More murals to cherr up Jakarta residents

More murals to cherr up Jakarta residents

Arya Abhiseka, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

When one arrives in Jakarta, one would agree that this city is
indeed colorful and distinct, with a unique character.

For example, one can see that a high-rise building looks odd,
standing immediately adjacent to a shack.

Fancy cars can be seen racing against bajaj (motorized
tricycles) during peak hours in the city's busy streets.

Meanwhile, people are willing to engage in friendly
conversation with groups of foreigners, blending together at
local pubs or nightclubs.

One thing missing is the literal presence of color in this
city.

Inspired by the idea of making Jakarta a colorful city,
Jakart@2003, the city's annual arts festival, is presenting
painted murals across the city using public spaces, including
bridges, tunnels and empty walls.

More than 100 painters from 11 art organizations have been
invited to present their art at public spaces, as paint, brushes
and even production money has been provided by the organizing
committee since the program's inception in Jakart@2001.

"The main concern is that the city has become so gray and
stressful to live in, with a limited amount of space for people
or artists to express themselves," said Ary Sutedja, secretary-
general of Jakart@2003.

Ary added that what the city needed was something to boost the
morale of its citizens, and everyone, including artists, should
be willing to take on that responsibility. "If painted murals can
help soothe the mind, then we shall present them to the people."

At present, dozens of murals are scattered across the city.
They can be found in public spaces at Kali Besar, North Jakarta;
Kuningan, Senayan, Mampang Prapatan, Casablanca and the Landmark
building, South Jakarta; Rawamangun, East Jakarta, and Tomang and
Slipi, West Jakarta.

Some of the paintings present aspects of the city's life,
including portrayals of hardship, as if keeping faith with
reality.

Although some paintings can only be understood by artists, a
combination of bright colors in each painting, together with the
city's congested traffic and pollution as a backdrop, should at
least comfort motorists' eyes amid the city's frustrating traffic
jams.

Juned, a six-year-old boy who lives under the bridge at
Rawamangun -- where a series of murals are located -- said that
he liked the paintings, adding they were pretty.

In fact, he was inspired by the paintings and started a
project of his own, drawing images of animals on the ground under
the bridge with chalk found at a nearby high school.

"I want to draw like that," he said, while pointing to one of
the murals.

Sinta Tobing, coordinator of the murals program from
Jakart@2003, said that although the administration supported the
murals project, several problems occurred during the two previous
Jakarta art festivals due to a lack of coordination between city
officials.

"They were not informed that the program was supported fully
by the city administration. Once they thought the murals were
graffiti, and quickly cleaned them off," said Sinta.

"None of that will happen this year, and ultimately, we want
to ensure Jakarta has the world's longest murals in public
places," she said.

Indeed, if the world's longest city mural materializes,
Jakarta will become more colorful and finally have something it
can be proud of, despite its shameful state.