practice engagement – tiny revolutions

presented at psbk in yogyakarta, and komunitas salihara in jakarta, the work underwent a rigorous cultural exchange in both the lead up to our travels to indonesia, and once on the ground. this presentation of tiny revolutions was delivered entirely in bahasa indonesian, with local indonesian collaborating artist rebels. this process transformed the work into being uniquely specific and responsive to place.

we worked with 14 local artist rebel collaborators across the two venues in the presentation of tiny revolutions, undertaking an in-depth rehearsal period prior to presentation at each venue. this also ensured that the local artists had input and extensive agency in translating the work into an indonesian context.

in yogyakarta, we worked with indonesian composer and gamelan musician kidjing jenar, who created a completely new and original sound score for the yogyakarta presentation of the work. this deepened the cultural collaboration and exchange, situating and immersing the work more specifically into indonesian culture. kidjing performed part of the score live for the jogyakarta presentations, as audiences entered and exited the performance space.

tiny revolutions had 3 presentations in yogyakarta, and 2 presentations in jakarta. at komunitas salihara in jakarta, the work was presented as part of LIFes – a literature and ideas festival. the programming of tiny revolutions as part of this larger festival focused primarily on the written and spoken word, expanded our audience reach while also challenging and reframing perceptions of live performance for festival goers.

other notable highlights included:

a ‘selamatan’ on arrival at psbk in yogyakarta – a javanese ceremony to symbolize social unity and celebrate important events. this ceremony involved a welcome speech and prayer, and a feast of local traditional foods.

the fundraiser for a local screen-printing artist collective in yogyakarta to set up a screen-printing station at the psbk performances, for audiences to have t-shirts screen printed with tiny revolutions iconography. this extended the reach of the event to support and fundraise for this local artist collective, who had recently lost their premises in a devastating fire.

the presence of undercover police attending the show as participating audience members at psbk in yogyakarta, due to the contentious use of the word ‘revolution’ in the title of the show! this also speaks to cultural differences, the political landscape of indonesia, and the significance of this work being presented in this environment.

a celebratory closing lunch in yogyakarta for the entire psbk and tiny revolutions team, at a local restaurant overlooking the city, with a very considered and beautifully facilitated debrief and feedback discussion.

notably, this was the first time that these two presenting organisations – psbk in jogyakarta and komunitas salihara in jakarta – had collaborated and co-presented an artistic work. the significance of this collaboration was highlighted by the director of salihara, and select local artist rebels for the jakarta presentation, traveling to jogyakarta especially to attend the psbk presentation of tiny revolutions, in support of the work ahead of the presentations in jakarta. we hope this co-presentation model for tiny revolutions is the first of many collaborations for these two organisations in indonesia!

pvi collective experienced a profoundly beautiful and deeply meaningful exchange through this project, with exceptionally generous hosting by both presenting venues and their staff. this project marks the beginning of longer term relationships, and potential for future ongoing collaborations.

a massive thank you to keni soeriaatmadja, and our incredible indonesian rebel artists – for guiding the creative process from the inside with generosity and trust, bringing humour, insight and heart with their fearless creative spirits!

and finally a big thank you to jeannie park and ening nurjanah, directors of psbk and komunitas salihara respectively, for their generous hospitality and fierce commitment to bringing tiny revolutions to indonesia!

rachel arianne ogle / company artist