Selasar Sunaryo Foundation (Yayasan Selasar Sunaryo) is a foundation that supports the activities of Selasar Sunaryo Art Space (SSAS). As a non-profit space and organization, SSAS aims to support the development of the practice and study of visual arts and culture in Indonesia. SSAS actively organizes public education-oriented activities with main focus on organizing contemporary art programs, through exhibitions, discussions, residencies and workshops.

As a cultural center, SSAS organizes activities related to diverse art disciplines such as design, craft, performing arts, literature, architecture, and so on. All types of activities at SSAS—including children’s programs, music concerts, theater performances, film screenings, literary readings, lectures and various other activities—are designed according to the direction of the Curatorial Advisory Boards consisting of academics, critics and art practitioners. SSAS is also active in international networks through collaborations with various arts organization, communities, institutions and individual artists abroad.

SSAS’ most important value is “Community engagement and education through arts and culture”

Tangan Terbuka | Open Arms
Towards Inclusivity in Indonesian Arts

Open Arms is a program that encourages inclusiveness in visual art exhibitions and educational programs. Consisting of a series of online lectures, workshops, training and exhibitions, it aims to encourage the active involvement of the people with disabilities in organizing art exhibition and appreciation. Designed and organized in collaboration between Selasar Sunaryo Foundation and the Aesthetics and the Science of Arts Research Group, Faculty of Art and Design Bandung Institute of Technology (FSRD ITB), the outputs of this program include working and training modules that can be widely implemented in various activities organized by art institutions, museums, galleries, art spaces and festivals in Indonesia.

Designed as the first initiative in a bigger project, Open Arms responds to a number of problems which indicate that exclusivism and discrimination still exist in the Indonesian art world. In the long run, Open Arms intends to contribute with a solution by providing possible access and job opportunities for people with disabilities, and take part in the bigger agenda of inclusive civic education in Indonesia through and within the arts.

These days, visiting art exhibitions is a typical activity increasingly in demand by the millennial, selfie fans generation. However, the extremely low percentage of people with disabilities in the art visitor population indicates that art exhibitions have not become a proper, inclusive public space. Moreover, exhibition educational programs (guided tours, art workshops, artist talks, etc.) have not given priority to people with disabilities as part of the public who are entitled to education through arts. This is exacerbated by the lack of innovation and creativity in the design of educational programs, which should otherwise minimize the gaps caused by the esotericism of art.

In the last five years, a number of emerging initiatives have promoted disability arts, especially by exhibiting the works by artists with disabilities. However, the Indonesian art world has not provided opportunities for people with disabilities to be able to work in arts organizations or institutions (e.g., as administrators, curators, critics, educators, art handlers, etc.). In general, there are still very few job opportunities for people with disabilities in Indonesia. Again, the exclusivism that prevails in the Indonesian art world has arguably exacerbated such a condition.

Open Arms is structured into two platforms of activity: Fundamental and Practical. The Fundamental is intended for practitioners of educational institutions, communities, organizations, art institutions, governments and the general public, through: 1) online lectures by experts that aims to build social and ethical awareness about the current condition in Indonesian art field which is still discriminatory towards people with disabilities; 2) a special hearing session will present people with disabilities who will speak on their behalf, and 3) a module-making workshop for inclusive art educational programs participated by representatives of art institutions (government and private).

The Practical activities consist of 1) workshop and training sessions, on exhibition-making and art educational programs (based on the afore-mentioned modules); 2) an exhibition featuring the works of deaf artists will be held at Selasar Sunaryo Art Space along with educational programs specifically designed for disabled art audiences. Evaluation of the feasibility of the modules will be used as a reference in the implementation of future research.

All platform of activities will be integrated into academic research in the context of higher art education at the FSRD ITB, which is currently pioneering studies on disability issues in a number of their courses.