form of discussion around their works through a lecture course or seminar, workshop and training, along with appreciation in another form intended as a form of assisting art in the community.  With the passing of the first six weeks, the following weeks through the closing of the exhibition and presentation are the peak of their creative work.

As selected artists, they receive assistance, guidance, and support from the studio manager through weekly progress reports.  Support for their ideas and explanations from expert resources, including anthropologists, architects, geologists, curators, sociologists, non-government organization activists, traditional artists, puppet masters, musicians, craftspeople, artisans, film makers, and other experts, can be arranged by the studio manager to support the creative work processes.

Selection for participating artists in the LANDING SOON residency

Every residency period lasts three months.  There is one local artist (from Indonesia) and one Dutch artist.  The selection of Dutch artists is conducted by Heden, Kunst van Nu (Heden, Art from Now), The Hague, which was formerly known as Artoteek Den Haag, while Cemeti Art House conducts the selection of local artists.

Cemeti Art House conducts a screening through proposals of residency artist candidates that are submitted by post or e-mail.  Cemeti Art House also conducts direct appointments based on potential candidates who are considered to be capable and fulfill the criteria, have worked with a particular media for more than five years, actively explore ideas, and interact or communicate easily in English.

The two participating artists will have an assistant who will introduce them to the social cultural art network in Yogyakarta, bring them materials, introduce them to traditional handicraft techniques, home and industries, and artisans in Yogyakarta.  In this way, it is hoped that the artist participants can avoid any technical obstacles in their artistic productions.  Rather, they encounter more challenges and encouragement to work on and develop their ideas and inspirations. The assistant artist in this residency serves as the resident artists’ right hand.

Active participation of resident LANDING SOON artists in the international discourse of art

The interaction of the resident artists during the art and community activities has become strategic training to prepare the artists for participation in the international discourse of art. discussions and face-to-face encounters in ‘artist talks’, seminars, and formal courses for education and art training at academies such as the Indonesian Institute for the Arts (ISI) in Yogyakarta and Solo, Jakarta Institute for the Arts in Jakarta, the Architecture department at Duta Wacana University in Yogyakarta, the Anthropology department at Gadjah Mada University in Yogyakarta, galleries and non-commercial museums, alternative teaching spaces, and public art education venues, such as Kinoki, Kine Club Yogyakarta, French-Indonesian Institute, Cakrawala Learning Laboratory, Papermoon, Insomnium in Malang, Children’s Studio at Taman Budaya, Yakkum Center for Handicapped Children, junior and senior high schools in Yogyakarta, non-government organizations, and study centers for urban development, such as Green Map.

Not many contemporary artists, curators and young art aficionados have actively participated in international art forums, such as Biennales and Triennials, in the last decade.  Just the opposite, the overflowing of participation by Indonesian artists in auctions, art fairs and competitions to compete for nominal prizes represents a unique global phenomenon that demands attention.

LANDING SOON #1 artist, Arya Panjalu, continued his work in a residency program in The Hague, the Netherlands, with Sara Nuyteman.  Tintin Wulia, a LANDING SOON #5 artist, participated in an exhibition with 35 international artists in Vanabbemuseum in Eindhoven, the Netherlands. Jompet, a LANDING SOON #4 artist, is preparing new work for the Yokohama Triennial this November.  Finally, Wimo Ambala Bayang is preparing for a group exhibition with Dutch artists in The Hague, after finishing a touring exhibition of the historical project, ‘The Past, The Forgotten Times’. (Read the latest news at www.cemetiarthouse.com)