Underground artists deplore globalization

A. Junaidi, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

A usually neglected lot on Jl. Sumenep, Central Jakarta, was suddenly alive and bustling during last weekend's Street Art Festival, a gathering of underground artists under a single theme: Unity in Diversity Against Neo-imperialism.

The artists and activists repeatedly denounced the World Trade Organization (WTO), the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank as neo-imperialists in the lot bordering the city's main thoroughfares of Jl. Sudirman and Jl. Thamrin.

"F**k globalization, f**k the free market," shouted the lead vocalist of a punk band on a makeshift stage.

Introducing his songs, another musician told the audience that his Central Java hometown had become a wasteland, its environment damaged from the overuse of pesticides produced by transnational companies.

The musicians and their audience -- some sporting red, blue or green hair -- were separated only by a bamboo fence 30 cm tall, and people frequently jumped onstage and joined the musicians mid-performance.

Punching their left hands into the air, artists and audience constantly rallied, "Keep fighting on the streets."

Participants of the two-day festival, organized by the Institute for Global Justice (IGJ), the Nurani Senja Foundation and the Urban Poor Consortium, were mostly underground artists and hailed from several cities across Indonesia.

Underground artists from Malaysia and Timor Leste also participated in the festival, which opened on Dec. 4.

Drawing together from the streets of Bandung, Bekasi, Blora, Denpasar, Jakarta, Jember, Malang, Semarang, Solo, Tangerang and Yogyakarta, the street artists charged that neo-imperialists, with their slogans of globalization and free trade, only made the poor suffer.

Meanwhile, the street was awash with graffiti, banners and murals condemning globalization.

Aside from live music and visual arts, various stands selling "leftist books" and merchandise from the Baduy people, as well as tattoo and traditional ear piercing stands filled the lot.

Traditional ear piercing, which is common among tribal people in the hinterlands, such as remote areas in Kalimantan, has been adopted as a symbol of underground activism.

IGJ executive director Bonnie Setiawan said the festival was a tribute to the 1999 mass rally against the WTO in Seattle, Washington state.

Thousands of people, including activists, artists, academics, gay and transvestite groups, students and housewives gathered in a spirit of solidarity against globalization at the 1999 rally, dubbed "the Battle of Seattle" and a benchmark for anti-globalization movements across the world.

"In Indonesia, underground artists often take part in rallies protesting globalization," said Bonnie, who was at the Seattle rally.

He said the Street Art Festival, which took two months to organize, provided a space for marginalized people who lacked the financial means to publicize their work.

The venue was selected for its proximity to the capital's thoroughfares to illustrate the plight of all marginalized people and victims of neo-imperialism and capitalism.

"It's a symbol of the people's struggle to reclaim public space," he said.

Organizing the festival was no easy task, as the participants -- most of whom were either marginalized or underground or both -- tended to be suspicious of people from outside their known environment or circle.

"It took days to persuade them to attend the festival. It would have been even more difficult if we did not know how underground people think," said Dicky Lolupulan of the Nurani Senja Foundation.

After gaining their trust, Dicky said information about the festival was spread by word of mouth among street artists, at underground art meetings and via Internet mailing lists.

Dewa Nyoman of the Denpasar Art Community said he learned about the event from a friend, Rio "Tupai", who got the information from the Net.

"We paid our own way here. We appreciate the organizer for putting on the event. It's the first national gathering of street artists," Dewa said.

Underground artists, punk bands and "anarchists" from all over the region met at the festival in a spirit of reunion, as they rarely have an opportunity to see each other.

The people with red and green hair or traditional ear piercings also used the event to openly express their outrage at what they perceived as the injustices of globalization.