Research Trip in Indonesia: TIM

2022年11月2日 06:25

The hotel

On this trip, TERASIA members stayed at a hotel called IBIS Budget Cikini. Heading to the lobby to check in, we had a good view of a fun community pool. Why, oh why didn’t I bring a swimming suit?

We didn’t have a chance to swim there, but at least it was nice to feel like we were staying at a hotel with a pool

Here’s how our rooms looked.

There were several cafes nearby where we could have meetings.

We went to Upnormal Coffee most often, a work-friendly cafe

A dazzling art complex, one-minute walk from the hotel

Why did we choose this hotel? Because the location was just perfect. It’s in Cikini, a busy downtown area of Jakarta, surrounded by many restaurants and bars within walking distance, so there’s no worries about missing a chance to eat! What’s more… if you step out of the hotel and keep walking to your right, our main venue for this research trip, TIM, will be right in front of you.

The gleaming façade made me feel a little shy, wondering if we really belonged there—it was a far cry from the halls of small temples that we’d been performing in before. It called to mind Roppongi Hills and the New National Theatre in Tokyo, and I couldn’t help but start rattling off some mental calculations. TERASIA is planning to use the spaces inside TIM for our events next year. What an impressive venue!

A quick run-through of our three-day gathering at TIM

We were lucky to have a conference room in TIM to use as a base for our activities. We gathered there over three days, from September 6 – 8.

(1) Meeting

First of all, we held our first in-person meeting with everyone.

We shared the screen using a projector and sat around the table to discuss
Photo: Ryohei Tomita

We presented to each other the details of everything we’ve done so far for this project and shared our ideas on the works to be showcased in this year’s TERASIA Online Week 2022.

From there, new ideas came. We asked ourselves, “Is a completely online festival really the way to go this year? Shouldn’t we also hold onsite events where we can meet our audiences directly?” Soon, we were throwing out all kinds of conceptual ideas for onsite events we can hold in Tokyo, Chiang Mai, Yangon, and Jakarta.

For a fleeting moment, I felt a little hesitant. I thought, “Is everyone serious? We only have two months till the event—it’s going to be really hard making all that happen!” But it was nice to listen to everyone’s ambitious ideas that kept popping up one after the other. Gradually, I felt that with this group, we can do everything.

We also talked about the concept for our summit next year. We’d always called it a “summit,” but we paused to reconsider the title: “What we want to do isn’t the kind of summit where national leaders get together. So let’s come up with a new name!”

The meeting turned into a brainstorming session for a fitting title. Putting together everyone’s suggestions, we settled on “Sua TERASIA 2023.” “Sua” means “gathering” or “encounter” in Indonesian. We hope you’ll look forward to seeing what happens there next year.

We now have a teaser image! Here we come, Sua TERASIA 2023!

(2) Checking the venues

Next, the team toured TIM’s facilities.

We walked around TIM imagining how we’ll use the space next year

Thanks to the support of Jakarta Arts Council, it may be possible for us to make use of TIM’s gallery, auditorium, as well as accommodation facilities next year—truly a brilliant opportunity.

Unfortunately, I had an online meeting that I had to attend with people in Japan, so I couldn’t accompany the group this time. Here’s a slideshow of some of the photos that members took for us.

(3) Workshop

We also had a workshop at TIM, led by Kop-san, a director and a member of the Thailand team.

COVID Time Capsule is an art project by Mekong Cultural Hub, a collective of artists based along the Mekong River. Each workshop participant brought along an item to be included in the time capsule, which will be passed onto future generations. Every item had a story behind it, about how the artist survived the pandemic times through this object.

Everyone looking at the item that Zun Ei-san from Myanmar brought, “Paper from waste”

(4) Recording music

It was also at TIM where we thought of recording an improv jam session by our three musicians: Great-san from Thailand, Lawe-san from Indonesia, and Kyojun-san from Japan.

All of them were amazing, we were blown away
Photo: Ryohei Tomita

I jumped into Kyojun-san’s instrument show-and-tell video to play the mokugyo beats
Photo: Ryohei Tomita

These videos will be available to watch from Friday, November 4, 2022.
Check out our special website for TERASIA Online Week 2022 for more details!

(5) Sharing meals

Last but not least, let me share some of the meals we had together.

Lahpet thoke, fermented tea leaves salad from Myanmar—my big favorite

Lontong from Indonesia, glutinous rice cakes wrapped in banana leaves, cut into bite-size pieces; grilled chicken on skewers with a sweet and spicy sauce

Standing tall in the middle of Jakarta, TIM may be called a center of cultural dissemination, symbolizing the art scene in Indonesia that is full of vigor and vitality. We were able to spend and enjoy to the fullest a meaningful three days packed with creative exchanges. Our bond grew even stronger than before, and we were all buzzing with energy thanks to our time there. Our bellies were full with good food, and so were our hearts!

Translation: Yui Kajita

The research is supported by JSPS KAKENHI Grant Number JP 22K13002.

頂いたサポートは、打ち合わせ時のコーヒー代として、私たちの創作活動の励みとなります。 Your support supplies our team with an extra cup of coffee to boost creative energies. Thank you!