Author: Mara Djukaric

People 2023

Published by Mara Djukaric

PARTICIPANTS We are happy to present you the Transcultural Collaboration participants of 2023, connecting students from eight countries and several different Art Schools. To give you a chance to get to know the participants better, we asked them to talk to us about their motivations, their passion for collaboration, their concerns regarding their artistic practice and about what makes them feel safe. When do you feel safe to create?HO Tsz Long Lucy: My work aesthetic is based on doing something meaningless in response to the Nobodies in society. Nobody who is always being ignored by society. At the same time those Nobodies make up a crucial part of society, they contribute the most but stay invisible, without their contributions being properly acknowledged and valued. Through my meaningless actions I try to raise awareness for Nobody, communicating that their effort is important and valuable to me. Trying to make them feel loved. What motivates you for your work?SAHA Aparupa: What motivates me to work is to find a space for myself in which I can connect …

Polychronic Traces

Published by Mara Djukaric

An exploration of the perception of time through capturing moments instead of time. The experience of a slower pace and the unpredictable natural conditions raise questions about the meaning of time. Perceptions of time vary and are linked to different values. Caught in the construct of time, we sometimes get lost in thoughts about the future and miss the moment. But where are the boundaries of the present in the flow of time?

Gula is never sold out — a performance

Published by Mara Djukaric

Why is everything here so sweet? Life in Jogja is sweet, maybe extremely sweet; from its food and beverages to its cigarettes… Somehow, despite its adverse effects, sugar sweetens our life. Gula is never sold out is a long duration performance, which recreates the production process of sugar. From line work to service, the work takes a playful approach on this historically loaded ingredient.

Sisilah

Published by Mara Djukaric

Mount Merapi, one of the most active stratovolcanoes in the world, is wrapped in many layers of hidden histories, local myths, and constant surveillance of data collecting technology. Artists, scientists, academics and many more have been fascinated by this entity, resulting in many trans-collaborative projects and approaches trying to capture its essence.

One encounter, one chance

Published by Mara Djukaric

Our performance was based highly on trust and understanding, and we decided to take some risks. Our references were mostly performance artists such as Anne Imhof, Bill Viola, Guoqiang Tsai, Marina Abramović, and Tehching Hsieh. We agreed that the piece should include a certain extent of interaction with the audience and be presented in a fine art context. Without a plot, there would certainly be some surprises, and the right attitude to face them was to improvise within our roles. With rigorous concentration, exhaustion of the physical body, and deprivation of verbal communication, we tried out different things within three hours.

Occasionally Static Flow

Published by Mara Djukaric

We meet many strangers in our daily life. Everyone has their own life path . I imagine the possibility of dialogue in these daily encounters. I found that by listening to different people’s stories, I could make a vivid connection to the city. The first person in Yogya to tell me his story was Seyang, a bentor driver. Through his personal story, I felt the lifeline of the city from his personal story with its individual history.

Straight Gay

Published by Mara Djukaric

Puppets don’t have life. But they tell stories. Well…we tell stories. This story is about a boy who got his adventure in a totally different world. If it sounds familiar to you, we assure you there will be something new. Like the boy can be you and me, and this strange fantasy world is actually not very far from us.

Interview with Brigitta Isabella

Published by Mara Djukaric

Brigitta is a member of the art collective and study forum named KUNCI. It experiments with methods in producing and sharing knowledge through the acts of studying together at the intersections between affective, manual and intellectual labor. Since its founding in 1999 in Yogyakarta, Indonesia, KUNCI has been continuously transforming its structure, ways and medium of working.

Inputs & Workshops Singapore

Published by Mara Djukaric

Darren Moore, born in Scotland, raised in Australia and based in Singapore, is a drummer and electronic musician who works in jazz, experimental music and multimedia throughout South East Asia, Australia, Japan and Europe. In 2006 he moved to Singapore to become a Lecture in Music at Lasalle, where he taught popular music studies, drum set and creative improvisation. In 2015 he moved to Tokyo, where he worked freelance as a musician and taught a music appreciation course at Hosei University. In 2018, he returned to Lasalle to continue working as a Lecturer in Music. Darren was an undergraduate student at the Western Australian Conservatorium, where he completed a Certificate in Classical Percussion in 1993 and a Bachelor of Music in Jazz Drumming in 1997. His commitment to education and research saw Darren complete a Doctorate of Musical Arts at the Queensland Conservatorium in 2013, which looked at adapting Carnatic Indian rhythms to the drum set. Introduction to Singapore’s History and its Policy of “Multiracialism” | by Audrey WONGAny visitor to Singapore would be struck …

Guest speakers 22

Published by Mara Djukaric

ZurichDaniel Späti, Head of Transcultural CollaborationProf. Dr. Sophia Prinz, Professor of Design Theory and History, ZHdKMonique Ligtenberg, Research Assistant, Institute of History, ETH ZurichDaniel Ryser, Journalist, RepublikKatharina Morawek, Institut Neue SchweizYuvikki Dioh, Diversity Agent, Schauspielhaus ZurichProf. Dr. Jörg Scheller, ZHdKMonique Ligtenberg, Research Assistant, Institute of History, ETH ZurichMarc Dussellier, Artist/ActivistTakuro Mizuta, DJ sniffMihaela Drăgan, Actor, Roma Activist SingaporeDarren Moore, drummer and electronic musicianAudrey Wong, arts educator, manager and researcherRobert Liew, artistic directorJeffrey Say, art historianAndy Chia, an Artistic Director, Artist/Musician, Producer, and ComposerWANG Chi-Sui, associate professor in Animation Department, Taipei National University of the ArtsDr. S. Chandrasekan, accomplished artistUrich Lau Wai-Yuen, video art, photography, and printmakingJennifer Teo, cultural worker, artist and curatorDayal Gian Singh, producer, actor, singer, writer, filmmaker and corporate trainerVenkaPurushothaman, art writer and arts & cultural leader YogyakartaProfessor St. Sunardi, Universitas Sanata DharmaRangga Purbaya, Visual artistMella Jaarsma, Dutch artistBayu Widodo, Visual artist and activistSigit Pius, Artist and curatorTeater Garasi, Theatre collectiveSURVIVE! Garage, Community alternative space and artIVAA, Indonesian Visual Arts ArchiveLifepatch, Art collectiveKUNCI, Study Forum & CollectiveAce House Collective, Art CollectiveRuang Mes 56, …

Inputs & Workshops Yogyakarta

Published by Mara Djukaric

In Indonesia, the year 1965 stands for political unrest and mass killings. Processing the events collectively and publicly has been challenging until today. With Professor St. Sunardi (Universitas Sanata Dharma) and visual artist Rangga Purbaya (Ruang Mes 56) we learned about the sociopolitically pressing issue of 1965 and how the aftermath of the events and anti-communist phobia is shaping the country’s present. How to artistically deal with suppressed information, incomplete stories, lost voices? How could a public participation in collecting memories and counter-narratives take shape? And did the collective experience of loss foster an aesthetics of melancholia?  With artists Mella Jaarsma, Bayu Widodo and Sigit Pius we discussed the complex cultural landscape of Yogyakarta, local myths and the challenges of a multi-ethnic, multi-religious society: Dutch artist Mella Jaarsma has lived in Indonesia for the past 40 years. She utilizes her work in order to reflect and comment on socio-political issues. She presented a selection of works connected to questions of religion and cultural diversity. For Binds & Blinds (2017) for example, she made an open …

Inputs & Workshops Zurich

Published by Mara Djukaric

Phase 1: Exploration and Experimentation, Zurich, 23 August – 16 September Lecture: On Transcultural CollaborationDaniel Späti, Head of Transcultural CollaborationGeneral introduction to the programme, its basic motivation and development, its structure and learning goals. Differentiation of terms cross-/inter-/transcultural. Lecture: Introduction Transculturality & Postcolonial TheoryProf. Dr. Sophia Prinz, Professor of Design Theory and History, ZHdKBasic terminologies (culture) and practical examples of “things inbetween” (exemplary on examples of ceramics). Theoretical background of postcolonial theory and decolonization. Walk: Colonial ZurichMonique Ligtenberg, Research Assistant, Institute of History, ETH ZurichGuided tour in Zurich to different locations, where traces of colonialism can be found to understand Switzerland’s colonial ties. Lecture: Information WarDaniel Ryser, Journalist, RepublikIn recent years, scientific knowledge and information in mass media is questioned by specific groups to manipulate public opinion and gain power (fake news, media manipulation, propaganda). Daniel Ryser exemplifies this development based on the Swiss media landscape and the influence of a highly influential right wing network. Lecture: Memory Culture and Post-Migratory Transformation in SwitzerlandKatharina Morawek, Institut Neue Schweiz, BaselDiscussions around diversity and memory culture are …

Faculty Team 22

Published by Mara Djukaric

Daniel Späti, Head of Transcultural CollaborationDaniel Späti originally studied design and worked for Bally, a global fashion brand, in his early career. In 2001, he was appointed as a lecturer in the Design Department at the Zurich School of Art and Design (HGKZ, since 2007 ZHdK). Soon afterwards, he became part of the leading team tasked with establishing the new BA Trends & Identity. Passionate about music and cultural events, Daniel has been organising concerts, club events and performances at various locations and festivals in Zurich since 2004. When Zurich University of the Arts (ZHdK) was founded in 2007, he began working across the creative disciplines and initiated the first international summer school, which welcomed students from all departments. In 2013, he further developed the summer school into the internationally unique semester programme “Transcultural Collaboration” and acquired seven partner universities to join. In 2017, he became head of ZHdK’s strategic initiative assigned with developing a sustainable approach to internationalisation called “Connecting Spaces Hong Kong – Zurich” (2013-2018). Based on their experiences and the established network, …

Whispers of Another Other

Published by Mara Djukaric

The children’s game “Chinese Whispers” is the starting point of a reflection on biases within communication. By including artificial intelligence as a player, we confront ourselves with the notion of “Othering”. Image generating and captioning software is looped together to exacerbate the system’s biases, while an AI voice calling on a telephone complains about its work being criticized.

1. What is your most intense
memory of TC?

Published by Mara Djukaric

2. In what way did TC change your view on your own culture when you returned home? 3. Was there anything that you observed, but didn’t express, that you would like to tell today? 4. Did you have the feeling that you hurt somebody or did you get hurt in the programme? 5. When you are thinking of youreveryday life: What comes to your mind related to the terms “taking a look at” and “look away”? 6. What do you see in the space in which you are at the moment? 7. This question was forwarded to you by your predecessor in the interview series: … 8. What question would you like to forward to the next person in the interview series?

2. In what way did TC change your view on your own culture when you returned home?

Published by Mara Djukaric

1. What is your most intensememory of TC? 3. Was there anything that you observed, but didn’t express, that you would like to tell today? 4. Did you have the feeling that you hurt somebody or did you get hurt in the programme? 5. When you are thinking of youreveryday life: What comes to your mind related to the terms “taking a look at” and “look away”? 6. What do you see in the space in which you are at the moment? 7. This question was forwarded to you by your predecessor in the interview series: … 8. What question would you like to forward to the next person in the interview series?

3. Was there anything that you observed, but didn’t express, that you would like to tell today?

Published by Mara Djukaric

1. What is your most intensememory of TC? 2. In what way did TC change your view on your own culture when you returned home? 4. Did you have the feeling that you hurt somebody or did you get hurt in the programme? 5. When you are thinking of youreveryday life: What comes to your mind related to the terms “taking a look at” and “look away”? 6. What do you see in the space in which you are at the moment? 7. This question was forwarded to you by your predecessor in the interview series: … 8. What question would you like to forward to the next person in the interview series?

4. Did you have the feeling that you hurt somebody or did you get hurt in the programme?

Published by Mara Djukaric

1. What is your most intensememory of TC? 2. In what way did TC change your view on your own culture when you returned home? 3. Was there anything that you observed, but didn’t express, that you would like to tell today? 5. When you are thinking of youreveryday life: What comes to your mind related to the terms “taking a look at” and “look away”? 6. What do you see in the space in which you are at the moment? 7. This question was forwarded to you by your predecessor in the interview series: … 8. What question would you like to forward to the next person in the interview series?

5. When you are thinking of your
everyday life: What comes to your mind related to the terms “taking a look at” and “look away”?

Published by Mara Djukaric

1. What is your most intensememory of TC? 2. In what way did TC change your view on your own culture when you returned home? 3. Was there anything that you observed, but didn’t express, that you would like to tell today? 4. Did you have the feeling that you hurt somebody or did you get hurt in the programme? 6. What do you see in the space in which you are at the moment? 7. This question was forwarded to you by your predecessor in the interview series: … 8. What question would you like to forward to the next person in the interview series?

6. What do you see in the space in which you are at the moment?

Published by Mara Djukaric

1. What is your most intensememory of TC? 2. In what way did TC change your view on your own culture when you returned home? 3. Was there anything that you observed, but didn’t express, that you would like to tell today? 4. Did you have the feeling that you hurt somebody or did you get hurt in the programme? 5. When you are thinking of youreveryday life: What comes to your mind related to the terms “taking a look at” and “look away”? 7. This question was forwarded to you by your predecessor in the interview series: … 8. What question would you like to forward to the next person in the interview series?