From August 4 to 29, 2025, Ashar Murdihastomo, a doctoral candidate in Performing and Visual Arts Studies at the Graduate School of Universitas Gadjah Mada (UGM), led a cross-disciplinary research team in the Netherlands. The team was awarded a highly competitive grant from the Dutch Research Council (NWO) through the Research into Collections with a Colonial Context program. Out of numerous international proposals, only eleven were selected, and Ashar’s team was among those chosen.

Over nearly a month, the team conducted research at the Wereldmuseum and the Rijksmuseum, focusing on Indonesian sculptures from the eighth to the fifteenth century. Using 2D and 3D scanning technologies, the team documented the sculptures with high precision. The project involved researchers from the Indonesian National Research and Innovation Agency (BRIN), covering archaeology, archaeometry, sustainable cultural studies, and artificial intelligence, as well as computational experts from the University of Twente.

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Yogyakarta, September 19th, 2025 – The Master’s Program in Performing Arts and Visual Arts Studies (PSPSR) at Universitas Gadjah Mada, in collaboration with Prof. Scott Thurston and Dr. Joanna Omylinska-Thurston from the University of Salford, held the “Interlude Space: Expressive Arts for Well-Being” workshop. This event was part of the Arts for the Blues parallel session, an initiative focused on utilizing art as a medium for self-reflection and healing.

The workshop was a collaboration between Teman Ketjil, a program initiated by PSPSR UGM students (Dharajatya Tri Paramatatwai, Namira Azzahra, and Yohanna Simanjutak), and two facilitators from the University of Salford: Prof. Scott Thurston and Dr. Joanna Omylinska-Thurston.

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Yogyakarta, September 19th 2025 – The Master’s Program in Performing Arts and Visual Arts Studies (PSPSR) at Universitas Gadjah Mada hosted a guest lecture titled “Arts for the Blues: Bridging the Arts and Psychotherapy.” The event aimed to explore the intersection of the arts and psychotherapy, with a focus on a pioneering program developed at the University of Salford, UK. The lecture was delivered by Professor Scott Thurston and Dr. Joanna Omylinska-Thurston, two distinguished academics from the University of Salford.

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On 14 August 2025 at 2 pm, the welcoming session, titled “Beyond the Gate”, for postgraduate students in Performing Art and Visual Arts Studies (PSPSR) took place at the Ullen Sentalu Museum, accompanied by the Mountain Piano Concerto. The inaugural event brought together Ullen Sentalu and PSPSR students from Gadjah Mada University. This concert featured Henk Mak van Dijk (Pianist), Asriuni Pradipta (Soprano), who is also a master’s programme student at PSPSR and Eko Balung (Violist). The students and other visitors in attendance enjoyed the concert. They expressed that the performance was awe-inspiring, particularly due to its location in an open and tranquil area of Ullen Sentalu. The MoU signing ceremony between PSPSR and Ullen Sentalu Museum was conducted following the performance session. The previously held musical performance was also a part of this collaboration. It is hoped that there will be increased collaboration between PSPSR and industry in the future, which will allow students to acquire new knowledge and experience. This initiative supports SDG 4 (Quality Education) and SDG 17 (Partnerships for the Goals). (Hajar Aznam)

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Universitas Gadjah Mada’s Graduate School hosted “Beyond the Gate” on August 14, 2025, as an opening event to welcome both new and returning students to the programmes in Performing Arts and Visual Arts Studies (PSPSR). The session began with a presentation from Dr Paramitha Dyah Fitriasari, M.Hum., related to the master’s programme at PSPSR, followed by a presentation from Dr Budi Irawanto, S.I.P., M.A., as the head of the doctoral programme. Both describe the academic pathway and study plan, as well as the programme’s vision and mission. Dr G.R. Lono Lastoro Simatupang, M.A., also addressed the students with his welcome remarks, saying, “You (students) are not just users of theory but also makers of theory.” His words inspired the students who attended the session. This programme concluded with an individual introduction session for each fellow student, followed by a photography session and lunch together. On their first day on campus, the students who participated in the Beyond The Gate session were overjoyed by the warm reception they received. This activity supports SDG 4 (Quality Education) and SDG 17 (Partnerships for the Goals). (Hajar Aznam)

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On Thursday, July 24, 2025, doctoral students of the PSPSR UGM initiated a sharing session forum. The session was led by Dr. Trisna Pradita, S.Sos., M.M., an alumnus of the PSPSR doctoral program who had just officially graduated at the commencement ceremony held the day before.

The main topic of this session was an introduction to NVivo. NVivo is a qualitative data analysis software that helps researchers organize, analyze, and gain insights from unstructured data, such as interviews, open-ended survey responses, field notes, academic articles, and social media content. It can be used to code data, identify themes and patterns, and visualize findings.

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On July 16, 2025, Forum Rabu Wagen: A Sharing Knowledge Session was held at the Collaborative Space, Graduate School, Universitas Gadjah Mada. This session was initiated by Dr Budi Irawanto, the head of the doctoral program in Performing Arts and Visual Arts Studies (PSPSR). It was named Rabu Wagen to mark the 35-day cycles of days in the Javanese calendar. It is a monthly gathering for PhD candidates from PSPSR to come together and discuss their most recent progress. Dr Budi himself chaired this session, emphasising the solitary nature of the PhD journey. Overcoming such barriers could be achieved by holding a forum like this as a platform for togetherness, allowing for direct discussions. In this forum session, three shared knowledge topics were presented, starting with Mendeley Cite, presented by Mr. Hendra. Then, a sharing session by Mr Ando related to Mendeley Desktop, and finally, a sharing session on research topics by Mr Stario, titled “Proses Kreasi dan Representasi Budaya dalam Karya-karya Bio-Art Kelompok House of Natural Fibre (HoNF) dan Syaiful Aulia Garibaldi.” Eighteen S3 PSPSR UGM students attended this two-hour session. Feedback from the students who attended today was very constructive, and they seemed more enthusiastic to share their experiences and knowledge. The next Rabu Wagen Forum is scheduled to take place on August 20, 2025, featuring two speakers from S3 PSPSR UGM.

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During the three-day dissertation boot camp session at Puri Asri Resort, Magelang, held from June 27 to 29, 2025, the program team conducted a monitoring session to assess the study progress of PhD students in the Performing Arts and Visual Arts Study Program. Each student is given a specific space and time to discuss their studies with promoters and co-promoters. There was also a sharing session where each student was asked to share their current stage of study. This session was practical because friends from the same study program could also observe the process.

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From June 27th to 29th, the Dissertation Boot Camp event took place at Puri Asri Resort, Magelang. The event commenced with a welcoming speech and an introduction to the Dissertation Boot Camp program by Dr. Budi Irawanto, Head of the Performing Arts and Visual Arts Doctoral Study Program (PSPSR) at the Graduate School of Universitas Gadjah Mada. A total of 21 PSPSR students have participated in this program. One of the purposes of this activity is to provide a clearer picture of the roadmap for S3 PSPSR students, in addition to being a space to expedite the dissertation completion process and enhance students’ knowledge and skills in writing dissertations. A forum session was also implemented to share experiences among S3 PSPSR students during the dissertation writing process, aiming to increase students’ motivation and self-confidence in writing dissertations.

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On June 27th, the first day of the boot camp, a presentation session was held by the Academic Administration Unit of the Graduate School, Universitas Gadjah Mada, for the students. The presenter for this session was Ms. Winahyuning Cahyani from the Academic Administration Department. The event began with an explanation of the Doctoral Program schedule and study plan. After the pandemic, there would be no more open exams (ujian tertutup), and students would proceed directly to graduation. She also explained the stages of the S3 study plan and outlined the actions to be taken in each stage. Next, Ms. Winahyuning explained the details of the Comprehensive Exam, and students were advised not to delay in registering for it.

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