Museum MACAN’s Present Continuous / Sekarang Seterusnya is Now Open to the Public!

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Museum MACAN officially opens the exhibition component of its project, Present Continuous / Sekarang Seterusnya, on Saturday, 15 January 2022. Launched in September 2021, Present Continuous / Sekarang Seterusnya is a collaborative project organized and initiated by Museum MACAN, in partnership with five contemporary art organizations across Indonesia: Biennale Jogja, Indeks, Jatiwangi art Factory, LOKA, and Makassar Biennale.

Museum MACAN established Present Continuous / Sekarang Seterusnya in 2021 as a reaction to the COVID-19 pandemic in Indonesia, and sought to initiate a platform where information and research from artistic communities across the country could be shared. Five appointed co-curators: Anwar Jimpe Rachman, Arie Syarifuddin, Elia Nurvista, Putra Hidayatullah, and Rizki Lazuardi together with the Museum MACAN curatorial team embarked on programs of talks, discussions, and online programs, linking audiences across the network in important conversations about the current state of contemporary art practice in Indonesia. Present Continuous / Sekarang Seterusnya has opened critical strands of dialogue and connected artists and their communities across the country, who have shared their diverse perspectives and practices. A comprehensive guide and archive of program resources can be found on their website (www.museummacan.org/exhibition/present-continuous). The exhibition is the culmination of extensive collaboration and research amongst these partner organizations. It includes four artist and two art collectives, who were selected by five co-curators, including;

● Arifa Safura & DJ Rencong (Banda Aceh)

● Mira Rizki (Bandung)

● Muhlis Lugis (Makassar)

● Udeido Collective (Jayapura)

● Unit Pelaksana Terrakota Daerah (Majalengka).

The exhibition explores how artists navigate collective memories; histories of sound, and its relationship to ideas of the neighbourhood; mythology and plants; and artist-led ‘creative’ industries that result in real policy change and ground-up economic development.

The uncertainties emerging from the COVID-19 pandemic have presented the artists and curators with specific challenges in presenting their work to the public. With this in mind, as restrictions on public spaces have slowly relaxed, the exhibition component of Present Continuous / Sekarang Seterusnya was designed to be the final stage of this project. To welcome the year of 2022, Museum MACAN is very pleased to present the exhibition Present Continuous / Sekarang Seterusnya to the public.

Present Continuous / Sekarang Seterusnya is an initiative by Museum MACAN and has been generously supported by Project Eleven (Melbourne, Australia) and Julian & Cahaya Juwadi. With program support by the Museum’s Virtual Program Partner, Festivo and Museum’s Exhibition Sponsor, LG Electronics.