Underground artists deplore globalization

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.