Project Overview

Proyek Seni Gondomanan is an artistic project done by artists and concludes in art-making of comics, videos, and music. This program was preceded by an exhibition by KUNCI Cultural Studies Centre (June 8 – July 7) revealing the social-economic-politic map of the community along the side road of Gondomanan. The design of this project is to fashion movements, rhythms, and routine activities all in the side road of Gondomanan and from the intersection of Klenteng until Pojok Beteng Wetan. By means of stylishness, deformation, hyperbolism and superlativism strategies and embedded in social knowledge, artists try to imagine a possibility of changes might happen to the area.

This project invite 8 comicus and videomaker going to work in the studio of KKF for three and a half months (July 12 – October 31). Studio work is a reconstruction work of observation experience in the fields with sketches and an exhibition of finding objects or borrowing assumed as (not) a free-meaning ground. Proyek Gondomanan is a Studio Project I done by KKF in collaboration with KUNCI Cultural Studies Centre. Finally, 7 artists involved are (1) Choiru 'Ndik' P (2) Gepeng Ibnu, (3) Wedhar Riyadi, (4) Yovita, (5) Angel Melani, (6) Wimo Ambala Bayang, (7) Cika . This project takes totally four and a half months.

Gondomanan is an area located between Sungai Code in the site of Sayidan reaching to Keparakan Kidul in the south and the east part from the wall of Beteng Keraton of Yogyakarta, stretching out from the north to the south from Klenteng Gondomanan (Vihara Budha Prabha) to Pojok Beteng Wetan (the east corner of the Palacial Port). The main landmark of this block is Purawisata which is famous for its dance show of Sendratari Ramayana and night entertainment of dangdut music. For about 25 years ago, Purawisata was called as Taman Hiburan Rakyat (THR) equipped with a carousel and Ferris wheel . THR used to be a public transportation terminal and gambling arena with high numbers of criminality. The tragedy of “PETRUS” in1985 had (completely) removed the criminal tracks of the area followed by the moving of the terminal to Umbulharjo. Gondomanan is also known as a china town within which the trade characters of its community had revived the area. How is Gondomanan today?

"Map  of things in Gondomanan"

This project is a Social Anatomy Study I to precede Proyek Seni Gondomanan. It is a social reseach-based visual arts project taking in 10 comic artists and video artists and 8 band groups. In fact, a map is a collection of stories. This project is to offer another meaning of maps. Maps are not merely to illustrate one place to another. They do not simply show a row of houses, stores, or alleys but social and economic bonds, power struggles, and gossips among the residents along the side road of Gondomanan. On this project, KUNCI combines a number of tools to make the social-economic-politic community map possibly visible from photography, video, and ethnography. Gondomanan is one of influential economy centers in Yogyakarta. KUNCI Cultural Studies Centre was instituted in 1999 working for developing cultural studies, popular education, and young people empowerment.