AWDB speaks with Sendy Widjaja, Co-Founder and Fair Director of ArtMoments in Jakarta which takes place every August. Founded in 2015, ArtMoments is a premier art fair initiated by a collective of Indonesian art collectors in collaboration with friends and galleries.
Sendy shared with us the theme for this year’s fair, titled ‘Renewal’, its role in the art market, and the growth of the fair and how it has evolved since its inception, into the platform it is today.
For those not familiar with your fair, please give us a little background on the history of ArtMoments.
The journey began with +ARTMOMENTS: JOGJA held at the Jogja National Museum from 7 to 30 June 2015, before expanding its presence to Jakarta in 2018. Despite the challenges posed by Covid-19, ArtMoments Jakarta Online (a hybrid art fair) has been successfully hosted from 2020 to 2021 and continues both online and offline to this day. In 2023, ArtMoments further expanded its reach to Bali with the themed Hotel Room Art Fair.
The evolution of the fair has transformed it into an innovative platform, acting as a vital link between the art market and prospective buyers in Indonesia and beyond. ArtMoments offers a unique opportunity to explore a diverse range of traditional, modern, contemporary, digital, and urban artworks from leading Indonesian and international galleries.
Responding to external markets and the ambitious goals of our galleries, ArtMoments presents its exhibitions in prestigious and exclusive hotel environments. However, amidst its growth and success, it remains steadfast in its commitment to inclusivity and accessibility. We believe in promoting art as an integral part of daily life, with forward-thinking curation that mirrors the evolving world we inhabit.
Can you share with us more about this year’s theme, ‘Renewal’?
The concept of “Renewal” is deeply intertwined with human life, encompassing personal growth, social transformation, culture, technology, and environmental sustainability. In the face of the challenges of the 21st century, it is crucial for us to explore the various dimensions of renewal through aesthetic experiences.
ArtMoments 2024 aims to create a dynamic and profound platform for galleries and artists to delve into the multidimensional theme of “Renewal.” Through a diverse array of artworks, ArtMoments endeavors to encourage artists and galleries to explore five aspects of renewal: personal renewal that explores individual transformation stories, social renewal that stimulates collective change and cultural rejuvenation, environmental renewal that emphasizes sustainability and preservation, artistic renewal that delves into innovation in art, and technological renewal that introduces new experiences in shaping art perception and aesthetics.
Overall, “Renewal” as the curatorial concept for ArtMoments 2024 is designed to inspire, challenge, and celebrate it in all its forms. By bringing together galleries, artists, and communities, we aim to create a space where art can be a catalyst for transformation and growth, fostering a deeper understanding of the processes of renewal in personal, social, and environmental realms.
Where in the regional art ecosystem do you see the role of ArtMoments?
I think our role is positioned as a premium boutique art fair. We don’t want to be an art fair for all galleries, in terms of size. We don’t want to become the biggest art fair. We want to develop fruitful and productive partnerships with galleries in promoting all of artists. Because statistically speaking, not all galleries are committed to developing the futures of their artists, unfortunately. So, I wish to collaborate and work together with galleries who have the highest standards of ethics with commitments to artists in taking care of them, not taking advantage of them or leaving them when things get tough, especially when they have been with them for decades, or not treating them with respect, including respecting fresh graduate artists, and not abusing them.
We also want to work with galleries that treat their customers and their collectors well, and with commitment and to encourage them to be good corporate social citizens in the environment that they operate in. We want to work with galleries that not only think about commercial things, but also the development of the conceptual nature of artists working with curators and with museums and biennales. I want that when people come to ArtMoments and collect art, they can be assured that the artworks are curated by quality galleries that are committed to the long-term development of the artists. They are holding a piece of the artistic journey of the artist that may become significant in the future, or it may not, but at least the gallery is committed to the development of the artist.
And I want the local artists to be inspired and to interact with emerging global artists that are coming to ArtMoments. I want to work with that artists that are creating new waves so that the Indonesian artist community, which consists of tens of thousands of artists, can learn about the latest trends that are created by emerging global and regional artists which are coming to our fair. For example, we have Justin Lim coming from Malaysia and we hope that Indonesian artists can be inspired by his work, while retaining our support for Indonesian artists, such as Heri Dono, who will be creating a new performance with a conceptual installation. We want to do something that has not been done before, in a small and manageable way.
Last year you had 30 participating galleries, representing five countries, but it was published somewhere that your aim is to showcase 60 galleries, from a broader sample of the global market and that you have a target list of galleries. Are those galleries that you already have committed?
Initially, when I made the proposal, I wanted to have 60 galleries, but, in reality, I can only get about 53, but these galleries bring the artists that we want to see represented. So instead of having smaller booths, these galleries are taking bigger ones, but are representing the works of artists that are important to our collectors. Many of the galleries are from outside of Indonesia, as well of outside of the region. For example, we have Ethan Cohen Gallery coming from New York bringing Aboudia from the Ivory Coast. This will be the artist’s first solo show in the Southeast Asian region. He has been making waves in London, in fact.
You yourself are a collector correct? As a collector, what do you look for when you add to your collection?
Mine is small scale. Small potatoes. Haha. It is a good question, because if I collect all these artworks, what am I going to do with all of them? Because I am not likely to sell them, yet with the amount of capital that I have plunked in so far, my collection is growing. So, in my heart, I think I am setting myself up to one day to have my own museum or institution. So now when I look at what to buy, I am considering what I would need to buy to make my purchases justifiable so that it can be sustainable. I think about what kind of art and artists would I want to display and share with the public. I am also driven by emotion, compassion purposes, and a desire to support the artists.
What is your vision for the ArtMoments for the future?
It will be platform for galleries and art collectors to showcase and trade their artworks and to become a dot connector between artists, and them, including private and public institutions. We hope to be a space where people can feel inspired and can keep improving and learn how to become better versions of themselves, and hopefully with that inspiration people will keep coming to ArtMoments to add to their collections.
ArtMoments will be held from 9 to 11 August 2024 at the Sheraton Grand Jakarta Grandaria City Hotel Grand Ballroom. For more information, please click here.
INTERVIEW COURTESY OF ART WORLD DATABASE AND SENDY WIDJAJA, JULY 2024.
