13 July - 11 August Exhibition

Peeping the Dance Archive: Drunk with Anything American vis-a-vis National IdentityJogja Dance Trajectory

Cemeti Institute for Art and Society in collaboration with Muhammad AB (researcher)Muhammad AB

This exhibition unearths the archives of two historical choreographers from Yogyakarta, Bagong Kussudiardjo and Wisnu Wardhana through their artistic activities between 1950s and 1960s. Both Bagong and Wishu were the first Indonesian dance artists who traveled to the US for a two-month residency, including a two week stint in the studio of Martha Graham, funded by Rockefeller Foundation. Tracing their journey and how the trip influenced their work as well as their way of building community and infrastructure, researcher Linda Mayasari and Muhammad AB also connect these with a larger political landscape of Indonesia. Particularly, the attempts of building an Indonesian national identity through international cultural missions designed by Indonesia’s charismatic President Soekarno. The exhibition asks how did all these tensions, power relationa and contestations at play unfold; and how did this process shape today’s dance practice and context?

Artist Profile

Muhammad AB was born in Pati, Central Java. He earned a BA in History, Faculty of Cultural Studies, and a MA in Performing Art Studies and Visual Arts - both from University of Gajah Mada, Yogyakarta. H works as actor, writer and researcher.

Performance Schedule

13 July - 11 August (Closed on Sunday and Monday)

Venue

Cemeti - Institute for Art and Society

Venue