Art Stage Jakarta, a spin-off of Art Stage Singapore, will provide “a window and a bridge” between Indonesia’s art scene and the world’s, says Lorenzo Rudolf, the president and founder of both fairs. The inaugural edition is opening in the Indonesian capital today (5 August).
The archipelago of 260 million people has “the biggest art market in Southeast Asia, and the biggest Asian collector base after China”, Rudolf says. Its lively artist community benefits from a loyal base of local collectors and public support, but lacks international exposure and a strong gallery infrastructure. “Being closed off means Indonesian artists do not copy Western stars,” Rudolf adds.
Times are changing, as the country’s first international Modern and contemporary art museum prepares to open in Jakarta in March 2017. Rudolf predicts the Museum MACAN, founded and backed by the Indonesian philanthropist and collector Haryanto Adikoesoemo, “will be the most important contemporary art museum in Southeast Asia”.
But the flavour of the first Art Stage Jakarta is local. Fifty galleries—mostly from Southeast Asia and 16 from Indonesia—have confirmed their participation so far, the organisers say. The director Leo Silitonga says the fair will “first and foremost present Modern and contemporary art from Indonesia”.
Indonesian collectors including Deddy Kusuma, Tom Tandio and Melani Setiawan are lending works to a separate 600 sq. m section organised by the curator Enin Supriyanto. This will include Indonesian artists such as the painter I Nyoman Masriadi and the performer Melati Suryodarmo as well as China’s Zhang Xiaogang, the Philippines’ Ronald Ventura and Japan’s Ryoji Ikeda.
Art Stage Jakarta joins the existing Indonesian fairs Art Jog, a festival staged by artists working in Jogjakarta, and Bazaar Art Jakarta, which was established in 2009 and formerly directed by Silitonga. This year’s edition of Bazaar Art runs just weeks after Art Stage, from 25 to 28 August. “At first we approached them to co-operate, and they agreed,” Rudolf says. This idea fell through but, he says, “it was never my intention to work against them.”
Art Stage Jakarta’s relationship with its Singapore parent will be complementary, Rudolf says, reflecting the balance between Indonesia’s rich culture and Singapore’s international infrastructure. Although Art Stage Singapore has developed a platform for Southeast Asian art since 2011, “if Jakarta remains more for Indonesia, that is OK”, he says.
• Art Stage Jakarta, Level 3, Sheraton Grand Jakarta Gandaria City, Jl. Sultan Iskandar Muda, Kebayoran Jakarta, Indonesia, 5-7 August