At the beginning of 2017, ACICIS successfully piloted the Creative Arts and Design Professional Practicum (CADPP). ACICIS welcomed 20 students to Jakarta from eight ACICIS member universities, including Charles Darwin University, Griffith University, La Trobe University, Murdoch University, RMIT University, UNSW Australia, University of Tasmania and University of Technology, Sydney. 18 students completed the CADPP with the assistance of a $3,000 New Colombo Plan mobility grant.
The long term goal of our Jakarta Professional Practica is to enhance bilateral understanding through the creation of new partnerships between Australian students and Indonesian counterparts and to serve as a medium for the exchange of ideas and experiences in the fields of journalism, development studies, business, and creative arts and design. The CADPP exposed the 20 Australian students to the vibrancy of contemporary Indonesian arts and cultural production, combining academic elements with hands-on practical creative production experience. Industry placements cover a wide range of Indonesia’s creative arts and design sectors, including contemporary art and design, creative agencies, new media, research and arts management.
The CADPP students undertook two field visits to supplement the knowledge gained from industry and academic seminars. First, students visited Komunitas Salihara and were welcomed with an introduction and video profile about the organisation, followed by a tour of Salihara’s studio and the opportunity to ask questions of the staff. The second field visit took the students to the National Gallery of Indonesia where curators led a tour of the gallery’s permanent collection and the 4th Jakarta Ceramic Biennale.
At the conclusion of the seminar series the students began their four week professional placement in various agencies and organisations across Jakarta, Bandung, and Yogyakarta. After a successful six weeks, CADPP students gained professional experience from leading Indonesian agencies and institutions, participating in the creation of new campaigns, artworks, documentaries, exhibitions and even television and radio shows.
Rebecca Lee (University of Tasmania) worked with a creative agency called Katha on a pitch for a Blackberry Messenger App. Katha’s client wanted a fun and interactive ad campaign and Rebecca was able to work closely with her colleagues to research and develop a pitch. Rebecca’s final assignment looked at Indonesian artist Christie Ay Tjoe, researching her painting style, life and studies and how this influenced her art.
Tara Fraser (Griffith University) worked with marketing designers at the National Gallery of Indonesia, assisting with a visual communication concept for an exhibition exploring Indonesian national identity. She was given a glimpse of the spectrum of Indonesia’s art scene when she was invited to Jagonya Jagoan exhibition opening at Galeri Seni Kunstkring.
James Bowers (Murdoch University) interned with Masima Radio Network (MRN). Alongside interviewing celebrities and attending TV game shows, he designed a Public Safety Announcement about cyber bullying featuring narration in very informal, slang based Bahasa Indonesia. James’ also contributed to the ‘Throwback Thursdays’ program at youth radio station Prambors, with his ideas incorporated into the final broadcast.
Alex Bloom (Murdoch University) was placed with Indonesian Visual Art Archive (IVAA) in their documentation department. During his placement Alex upgraded his video editing software skills, and attended art exhibitions around Yogyakarta. Alex’s work at IVAA included recording gigs and exhibitions as well as interviewing artists and documenting their practice.
Vinh Voh (RMIT University) undertook his professional placement at Malesbanget.com where he worked in videography for a number of YouTube campaigns, including a shoot to create a Chinese New Year themed Instagram advertisement. He was also invited to take part in a seminar on vlogging for those working in public relations for the Indonesian Government. Vinh spoke on the differences between western and eastern vlogging culture and his experiences studying in Indonesia.
Ziana Diggles (Griffith University) worked at Bandung-based environmental NGO Greeneration Foundation Indonesia, developing a poster campaign to market Greeneration’s work and ideals. Ziana travelled to Jakarta to meet with ‘Bebas Sampah’ to conduct an information session with invited guests. Ziana developed a close relationship with her colleages during Greeneration’s daily ‘lunch together’ for all staff.
Florence Robinson (University of Tasmania) interned with ARCOLABS , an organisation focused on art research and management. Florence was invited to join a student exhibition at SPACE gallery, where she exhibited linocut prints and a short video work. Working on this exhibition helped her to expand her networks with local arts communities and meet other printmakers. Florence also visited a batik workshop in Yogyakarta with colleagues from ARCOLABS and Serrum.
Farhana Ismail (RMIT Univeristy) undertook her professional placement commercial letterpress studio the Distillery, studying different techniques associated with the letterpress process. She was also able to observe and analyse differences between The Distillery’s Australian and Indonesian clients. Farhana worked on The Distillery’s design booth at the Bridestory Fair, where she worked as a design consultant. She also made her own letterpress artwork assisted by the in-house designer.
Adam Di Giuseppe (RMIT University) was placed at the Bandung-based film, animation and motion graphic organisation Sembilan Matahari. During his placement Adam recorded a kerontjong performance and composed a soundtrack for Sembilan Matahari portfolio project. He also worked on a collaborative performance at the Solace Space Electronic show and presented his art work at an exhibition hosted by Sembilan Matahari.
Nikki Manfrin (RMIT University) interned with Komunitas Salihara, an art centre based in Jakarta. Nikki worked on offline and online editing of documentation from events at Salihara. She had the opportunity to meet with Goenawan Mohamad, one of the founders of Komunitas Salihara, and interviewed musician Indra Perkasa at the Jazz Buzz Festival. From this interview Nikki produced a short documentary teaser for Salihara.
William Kelly (University of Technology Sydney) was placed at Bandung-based urban planning, interior design and architecture firm Urbane. William learned to embrace the practice of “nongkrong” in the workplace – a slower pace that recognises “doing nothing” and “hanging out” as inherent parts of the creative process. He focused on alternative concept options for hotel and office projects.
Sylvestre Lattao (University of New South Wales) interned with Jakarta-based Lanting Animation Studio. Sylvestre’s work at Lanting pushed the boundaries of his previous animation work, and included learning how to carve wooden figurines for stop-motion animations. The commercial briefs Sylvestre contributed to included a motion graphic for a women’s personal lubricant, exposing him to the differences in commercial acceptability in Australia and Indonesia.
Korin Lesh (Charles Darwin University) was placed at the Bandung based Semata Gallery, presenting a talk on her art and art education experiences; leading a workshop for a visiting school; developing ideas for the SemAta curriculum and assisting with the planning for a future exhibition at the Institut Francais Indonesia.
Rhiannon Crane (RMIT University) was placed at Mullen Lowe Indonesia, a creative and communications agency based in Jakarta. Rhiannon worked on editing designs for company Instagram pages and had the opportunity to work on multiple briefs from Garuda Indonesia, including making contributions to the conception of a mural of Garuda through the ages to be situated in the Soekarno-Hatta airport.
Rachel Hall (Griffith University) interned with interior lighting design organisation Lumina Group, reviewing and analysing lighting projects for the company’s social media campaigns. As well as joining site visits to test and report on previous lighting projects, Rachel completed a final project designing the lighting for a space and presenting it through a Photoshop render.
Chad Alley (University of New South Wales) undertook his professional placement with Wanara Studio, a graphic design, illustration and animation organisation in Jakarta. Chad focused on the project side of Wanara’s business and created concepts for sports promotion using low-geometric 3D art. He also worked on the logo for café signage in Jakarta, an information booklet for Bank Indonesia and other 3D animation projects.
Claudia Biaggini (RMIT University) was placed with the Jakarta-based creative and digital communications agency Olrange. Claudia’s mentor provided intense instructional advice on different software and processes, and Claudia undertook research into the style and inspiration that the instructional cooking videos should adapt. As well as socialising with her colleagues, Claudia was able to attend and assist with preparations for the Kraft production shoot.
Yulita Villanueva-Warchot (Charles Darwin University) interned with Aksara, where she worked with their retail interior design team. Yulita had the opportunity to meet and work with an existing client (Ganara) that was relocating to a larger space. The client sought out Aksara for concept and design ideas to enhance the look of her art space and Yulita addressed the pre-production stages in consultation, planning, and establishing fees for Ganara Art Space.
Olivia Pilot (University of New South Wales) undertook her professional placement with DGTMB and Eko Nugroho’s Studio. Olivia was given the task of creating textile designs for a tote-bag and shawl, and was also invited to bring a figure from one of Eko Nugroho’s paintings to life in a costume design. The realisation of this costume involved collaboration with production staff in the studio, as well as Olivia learning how to use a vintage sewing machine.
Edwina Combe (La Trobe University) was placed with Yogyakarta’s premiere merchandise designer Dagadu, where she was involved in the design of a new product and assisted with marketing the output from a recent community project. Edwina spent days and nights with the Dagadu team, presenting her final work to senior designers and executives in a seminar.
We would like to congratulate all 20 students on their incredible work during their participation in ACICIS’ Creative Arts and Design Professional Practicum. We wish all students the best for the future and hope to see them all back in Indonesia very soon!
