In early January 2020, ACICIS Study Indonesia was excited to welcome 14 students on our Creative Arts and Design Professional Practicum (CADPP) program. These students came from UNSW Sydney, Edith Cowan University, RMIT University, Murdoch University, The Australian National University, Charles Darwin University, and also some private applicants. Twelve students undertook the CADPP with the support of the Australian Government’s $3,000 New Colombo Plan (NCP) initiative and one student received the $7,398 John Darling Fellowship.
This year, CADPP program moved to Yogyakarta, after being held in Jakarta for 3 consecutive years. Dr Elly Kent joined us again for the forth time as ACICIS CADPP Academic Program Officer (APO) who oversaw both of the academic and professional placement components. She introduced participants to the creative arts and design sector Yogyakarta and Indonesia by curating a series of seminar and fieldtrips. Working together with the in-country staff, she matched students with local organisations and help participants to navigate through working in a cross-cultural environment.
Throughout their first two weeks in Indonesia, the students undertook the academic program hosted by Sanata Dharma University, which included intensive Indonesian language classes, five seminar and tutorial workshops, a movie screening and three field trips. The intensive language course was delivered by experienced teachers from Sanata Dharma’s Language Center that prepared students for their internship in local organisations.
In addition to the language classes, participants attended a series of seminar presented by professionals and experts that exposed them to the creative arts and design scene in Indonesia, helping to prepare them for their internship. A range of topics were covered, such as Artists’ Practice in Indonesia, Commercial Design in Indonesia, Australian Indonesian Art Collaborations, Digital Media in Indonesia, and Screen & Film. Besides that, they also had a movie screening and Q&A session with the director and producer of “Roda Pantura” and “Lost in Sekaten” from Hizarts Studio.
To supplement the knowledge gained from the academic and industry seminars, the participants undertook three field trips. First, they visited Babaran Segara Gunung Culture House where they were welcomed by Nia Fliam and Agus Ismoyo of Brahma Tirta Sari. Here they learned about the collective’s art practice and batik as a medium and a form of cultural heritage. The second visit was to Indonesian Visual Art Archive (IVAA) where they got an overview about the history of Indonesian Art and the art archival practice. Lastly, the students visited an exhibition by a group of young contemporary artist at Langgeng Art Foundation, during which they had the opportunity to ask questions regarding art management to the head curator.
After the seminar series concluded, the students then commenced four weeks professional placements at their assigned Host Organisations. In the 2020 program implementation, ACICIS partnered with a wide range of creative institutions across Jakarta, Bali, and Yogyakarta to host the participants. The 11 Host Organisations were PT One People Indonesia, Museum MACAN, PT Merck Tbk, Grafis Huru Hara, Lanting Animation, EngageMedia, Great Digital Media, Srengenge Idealabs, Ace House Collective, Dagadu Djokdja, and Babaran Segara Gunung.
After a successful six weeks, CADPP students benefited from working directly with their mentors and gained hands-on professional experience participating in the creation of new social campaign documentaries, apparels look books, sustainable lifestyle products, artworks, event & exhibitions and social media campaigns.
Last but not least, we would like to congratulate our 14 students for their incredible work in ACICIS’ Creative Arts and Design Professional Practicum. We wish all students the best in their future endeavours and hope to see them all back in Indonesia very soon!
