Ketemu Project

Creating a socially conscious & inclusive world with art and creativity. Ketemu was conceptualized in 2011 by artists Budi Agung Kuswara (Kabul) & Samantha Tio (Mintio). Kabul from Indonesia and Mintio from Singapore have been formally trained in painting and photography respectively. Feeling limited by the way their works and practice only extends to the audience in the commercial art market, the duo teamed up with the goal of developing projects with the participation of community members to address social issues and harness creativity for social empowerment. In 2012, Mintio and Kabul completed a chapter in their co-creation initiative with batik craft-makers of Klaten in central Java. The project titled “Malam di Jari Kita / The Wax on Our Fingers” was a collaboration to address the marginalized status of batik-workers in the craft and rural industries of Indonesia. After two years of developing workshops and participatory activities for students and audiences to access the research of their projects, Mintio & Kabul established Ketemu Project Space at the beginning of 2015 as a platform for projects and the residency programs in Bali. “Danau Imaginasi Kami / Our Lake of Imagination” was a pilot project of the space, collaborating with students from Kintamani in an art and environmental education project. The space has programmed several workshops and dialogue session in its course and the team has grown to include two new members, Ruth Onduko and Mayun Dewi. Currently the team of Ketemu is focusing on programing and developing creative initiatives for Bali’s first psycho-social rehabilitation creative space for people with schizophrenia.