Aug. 17 calls for community creativity

Aug. 17 calls for community creativity

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

The nation will celebrate Independence Day on Wednesday. People
from Aceh to Papua have decorated their neighborhoods, villages
and towns to prepare for the big day. This week's cover story
attempts to share with our readers some of the excitement felt by
many people in preparing for the celebration, as well as reflect
on the meaning of 60 years of independence.

A month before August, Fathulloh, a community unit leader in
Warung Jati, Kalibata district, South Jakarta, had already
visited the some 300 community members to inform them of his
plans for marking Independence Day.

Three weeks later, a large bamboo ceremonial gateway decorated
with paintings and two large potted plants stood at the entrance
to the alley.

"We worked on it every night for two weeks," said Fathulloh.
"Two construction workers living here built the bamboo frame and
local youths painted it."

The gate, which cost the community Rp 2 million (about US$204)
was then decorated with flags and decorative lights. "My
community unit members did not mind paying the money as we will
be able to use it next year and in the years after that," he
said.

As the month of August starts, many of the entrances to
alleyways leading off Jakarta's streets have been given a
makeover.

In addition, strings of plastic, red-painted cups and plastic
bags filled with dyed water are hung along the alleys.

Although most people admit that decorating their neighborhoods
has little to do with patriotism, the activity at least bonds
them together. For one month of the year, at any rate.

"People in my RT (community unit) are middle class workers who
return home late from work and rarely have time to chat with
their neighbors," said Kuswari, the head of a community unit in
Cinere, Depok.

He said that Independence Day was the only time of the year
when the some 120 people living in the area spent time together.

"The ceremonial entrance gateways erected for Independence Day
signify our communities' identities," said Ade Darmawan, a leader
of Ruangrupa, a club involved in urban art.

According to Ade, street art is the most honest form of art,
unrestricted by theories of aesthetics. "Nobody cares about what
people will say. They just create what they think will be nice
to look at with whatever materials are available in the
community," he said.

Ade added that Independence Day was a time when the community
could collectively create something. "It is great for simply
getting together, working on something, where a child or a
housewife can suggest something without fear of being
criticized," he explained.

Each community, he said, needed to have their own
"professionals" who could execute the ideas. Ruangrupa members
were frequently asked by their neighbors to decorate their
neighborhoods.

However, the city seems to be seeing less and less of this
kind of collaborative community art. "Our neighboring alleyways
are not decorating their areas this year. I don't really know
why. But from what I do know, the people living there are mostly
newcomers," said Fathulloh.

Fathulloh added that some community units chose to just
collect money and hire a professional decorator to produce
something for them. "With such help, their gateways look nicer,
but we are happier looking at something that we have made
ourselves," he said.