SAM Chats is a series of virtual dialogues hosted by Singapore Art Museum. These sessions will feature leading art professionals sharing their insights on the role of arts and culture in our society today. Our guest for this session are Ade Darmawan, Farid Rakun and Julia Sarisetiati from Jakarta-based collective ruangrupa. 

About ruangrupa

ruangrupa is a Jakarta-based collective established in 2000. It is a non-profit organisation that strives to support the idea of art within urban and cultural context by involving artists and other disciplines, such as social sciences, politics, technology and media, to give critical observation and views towards Indonesian urban contemporary issues. In 2018, together with Serrum and Grafis Huru Hara, ruangrupa co-initiated a public learning space, GUDSKUL. As an artists’ collective, ruangrupa has participated in the Gwangju Biennale (2002, 2018), Istanbul Biennale (2005), Asia Pacific Triennial of Contemporary Art (2012) and the Singapore Bienale (2011). Ruangrupa was the curator of Sonsbeek ’16: TRANSaction and will also be curating the upcoming documenta 15.

About the Speakers

Ade Darmawan lives and works in Jakarta as an artist, curator and director of ruangrupa. He has held solo exhibitions at Portikus in Frankfurt and the Van Abbemuseum in Eindhoven, and has participated in the Gwangju Biennale and Singapore Biennale. As a curator, he has contributed to Media Art Kitchen in 2013, Condition Report in 2016 and Negotiating the Future: 6th Asian Biennial in Taiwan.


Farid Rakun is an artist, writer, editor, teacher and instigator based in Jakarta. Trained as an architect, he currently serves as editor and research for ruangrupa. As an instigator, he has permeated global institutions such as Centre Pompidou, Venice Biennale, Sharjah Biennial and Dutch Art Institute.


Julia Sarisetiati is an artist, photographer and curator based in Jakarta. A large part of her artistic practice focuses on the ecosystem of Indonesian migrant workforce and the sustainability thereof. Recent exhibitions include Choreographed Knowledges at Cemeti Institute for Art and Society (2019) and We’re in this together at The Factory Contemporary Arts Centre (2018). She also curated the 2017 media art festival OK Video.