Yogyakarta, June 16, 2025 – The Graduate Program in Performing Arts and Visual Arts Studies (PSPSR) at Universitas Gadjah Mada (UGM) hosted a sharing session with visual artist Natasha Tontey. This event comprised a segment of the Visual Arts, Design, and Media Arts Studies course, which Dr. Rr. Paramitha Dyah Fitriasari S., Ant., M.Hum., teaches. The activity took place on Monday, June 16, 2025, from 10:00 AM to 12:00 PM WIB, in Room 407 of the UGM Graduate Building.

Under the theme “World-Building through Peculiar Pleasures: Kitsch, Autophagia, and Ancestral Ghost,” Natasha Tontey invited participants to delve into her artistic practice. This practice roots itself in the imagination of alternative worlds, collective trauma, and marginalized cultural experiences. She explained that the concept of world-building in her work does not merely involve creating narrative worlds, but rather a complex symbolic and spiritual world with a system of meaning derived from local roots.

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Yogyakarta, May 8, 2025 – The Performing Arts and Visual Arts Studies Program (PSPSR), Universitas Gadjah Mada (UGM), officially opened the Re.uni(que): Menganyam Pesona, Merajut Perjumpaan. at the UGM Graduate School Building. This event brought together students, alumni, and lecturers, highlighting PSPSR’s commitment to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) through art and intergenerational collaboration.

Dr. Nadiyah Tunnikmah, M.A., as the curator, emphasized that the exhibition was not merely about displaying artworks, but about creating a space for dialogue and social reflection. “Each piece was selected to represent the collective journey of the PSPSR community. We want visitors to experience the meaning of encounters, collaboration, and diversity, which are the strengths of art and support the inclusivity principle of the SDGs,” Dr. Nadiyah explained.

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On May 9, 2025, the Performing Arts and Visual Arts Studies Program (PSPSR) at Universitas Gadjah Mada (UGM) held a sarasehan themed “Beyond the Wall of Self,” where Dr. Gabriel Roosmargo Lono Lastoro Simatupang, M.A., reflected on his personal and professional journey, emphasizing the significance of growing together with others.

Unlike typical commemorations that focus on external tributes, Lono Simatupang deliberately chose “Beyond the Wall of Self” to highlight how his artistic and academic journey has always been shaped by encounters and collaborations. “I did not want others to merely talk about me, but rather, I wanted to share how I have grown because of and together with others,” he remarked during the event.

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From January to March 2025, Riza Pradito Yuwono, a Master’s student in the Performing Arts and Visual Arts Studies Program at UGM, had the opportunity to participate in an artist residency program organized by Cité Internationale des Arts in Paris, Institut Français Indonésie, and Cemeti Institute for Art and Society. Here, he shares his story:

“I arrived in Paris on the 2nd day of 2025, realizing I was still in transitional mode, a combination of year-end shift, hectic packing mode, and the remaining of last year’s jet lag. I was part of an artist in residence program which co-organize by Cité Internationale des Arts, Institut Françe Indonesia, and Cemeti Institute for Art and Society.

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Amid the holy month of Ramadan, on March 22, 2025, from 3:30 PM to 7:00 PM, the Study Program of Performing Arts and Visual Arts Studies (PSPSR) at Universitas Gadjah Mada (UGM) hosted an iftar gathering, preceded by a discussion titled Studies on Art and Religion. The event, held in the front corridor of the PSPSR study program office, brought together the entire PSPSR academic community. The keynote speaker, Dr. G. Budi Subanar, S.J. (Romo Banar), explored the intricate relationship between art and religion from both academic and cultural perspectives.

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On Wednesday, October 2, 2024, in Room 407, 4th floor of the Graduate School Building at Universitas Gadjah Mada, a workshop on Polonaise: Traditional Dance and Music of Poland, was held. The workshop was led by Dr. Marzanna Poplawska from the University of Warsaw as part of a collaboration with the Embassy of Poland in Indonesia. Polonaise is an intangible cultural heritage of Poland that UNESCO officially recognized in 2023. According to UNESCO, Polonaise is a lively Polish group dance performed by a few to several hundred couples in a procession, following the lead set by the first couple.

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In December 2023, the Ministry of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology of Indonesia, in collaboration with the Indonesian Embassy in Seoul, held a selection for a cultural internship program at the Indonesia Centre, Busan University of Foreign Studies (BUFS). This program aims to introduce Indonesian culture within the framework of cultural diplomacy in South Korea.

The Indonesia Centre at BUFS, inaugurated in June 2022, functions as a center for cultural diplomacy and strengthens Indonesia-South Korea relations. The internship program runs for three months, from April to June 2024, with five selected participants living in campus dormitories and interacting with local students. This allows for a deeper exchange of information and cultural introduction. One of the selected participants is Veronika Dian Anggarapeni, a student from PSPSR UGM.

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Agim Gunawan, a student from the Performing Arts and Visual Arts Studies Program at the Graduate School of Universitas Gadjah Mada (UGM), has been selected as one of the participants in the 2024 Cultural Advancement Residency Program. This program is initiated by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology through the Directorate of Cultural Personnel and Institutions Development.

The residency involves cultural practitioners from various countries such as the United States, Australia, the Netherlands, Brunei Darussalam, Ecuador, the Philippines, India, Italy, Canada, Colombia, Malaysia, Mexico, Egypt, Poland, Thailand, Greece, and Jordan, who will collaborate with national cultural practitioners from Indonesia. There are three locations for this program focusing on Cultural Advancement Objects (OPK), namely the traditional sport Jemparingan in Yogyakarta, Losari Mask Dance in Cirebon, West Java, and Pantun Musicalization and Oral Tradition in Pekanbaru, Riau.

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On Tuesday, May 14, 2024, students of the UGM’s Magister Program in Performing Arts and Visual Arts Studies conducted a field lecture on Visual Studies Theories by attending the opening of the Suluh Sumurup Art Festival 2024. The festival was held from May 14 to 22, 2024 and took place at the Yogyakarta Cultural Park. Different from last year’s event, which only involved disabled artists from the Yogyakarta region, the second Suluh Sumurup Art Festival this year presents 202 works from disabled artists from 12 provinces in Indonesia. The artists’ works are exhibited at the Taman Budaya Yogyakarta art gallery.

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UGM Performing Arts and Visual Arts Studies Study Program in collaboration with Jogja Disability Art (Indonesia) and DaDa Fest (United Kingdom), two organizations working in the area of disability arts, held a Mini Seminar entitled Creating Meaning and Empowering Possibilities in Disability Arts Practice: A Reflection From Dada Fest (UK) and Jogja Disability Arts (Indonesia). This seminar was held on Wednesday, 8 May 2024 at 13.00-15.00 on 5th floor of the postgraduate school building UGM, guided by A. Sudjud Dartanto as moderator.

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