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View all search resultsIndonesian contemporary art finds a voice in Sydney
From volcanic ash to intricate crochet, 10 artists of Indonesian heritage explore memory, history and the natural world in a Sydney exhibition that invites viewers to reconsider how contemporary art engages with the past.
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Reading the work: A visitor reads on Aug. 28, 2026, an artwork caption in the Tapestry of Encounters: Contemporary Indonesian Art at Western Sydney University in Australia. (JP/Dina Indrasafitri)
T
he contemporary art scene in Sydney has seen fewer Indonesian-Australian collaborations than in Melbourne, where experimental projects have long connected the city's inner-north artist enclaves with creative communities in Yogyakarta.
Over the years, these exchanges have produced collaborations such as The Instrument Builders Project, which helped bring wider attention to curator Kristi Monfries and artist Wukir Suryadi.
Sydney has its own Indonesian creative voices, ranging from groups such as Suara Indonesia Dance to Indonesian-born musician Putrika, whose recent LP Wanita adds to the city's cultural mix. Yet opportunities to encounter Indonesian contemporary art remain relatively limited.
Tapestry of Encounters: Contemporary Indonesian Art offers one such opportunity. Held at Western Sydney University from Aug. 19 to Nov. 6, the exhibition brings together 10 artists of Indonesian heritage whose works explore the intersections of tradition, memory and individual and collective histories.
Organized by the university’s Institute for Australian and Asian Arts and Culture (IAC) in partnership with Sydney's Redbase Gallery and Melbourne's Kabo Art Collector, it brings these works to a part of Sydney whose cultural diversity offers fertile ground for encounters across artistic traditions.
Body, land and memories
The exhibition features Agus Wijaya, Citra Sasmita, Ari Bayuaji, Faelerie, Made Wiguna Valasara, Lutfi Yanuar, Andres Anagarrd, I Made Widya Diputra, Antonio S. Sinaga and Desrat Fianda.
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