Audience of Art in Indonesia by Alia Swastika

#kajianseni

Audience of Art
in Indonesia
New Urban Society

by:
Alia Swastika

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The study of audiences has attracted my interest over the last few years.
Although the audience plays an important role in the development of
performance, it has generally received little attention in discussion of the
history of Indonesian performing arts, apart from journalistic accounts, which
tend to represent without research or discussion with them the opinions of
audience members concerning the performance. My study of the audience
began with research on Teater Garasi’s ‘Stone Time’ (Waktu Batu) in
Yogyakarta that sought to compare how the audience was represented in the
local mass media with the comments of audience members themselves about
the performance they had observed (Swastika, 2004).1

That preliminary study prompted me to reassess the nature of the arts
audience in Indonesia, especially in the post-1998 reformation period. The
change of political climate not only had a strong effect on the freedom of
expression of artists as creators, but also influenced audience reception of the
works created during the period. Apart from the radical political changes, the
influence of the economic situation along with the increasing impact of global
culture represent other factors directly altering the relationship of audiences
with arts spaces as well as with the artists.
This chapter presents a rudimentary mapping of audiences or visitors to
arts events in the city of Jakarta in the decade between 2000 and 2010. It uses
ethnographic and cultural studies approaches to assess several cultural
enclaves in Jakarta, including venues which in the preceding period were
already known as cultural centres, along with new ones that provide alternative
spaces and feature ‘non-mainstream’ forms. My analysis aims to provide an
exposition of the three factors – political change, economic development and
increasing global culture – that are influencing the changing landscape of
audience and arts/cultural spaces of the urban based population. I am especially
interested in those spaces that offer a range of interlinked arts practices –
performance, fine arts, film, literature, architecture and circulate discourse
about them – in particular to trace the global artistic trends developing in each

discipline connected to the discourse of ‘contemporary art’.
The questions which I aim to address through this research are: what are
the demographic and cultural features of the cultural enclaves in Jakarta after
the reformation of 1998? What kinds of aesthetic characteristics can be
mapped on to each cultural enclave as viewed by audience members, and do
audience perceptions coincide with the conception of the curator and manager

1

The English version is available at: http://lebur.or.id/2004/08/30/biographical-notes-ontheater-audience-in-indonesia-the-fragmented-and-animated/.

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of the space? What is the relational dynamic between the audience’s perception
and the manager’s conception in the wider arts context?

Studies of Performing Arts Audiences
As mentioned above, audience reception studies are few and far between
in the performing arts field. Susan Bennet notes that audience studies began to
emerge at the beginning of the 1980s, via studies which sought to plot the

relationship between theatre artists and their audiences, as part of a growing
awareness of a performance as a social event rather than simply an aesthetic
one (Bennet, 1997). This approach was pioneered by studies in the fields of
sociology, psychology and anthropology, for instance by Victor Turner and
Erving Goffman.2 In their view, drama is an art form in which subject, structure
and action represent social processes.
Richard Schechner, who initiated the field of performance studies, saw
that the increasing growth of experimental performance and performance art
prompted new studies about the audience.3 Performance arts, in Schechner’s
view, highlighted the endeavour to make both performers and audience aware
of their interconnection yet conceptual separation by the reality of ‘drama’.
Performance theory enhances understanding of the contribution the audience
to a performance, something which had been previously little considered.
More specifically the majority of reception studies in the arts and
literature fields have been quantitative ones, designed to measure something
such as the demographic characteristics of the audience, or the quality of the
performance (what percentage of the audience liked the performance, what
elements did they like, and so on). There is little research or writing that
discusses the audience’s views or tastes in a narrative format. In this study I
focus on the attitudes and opinions of the public, making reference to the

personal histories of audience members, so as to be able to place an arts space
or a performance in a broader social landscape. The following data is based on
private discussions with audience members at the performance venue and their
comments expressed on websites, email networks and Facebook.4 When
quoting comments from direct conversations I have included some brief
background information about the speaker; in the case of material obtained
from internet communication I note the source in a general way but not
included the exact site names for privacy reasons.
2

For example in Goffman (1959) and (1967); Turner (1974) and (1982).
This idea is developed in Schechner (2004) and (2006).
I have not used the site names for privacy reasons. I have maintained the original language of
the writer.
3

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The Cultural Landscape of Jakarta 2000-2010
The wide-ranging economic crisis that overwhelmed many Asian

countries in 1997-1998, and subsequently led to momentous political change in
some, including Indonesia, was a major factor marking entry into this new
century. It gave rise to deadly riots, conflict that pitted the state apparatus
against civil society, and great suffering among the population as they
attempted to fulfil their basic daily needs. It took four to five years for the
economic situation to return to normal. In relation to the cultural environment ,
the changes did not impact significantly on national policy towards arts and
culture, resulting, for instance, in a large budget cut or shift in the function of
the arts infrastructure. There was no radical change to the conservative
national cultural policy which had pertained during the 32 years of the New
Order, especially concerning the development of arts and cultural
infrastructure and superstructure. One notable alteration in cultural policy
post-1998, however, was the lifting of the ban on the dissemination of Chinese
culture by President Abdurrahman Wahid. This allowed the emergence of new
types of arts events that incorporated forms such as barongsai lion dances and
Chinese puppetry in public spaces. The change of policy had an important
impact in the environment of Jakarta,where middle class people of Chinese
descent constitute a particularly prominent social group.
A wider cultural trend that has come out of the post-1998 new economic
growth has involved the increasing role of the middle class, including in the field

of arts and culture. The rapid growth of the middle class during the New Order
period, as a result of economic liberalisation and industrialisation, is welldocumented. Academic studies report the very visible signs of increasing
domestic wealth, the mushrooming new housing estates, multi-storied
shopping malls and crush of private cars on city roads, as well as measures such
as rapid growth of credit card use and rates of urban construction (Robison
1996:80). While some analysts have debated the use of a single term ‘middle
class’ to describe a diverse population with differing relations to capital and the
state (Robison, 1990; Young, 1990) the political, economic and religious
significance of this group is widely discussed (Tanter and Young (eds) 1990;
Rahardjo, 1999), with its distinctive consumption habits attracting special
attention (Dick, 1985). Although not specifically documented in academic
studies, another notable development in this period is the predominance of
middle class people as ‘consumers’ in the cultural field setting standards of
good taste, determining what should be considered highbrow or trend-setting.
Post-1998, after the economic meltdown, in the middle of the 2000s
there was a significant return to real economic growth amongst the population.
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The rate of consumption rose dramatically once more, promoted by the
booming advertising industry, and evidenced by the constant construction of

glamorous shopping centres – with 170 malls in greater Jakarta and 130 in the
city proper, in 2011 the Indonesian is cited as the city with the greatest number
of malls in the world (Tsao, 2012). Avid consumption of computer technology,
particularly by the middle class., is accompanied by huge involvement in social
media,5 and mobile phone use is likewise booming.6 Indeed both mobile phones
and internet use can be seen as vital secondary ‘necessities’ for this new middle
class. In conjunction with this rapid economic growth there has also been
increasing development of arts infrastructure, mainly at the initiative of nongovernment groups or individuals.7 More alternative performance venues have
opened, galleries sprung up, there are more diverse film festivals, and greater
connection between art praxis and the wider domain of popular culture.
Members of the middle class constitute the majority both of cultural
practitioners and urban arts audiences: they also represent predominantly the
new generation who have wide access to information and are enthusiastic
consumers. The confluence of these trends can be seen to have both positive
and negative aspects. On the one hand, access to information and habits of
consumption are not accompanied by efforts to cultivate critical attitudes,. As
a result, audience for the performing arts are made up largely of young people
used to sudden visual assaults and sensational ‘happenings’; consequently they
seek the same experiences in watching performances. But there are also other
qualities of these new audience members that present a more positive picture.

What is the role and influence of the middle class in the development of
contemporary arts in Indonesia? This modest study explores this question in
relation to spaces that are nowadays considered as centres in the cultural field.
Three types of ‘centre’ are discussed here – Taman Ismail Marzuki (TIM),
Salihara and foreign cultural centres. Each have has its own characteristics and
relationships with audiences which will be described below.

5

In 2012, Indonesia ranked fourth in the world for Facebook users. with 42.5 million
subscribers, its Twitter accounts numbered fifth in the world, and it was first in world use of
the location-based social media site Foursquare (Nugroho, 2012).
6

With 278 million subscribers, Indonesia is cited the 4th largest mobile market in the world
(http://redwing-asia.com/market-data/market-data-telecoms/ accessed 14 March 2014)

7

As Jennifer Lindsay reports, small, privately owned performance and exhibition spaces have

become key sites of arts activities, as older artists with some available funds have established
such spaces and built artistic communities around them (Lindsay, 2008)

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The General Audience in Cultural Enclaves
One of the valuable legacies of policies from the end of the Old Order –
especially with strong political stimulus from the then Governor of Jakarta, Ali
Sadikin – was the building of the Taman Ismail Marzuki art centre (opened in
1968). During the 1980s, Taman Ismail Marzuki (hereafter TIM) was considered
a space which represented the extension of the government’s reach into the
domain of the arts and culture, creating a sense of grandeur, formality and
authority. Through bringing together different artistic disciplines – theatre,
dance, music, film, literature and fine arts – TIM became a meeting place for all
arts aficionados, from artists, critics/curators, cultural workers to visitors, who
all became important elements in strengthening its position as a cultural centre.
TIM’s authority as a centre stems in part from the programs in its early
years such as experimental performances from Rendra and Bengkel Theatre,
Sardono Kusumo with Samgita Pancasomya, and Slamet Abdul Syukur with his
compositions that were progressive by the standards at the time. Apart from

that there were several festivals including international scale ones such as the
Arts Summit Festival and the Indonesian Dance Festival, along with
performances initiated by foreign cultural institutions, which established links
between Indonesian art/artists and global arts exponents. As something still
new to society in a young nation, modern theatre and modern dance found a
place particularly among the younger generation of artists, as a space to study
and absorb new artistic experiences. In the 1970s children came to TIM to
study arts, as well as get to know a world of modern art that had just started to
grow and develop in Indonesia.8
In terms of post-2000 developments, the spread of arts spaces, and the
increasing porousness between high and popular arts, TIM is no longer the only
place for young people to congregate. TIM’s location in the same area as the
Jakarta Arts Institute ensures continued close proximity of tertiary level
students. Moreover, the cross-disciplinary spaces have been retained.
However, it is interesting to note that in general young people tend to attend
TIM as consumers of performances or exhibitions rather than more active
participants in the arts scene .
In the year 2000 TIM housed three performance venues, that is Graha
Bhakti Budaya, the largest space with a capacity of 1000 people, the Teater
Kecil , an arena-style space holding 400 people, and, in the Jakarta Arts

Institute, the Teater Luwes, which can hold between 300 to 400 spectators.
While the Teater Luwes offers more flexibility, the two main theatres are
8

See Taman Ismail Marzuki. 1996.

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designed for conventional style performances that tend to be colossal in scale
or of a traditional nature, or produced by non-government organisations. At the
same time as the new arts movements are moving into experimental fields, arts
practitioners themselves are no longer actively looking to TIM for
performances, other than by well-known performers (especially as part of a
large festival or by foreign artists). The majority of TIM’s loyal patrons are those
who have been involved in the performing arts for a long time, including those
from groups that are now no longer active. Other groups include journalists and
NGO activists. For the majority of TIM’s audience there is a feeling of a
nostalgic link to the space, both as a place as entertainment as well as a nursery
of ideas.
I’ve been coming to TIM for almost 20 years. At the time I was often
involved with Teater Kubur. My friends and I met with many practitioners
of both theatre and other arts. We discussed many things, not only to do
with the arts. More often about politics, especially as many of us were
involved with the pro-democracy movement. (M, 39 years old, cultural
activist)

Groups which routinely put on performances at TIM include Teater Koma
and Teater Gandrik from Yogyakarta. Teater Koma’s performances are
amongst those keenly awaited by general audiences. The majority of general
audiences members are not regular TIM patrons but do loyally attend
performance by certain groups. This is especially because they find these
performances entertaining or easy to understand.
I’d never attended any cultural events at TIM before the year 2000. I’d
previously enjoyed watching the type of performance that entertained. I
really enjoyed Sampek Engtay. Ever since then I’ve become a loyal follower
of Teater Koma. Each year I come to watch them at TIM. I’m a bit reluctant
to watch other performances, as I’m worried that I might not understand
them. (Novi, male, 43 years old, event organiser)

In addition, there is another group of patrons from outside the context of
cultural circles, consisting of professional workers who at some stage have been
part of the TIM community. For instance, as children they may have taken part
in painting lessons, been involved in children’s theatre, or other activities. Their
coming to TIM to watch performances from established groups is one means to
link themselves to the past, and can be interpreted as a sense of ownership of
the public space.

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Many years ago I used to come to this place every week. On the 2nd Floor of
the Graha Bhakti Budaya there’s TIM’s children’s library where my father
registered me once I could read at the age of five.9

For the first group, those that are involved in creating performances
themselves, there is the desire to watch performances of certain aesthetic
quality. That quality is found in performances which are ‘new’, ‘fresh’,
‘compelling’ and relevant in terms of theme. M indicated those qualities are
evident in performances by groups from overseas, for example the German
theatre group Dorki Park, a performance from France, and several others.
Although there are now other cultural spaces, M is still loyal to TIM, in
particular as his circle of friends is still willing to treat it as their meeting place.
Meanwhile patrons from the second and third groups do not particularly
expect to have an aesthetic experience. They go there to watch in order to be
part of a cultural movement in the community, to escape their daily routine and
to join in expressing a critical view of actual political and social phenomena.
Teater Koma is theatre that is so realistic it’s no surprise that people from
all walks of life can enjoy it, even if their understanding of it is shallow, you
know … In fact if we want to think about it, however briefly, the significance
of the dialogue is full of meaning, and depends on how we choose to
interpret it. Whether or not we just want to follow the story, or want to find
more in it that makes us question ‘Is it really like that?’ or ‘Yeh, that’s really
true!’10.

Komunitas Salihara
The idea of ‘community’ in Indonesia relates to the notion of a collective
entity, in which a number of people gather together with a joint aim or a shared
interest in something. In Indonesia communities usually represent a more fluid
form than an organisation, so that when a group chooses the word ‘community’
the values they tend to want to emphasise are those of open-ness,
togetherness, mutuality and informality. In that way they hope to be able to
attract more people because of the fluid relationships in their group and the
fact that they don’t require official membership. In my view community often

9

Quotations from direct, face to face conversations are followed by a brief note about the
background of the speaker, when citing statements from internet communication I indicate the
source in a general way but have not included exact site names for privacy reasons.

10

Same as above

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relates to a concept of ownership, in that members are expected to
demonstrate a strong sense of ownership towards an organisation because they
play an active role there. How, in what way, audience members at the Salihara
complex regard themselves as a ‘community’ will be explained below.
Komunitas Salihara is a new space built as a further development of a
concept initiated by Komunitas Utan Kayu (KUK). From the mid 1990s through
o the 2000s, KUK represented an alternative group or space which quickly
seized the position of a ‘centre’. ‘Centre’ here does not refer to a large space or
proximity to power (government) but rather to the “power” to determine
aesthetic standards, to identify good, excellent and strong works, as well as
those which are not up to standard. In addition, KUK also played an important
role in disseminating a contemporary discourse in cultural studies, especially via
publication of the journal KALAM.
KUK was established at the time that the discourse about alternative
spaces began to emerge and become a significant part in the development of
contemporary art in Indonesia. Spaces such as Rumah Seni Cemeti and Kedai
Kebun in Yogyakarta for the fine arts, pointed to the manner in which
“alternative” became the new “centre” marked by an organic process free of
bureaucracy which could quickly absorb global aesthetic developments.
From the outset KUK was characterised by a cross-disciplinary and crossgenerational energy. Its small space contained organisations such as Galeri
Lontar, Teater Utan Kayu (which was multi-purpose, used for dance, theatre,
music and theatre performances or literary readings), the ISAI journalist
community, radio 68H, along with the Liberal Islam Network. With such a
pluralistic background it is no surprise that the community members were from
a range of professions, in particular journalists, activists, and arts practitioners.
This space introduced and promoted small-scale performances, which were
experimental and had a large impact on the renewal of the aesthetic vision of
young artists.
In the mid 2000s, the administrators felt there was a need for a larger
space, to facilitate the huge enthusiasm of younger artists to create
experimental work. Construction of the Salihara art complex in South Jakarta
began at the beginning of 2008 based on the consideration that the majority of
arts patrons in Jakarta live in the southern and central areas. The complex was
officially opened in 2009 with the holding of Salihara festival with invited
performing artists from Indonesia and several from America and Europe.
With its eclectic presentation of contemporary works, moving between
the new and the traditional, the established and the alternative, high art and
pop art, this Komunitas may be regarded as a progressive ‘centre’. The audience
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at Salihara is dominated by young people, the majority of whom are arts
practitioners, while the rest are those who come looking for new forms of
entertainment. They are an urban middle class group who are intimate with new
technology and popular global culture. Unlike TIM patrons, most of them do not
come with nostalgia for a heroic past – although that does not imply there is no
romantic element among Salihara patrons – but rather that they are motivated
by the desire to be part of art events and obtain new aesthetic experiences or to
meet public figures.
What most attracted me and in the end made me really want to go there was
when I saw info on Facebook that there was an upcoming event of Female
Writers reading their works at Teater Salihara, and one of them was Djenar
Maesa Ayu. The presence of someone like Djenar at Komunitas Salihara
spurred me to finally go there. After that I felt there was a link to the place.

Salihara has become a space where the new generation of arts
aficionados meet and new ideas are fostered. The audience generally shares the
same habitus, the same lifestyle and values, as the artists, even though
occasionally there are more traditional style performances, resulting in a larger
gap between performer and audience than is the case with someone like Ayu.
However, the groups that are more grounded in tradition have their own
followers of the same background as the patrons who usually go to TIM to
watch Teater Gandrik, Teater Koma or some other traditional performance.
However, it has to be acknowledged that one of the main drawcards for
patrons are performances by top class performers from overseas. Salihara
provides artists and aficionados the opportunity to be part of the international
performance community. Such performances are also greatly appreciated by
general patrons.
Friday evening, 22 January 2010 yesterday we (read: Sang Lirak and Sang
Lirik) had the first opportunity to see a dance performance by the group
Condors at Salihara Theatre. This group presented a contemporary dance
which I’d never imagined before, it was so good that I (Sang Lirak) was
speechless and didn’t know what to say.
I like going to Salihara because I can see a lot of performances from
overseas. So we can see shows of exceptional quality without having to go
overseas. In short I’m glad there is a place such as Salihara in Jakarta. (from
blog of audience)

The diversity of performances and interdisciplinary works presented at
Salihara have allowed it to it become a new melting pot, which brings together
artists, intellectuals and the general public in a kind of space not all that
common post-1998. As well as an arts space, Salihara has become a place for
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philosophical and contemporary cultural studies discussions. There is no lack of
participants for public discussions held at Salihara, with some events involving
well-known speakers exceeding the seating capacity of the space. Visitors to
Salihara are not only in contact with present-day aesthetic trends but also
aware of socio-cultural discourse as part of the thought world of the new urban
middle class.

Foreign Cultural Institute Spaces
In Jakarta, Foreign Cultural Institutes such as the Goethe Institut
(German), Erasmus Huis (Dutch), the British Council (English), the French
Cultural Centre, the Japanese Cultural Centre, or the Italian Cultural Centre
have become important spaces in the development of contemporary art
networks. These organisations provide spaces for arts practitioners and
audience to enjoy contemporary performances, both conventional and
alternative. Contemporary art practitioners need such networks to expand
their frame of reference in ways which are not really being offered by state
institutions, including art schools. The important role of these foreign cultural
institutions actually began in the 1970s as is evident from a note in the diary of
the young activist Soe Hok Gie, in which he mentions film screenings at the
French Cultural Centre as sites to find alternative entertainment.
At the same time, through providing spaces for the development of the
artistic skills of novice artists, these foreign institutions indirectly establish
networks that make a positive contribution to the future of young artists.
My creative experience this year has been incredibly diverse and
extraordinary. I saw Sujiwo Tedjo’s Semar Mesem, which was unbelievably
good. My friend, Santi, danced Javanese dance in it. I managed to see several
pieces by Japanese and Indonesian choreographers at the Goethe Institut.
There was also the Introdans performance, and I saw the European Film
Festival. (from blog)

The majority of the audience for performances or exhibitions in these
cultural centres are those who have become community members through
language study (each centre has a language course). These patrons enter the
arts activities via the language door. This strategy also increases the audience
network as it brings novice groups into contemporary art spaces or events. At
the same time, the general public who are not studying at the centres benefit
from exposure to international art ideas which they are not likely to get via the
main forms of media entertainment on television or at the cinema.

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In the early afternoon Budi and I continued onto CCF Salemba, Jakarta
Pusat, to watch a free film. It was the European Film Festival. It was great.
Before we watched the film and met up with two friends, we made use of
the free wi-fi in the CCF cafe. We then went to the gallery to see the
exhibition of film posters. We had a quick look, and took some photos until
we were satisfied. (from blog)

As these foreign cultural institutes put on many shows that have wide
public appeal and are conveniently located, they are frequently visited by
tertiary students. Through contact with the arts events organised by these
institutes, visitors also make links with arts events in other places, including
those at TIM and Salihara.
As well attracting a new public from society in general, especially from the
younger generation, these institutions also provide a bridge connecting the arts
community with a different generation. Frequently at these arts events we find
members of the older generation who come for nostalgic reasons. Most of them
have previously lived in or visited the specific countries, consequently there is a
longing to enjoy again something of that country’s culture which is no longer
part of their daily life.
I come to Erasmus as I previously lived for seven years in the Netherlands.
Sometimes I miss the culture there, as I was active in attending arts events
while there. If nothing else by coming to Erasmus Huis I can read Dutch
magazines, watch films or see a Dutch music performance. I also like to go
to the Goethe Institute or the Italian Cultural Centre. Sometimes I meet old
friends who can also speak Dutch, which is enjoyable. (from blog)

Consequently, a section of the audience at these foreign cultural
institutes are usually open to all kinds of artistic experiments, and even to folk
or classical forms. They regard the arts as a form of expression, as something
that allows them to connect with the ideas of the artist, or to communicate in a
particular way.

New Strategies to Engage the Audience
One aspect that needs examination is the increasing diversity over the
past few years of strategies for building up audiences. Audience recruitment is a
crucial aspect of the management of performing arts spaces given the lack of
infrastructure for arts education of the general public, the rapidly developing
mainstream entertainment industry, and Jakarta city planning, which
increasingly separates venues.

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In the context of Jakarta city planning each performance space has to
determine its target audience based on demographics. South Jakarta, for
instance, is considered to be the centre of middle class life. Salihara was
established in South Jakarta as contemporary and more experimental
performances are considered to be closer to the lifestyle of the urban middle
class. Meanwhile TIM is the centre for activists or members of the older
generation. Consequently, it is difficult to specifically determine the target
audience of a performance in Jakarta as it is usually connected to location.
Jakarta is quite different to other large cities where it is easier to reach
different art centres.11
Conventional forms of publicity for performances, such as the erection of
posters, banners or billboards in public spaces, are no longer considered very
effective. This is true especially in Jakarta, where the absence of a culture of
walking means that the idea of finding information in the street remains little
more than a collective visual memory. Moreover, as the cost of this kind of
advertising is expensive, most promoters have reduced their budgets for
printing and banners.
The activities undertaken by the video arts community and other arts
activist groups to develop ‘interactivity’ with the audience – going to shopping
malls, holding festivals on the city outskirts – are naturally difficult for
performances in formal venues such as Taman Ismail Marzuki or the theatre at
Salihara to emulate. Here there are structural constraints on both audiences
and performance spaces12 that theatre artists have often tried to dismantle in
sites outside these venues, in virtual spaces. In this context the use of media
such as Internet is becoming more and more productive. Over the last few years
performances and art events have been promoted via mailing and email
networks, as each arts group or venue manager has their own virtual invitation
lists. These media represent effective means of advertising as they provide

11

In Yogyakarta, for instance, in theatre venues such as the Taman Budaya, Teater Garasi, or
arts spaces such as Kedai Kebun, audiences are constituted of the same group of people. It is not
possible for each of these venues to schedule performances at the same time, as it is the same
people they seek to attract. Sometimes in Jakarta there are three or four events on the same
day and at the same time, forcing people to choose based on proximity or who is attending or
performing.
12

In my observation there seems to be a general fear among artists of becoming distanced from
their environment, of their creative processes moving away from actual events occurring in the
community. Consequently, they seek to interact with the community and directly involve the
audience as part of the performance. However, I consider there are other forms of arts,
concepts of performance, artistic practices and creative idea, which cannot involve the audience
in that way. Galleries still exist, museums are still relevant as they play a different role and
attract communities in a different way.

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potential audience members with time to obtain information about the location,
actors/dancers, ticket cost, as well as the artistic concept of the performance.
Apart from providing a channel for information and advertising, mailing
lists also serve as sites for discussion among theatre aficionados. For instance,
Teater Koma’s mailing list is particularly active with extended exchanges of
views. One example concerned the length of a show – What is the ideal
duration? Is five hours too long? And so on. One question can elicit 50-60
responses. In my view these are some of the ways in which audiences can
become part of the history of the performing arts.
In the past two or three years Facebook has become a part of the social
life of the majority of the (urban) middle class and an important part of the
audience network for performance. Facebook is not only a source of
information but also provides an interesting discussion space for an art group’s
activities.13 Facebook also provides the venue manager with the opportunity to
provide a ‘preview’ for the audience about the performance. In this way it has
virtually taken away moments of shock or surprise. Almost all performance
venues – especially private ones – have a Facebook account, which is used as an
important part of publicising their events. Moreover, via Facebook,
performers/artists, managers and audience members are more connected and
are able to develop a two-way dialog. These virtual networks facilitate
audiences to comment on a theme or discourse, which is then taken up by a
wider public, leading to the possibility of the arts as an instigator of social
discussion. In the past most discussion took place in a face-to-face context after
a performance. However, as few people are confident enough to talk in public,
on-line discussions overcome the psychological problems of commenting on a
performance.14
Another element that is important to any audience recruitment strategy
is to create programs that attract well-known public figures. Salihara, for
example, introduced a jazz program by inviting well-known musicians such as
Tohpati or Dewa Bujana, with the result that a wider public who usually would
The close relationship with Facebook has influenced audience behaviour in another way – the
habit of photographing. Although there is a strictly enforced prohibition on taking photographs
during a performance, especially at Salihara, it is one that can be bypassed. As members of a
tech savvy younger generation, audience members seek to demonstrate that they were at
Salihara, were at the National Gallery, and are a part of the culture appreciating class. Their
photos are uploaded to Facebook as proof. If in the past it was a reporter who took photographs
for the purpose of a review or documentation, nowadays it is an audience member who does so
for his or her personal documentation.

13

14

As a researcher I know that respondents are often tense in a face-to-face encounter and the
atmosphere is somewhat formal. In contrast comments made on Facebook seem to be more
spontaneous and honest.

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not watch something considered high art came along and mixed with regular
Salihara patrons.

Closing Thoughts
In analysing the background of the audiences who attend the three
venues that are the ‘case studies’ of this research, it is also interesting to
observe the changing public expectations of the arts expressed by the
participants. In the 1990s, the public hoped to become part of a group which
considered itself subversive and critical of the government. During the New
Order period, especially its last decade, freedom of expression was something
that was rare and expensive, in particular in the mainstream media. In a sense,
then, the arts became a means to express a political position.
The political change that occurred in 1998 represents an important
transition point, giving rise to a shift in the expectations of arts audiences
concerning the form and content of the arts .Contemporary audiences are part
of the generation that has had greater access to information networks, which
have emerged out of the explosion of freedom of expression. This new
generation is often considered to be apolitical, especially in their stated
position on actual political events. Rather than undertake direct advocacy of
actual socio-political positions, they are more preoccupied by projects
concerned with construction of new identities.
In engaging with cultural spaces, audiences are no longer involving
themselves with real issues, but rather indicating their appreciation of spaces
that celebrate individual expression. Even though the themes of plays by
Teater Gandrik or Teater Koma post-1998 still convey critical reflection on the
political context, given that the struggle for political justice is not yet finished,
audiences are more likely to appreciate the performance as an aesthetic
experience than critically discussing its content.
In spaces such as Salihara or Foreign Cultural Institutes, audiences can
choose a range of artistic expression, and make cross-disciplinary shifts that
allow them to engage with diverse artistic forms including film, theatre, dance,
music and visual arts. The issue of identity, particularly as it relates to the
cultural habits and values of individual audience members, is an interesting
connecting thread. In some cases, because of the smaller size and intimacy of
the performance space, an interesting relationship between the performers and
the audience is able to develop, providing a space for direct interaction and
discussion of various global arts phenomena.

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This new generation of audience members values breadth of cultural
experience. They enjoy a wide range of material , from traditional through to
contemporary, works with political content and others purely aesthetic in
focus, which are lightweight and contemplative, pure entertainment and high
art. Some audience members traverse these forms as something that needs to
be sampled as widely as possible. Although some audience members have a
venue ‘preference’, a proportion of them prefer TIM, some Salihara, while
others attend the arts spaces of foreign cultural centres, nowadays there is an
increasingly random interchange of audiences between performance venues.
This change is largely due to the increasing diversity of the kinds of
performances offered in each venue. Nevertheless there is a certain shared
sensibility among this younger generation of audience members, which helps
define the concept of contemporary (performing) arts in Indonesia. This
sensibility, which has emerged out of the wealth of information they absorb ,
along with their unfettered engagement with popular culture, draws younger
audience members to a particular kind of performance. emphasising popular,
spectacular visual imagery, music from the pop or independent fields, and
themes related to the lives of young people such as identity, consumerism, local
myth and legend, along with serious socio-political issues .
The relationship between audience and arts practitioners has become
closer and more constructive compared to several years ago. Audiences have
now become a tangible part of an event’s ‘creation’, inasmuch as their tastes are
taken into account and treated as a reference point . In specific ways, these
audiences have developed a significant bargaining position in relation to the
growth of contemporary performing arts in Indonesia.

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