KulturAksi: NY Indonesian Art Fest

Presented by Amalia Suryani, and in celebration of Saung Budaya's 20th anniversary, we are proud to present KulturAksi: NY Indonesian Art Fest, an immersive show that brings various forms of Indonesian art together under one roof. This milestone event serves as a platform for local, New York-based Indonesian artists to showcase the archipelago's rich heritage through music, dance, visual arts, culinary traditions, and literature.

The festival's tagline, KulturAksi, was chosen to highlight the intersection of art, culture, and advocacy through action. For this year’s theme, we aim to leverage creative expression to address global environmental challenges—an issue of increasing urgency worldwide—and inspire meaningful action within our community and beyond.

The festival will feature visual art exhibitions from multidisciplinary creators like Jo Cowtree, Pinot, Mo Riza, Megan Nugroho, and Samuel Alexander Forest, alongside a traditional dance performance by Saung Budaya Dance. Through food tastings and interactive music sessions, guests will experience the "jajan" culture and traditional soundscapes of Indonesia firsthand by Kusuma Laras. The event will include collaborations with organizations such as the Endangered Language Alliance to facilitate discussions on classic Indonesian literature and linguistic diversity.

Our programming is listed below!

Note: This event is not part of the 52nd Street Project

Info: Enjoy our Gallery and meet the amazing visual artists showcasing their art work. Artists include Jo Cowtree, Pinot, Mo Riza, Megan Nugroho, and Samuel Alexander Forest.

Info: Saung Budaya performs an original piece called "Ta' na Nirau". Ta’na Nirau (Mother Earth Weeps) is a new performing arts work rooted in the dance, music, and storytelling traditions of the Dayak tribes of Borneo, who are grappling with a number of existential challenges. These tribes are struggling with environmental destruction and land theft, facing challenges from illegal logging and palm oil plantations. Forests are destroyed by unchecked greed, with no regard for the suffering of Earth’s creatures. This performance gives voice to the Indigenous resistance striving to restore denuded forests against all odds. Their forests have been ransacked and destroyed, but they draw hope from every twig and leaf, continuing to defend Mother Earth from man’s rapacious greed.

Info: Throughout the afternoon, various workshops around dance and language are held where you will be able to participate learning dance moves, listen to and write your own poetry, and more!

Info: Immerse yourself in the sounds of Indonesia through a sound bath experience performed by Kusuma Laras.

Info: Enjoy our Gallery showcasing the amazing art from artists including Jo Cowtree, Pinot, Mo Riza, Megan Nugroho, and Samuel Alexander Forest.

Info: Saung Budaya performs an original piece called "Ta' na Nirau". Ta’na Nirau (Mother Earth Weeps) is a new performing arts work rooted in the dance, music, and storytelling traditions of the Dayak tribes of Borneo, who are grappling with a number of existential challenges. These tribes are struggling with environmental destruction and land theft, facing challenges from illegal logging and palm oil plantations. Forests are destroyed by unchecked greed, with no regard for the suffering of Earth’s creatures. This performance gives voice to the Indigenous resistance striving to restore denuded forests against all odds. Their forests have been ransacked and destroyed, but they draw hope from every twig and leaf, continuing to defend Mother Earth from man’s rapacious greed.

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Host or Publisher AMALIA SURYANI