Bangkit/Arise San Francisco Semangat!

SEMANGAT! (collective vibrant spirit) and Kebanyakan! (too much) have both become mantras of the first San Francisco phase of Bangkit/Arise – as our insanely ambitious schedule over the course of the 8-week residency came to feel like every day represented a week and every week represented a month. By the final week, those mantras, in combination with lots of late night karaoke sessions of folk versions of dangdut favorites and extra-hot sambal really were the only things keeping us going.

It’s now been over a month since Nano, Bambang, Ucup, Wedhar, Vina, and Harind left San Francisco and their absences have left a deep void in our lives that actually feels deafening after such a crazy, yet beautiful burst of so much love and creative energy – thank you all for the Gotong Royong! You all are also deeply missed by the many folks whose lives you have touched and who have had the opportunity to get to know all of you and work with you throughout the residency … and continue to be in your/our lives.

It’s even overwhelming just to begin to capture the highlights from where we left off since our last post at the end of September … but here goes …

First, as a introduction or reminder to those who might not be familiar with Bangkit/Arise, here is a brief summary:

Bangkit/Arise is an international arts exchange and residency between artists from the San Francisco/Bay Area, USA and Yogyakarta Indonesia. The lead sponsoring organization for Bangkit/Arise is Clarion Alley Mural Project, based in San Francisco in collaboration with the Asian Art Museum Chong Moon Lee Center for Asian Art and Culture. The projects partners in Yogyakarta Indonesia are Desa Panggungharjo and the Institut Seni Indonesia, Yogyakarta.

In July/August 2018 five of the artists from the SF/Bay Area – Kelly Ording, Jet Martinez, Jose Guerra, Christopher Statton and Megan Wilson arrived in Yogyakarta to spend 5 – 7 weeks as part of the residency exchange. Unfortunately because of greater geopolitical circumstances, two of the Bay Area artists – Shaghayegh Cyrous and Keyvan Shovir were unable travel and to be a part of the first phase of the exchange; however, they are still very much a part of the exchange and will be traveling to Yogyakarta as soon as it is possible.

On September 3rd six of the Yogyakarta artists – Nano Warsono, Bambang Toko, Ucup, Wedhar Riyadi, Vina Puspita and Harind Ndarvati arrived in San Francisco to spend 8 weeks in the Bay Area getting to work with our communities here. Sadly, one of the Indonesian artists – Codit – was unable to be a part of the current residency in San Francisco due to greater geopolitics; however, he too is still part of the exchange and will travel to San Francisco when possible.

Bangkit/Arise is designed to foster discussions, understanding, and action on critical social/political issues facing our global and local communities today using art as a point of departure. Subjects being addressed include:

1. Community development and the role of art in supporting Civic Design through:

• Creating a culture of creativity;
• Placemaking;
• Community building and networking;
• The engagement of residents and visitors/tourists; and
• Economic growth and livelihood – the creative economy;

2. The role of the public commons;
3. Environmentalism and the critical need for a call to action;
4. Current geopolitical divisions, xenophobia and how we envision a world rooted in social justice, equity, and collaboration;
5. The need for radical inclusion and understanding differences and similarities as a means of strength and the goal of collectively dismantling local and global inequities/oppression.

 

Since our last blog BANGKIT SAN FRANCISCO!, our crew accomplished and was grooving with the following (there will be two more blogs following this one that capture the residency/exchange in SF/Bay Area:

BANGKIT/ARISE ARTISTS’ TALK at THE ASIAN ART MUSEUM
September 20, 2018, 7pm

From the Asian Art Museum press release:
San Francisco and Jogjakarta, Indonesia, could be sister cities when it comes to their exuberant street art cultures. In fact, some of the murals that enliven the public spaces of each city are the fruit of an ongoing collaboration between artists associated with San Francisco’s Clarion Alley Mural Project (CAMP) and Jogjakarta-based artists. This fall, seven artists from Indonesia bring their particular brand of public art to the museum’s Village Artist Corner for a new project, Bangkit/Arise.

Join these artists for a discussion about this exciting project and tour their murals through a live feed connecting San Francisco to Yogyakarta, Indonesia. Take a look at the murals they’ve created in each city and hear firsthand about the process and projects in both cities. Participating artists of Bangkit/Arise include: Wedhar Riyadi, Vina Puspita, Nano Warsano, Bambang Toko, Hari Ndaruwati, Mohamad “Ucup” Yusuf, Kelling Ording, Jet Martinez, Jose Guerra Awe, Christopher Statton, Megan Wilson, Shaghayegh Cyrous and Keyvan Shovir.

United by a belief that art in the public sphere can have a positive impact on communities, artists from the two cities have been engaged in a 15-year cross-cultural exchange. They began working side by side, and learning from each other, in 2003 with the project Sama-Sama/Together. American artists traveled to Jogjakarta to paint large-scale murals across the city and then the artists from Indonesia came here to create work. You can still spot a mural from this project on the facade of Rainbow Grocery in the Mission District. In the years since, artists from the two cities have continued to travel back and forth to add their handiwork to the ever-changing urban mix.

AUCTION #18 FOR COALITION ON HOMELESSNESS

CELEBRATING 73 YEARS of INDONESIA’s INDEPENDENCE with the CONSULATE GENERAL of INDONESIA SAN FRANCISCO – at the Palace of Fine Arts

 

YES ON PROP C – SUNDAY STREETS IN THE TENDERLOIN WITH THE COALITION ON HOMELESSNESS

Bangkit/Arise live silk-screened posters in support of Proposition C in collaboration with our community partner the Coalition On Homelessness at Sunday Streets in the Tenderloin on September 23rd.

Proposition C – Our City, Our Home: Implementation Plan includes the following:

1. Provides intensive mental health care and drug addiction services for over 4,500 severely impaired individuals
2. Brings back the clean, healthy streets that San Franciscans deserve
3. Places mobile bathrooms and sanitation centers across the city to allow people to relieve themselves in a dignified and sanitary way
4. Requires an Oversight Committee comprised of experts who will review and report regularly on results generated by this strategic plan
5. Prevents additional homelessness, protecting 7,000 San Francisco households from losing their homes
6. Moves more than 4,000 households including seniors, women, youth and families with children off the streets and into supportive and affordable homes
7. Expands shelters to give the 1,000 people on our wait lists each night a place to sleep off the street
8. Expands Navigation Centers, one of the most effective, proven approaches to bringing people off the streets and into care
9. Funded by the top 1% largest corporations by a small tax on revenue over $50 million per year — will NOT impact small businesses or homeowners
10. Has broad support from the community including San Francisco teachers, SPUR, Mental Health Association of San Francisco, San Francisco Democratic Party and the Coalition for San Francisco Neighborhoods

On November 6th PROP C PASSED – 60% to 40%!!!

 

AYNUR DOğAN PRESENTED BY DIASPORA ARTS CONNECTION at the Marines Memorial Theater

Thank you Nazy Kaviani for inviting and hosting Bangkit/Arise to attend the beautiful concert by Aynur Doğan.

From the Marines’ Memorial Website:

Over the years Aynur has become one of the most well known musicians from Turkey and a representative for the Kurdish people. Her vocal style and her albums have been praised by international media. Her albums are bestsellers in the genre of Kurdish folk music.

Aynur’s music is based on traditional Kurdish folk songs, some at least 300 years old. Her lyrics are about the life and suffering of Kurdish people, and in particular, Kurdish women. Musically, she tries to blend Kurdish with Western music, creating her own style and interpreting her traditional repertoire in a modern and fresh way.

She has collaborated with famous musicians and bands including world-renowned cellist Yo-Yo Ma and the Silk Road Ensemble, Kayhan Kalhor, Javier Limón, among others. She also appeared in Fatih Akın’s documentary movie “İstanbul Hatırası / Köprüyü Geçmek-Crossing the bridges” as a singer, and also appeared in the documentary about Yo-Yo Ma and the Silk Road Ensemble, “The Music of Strangers,” directed by Morgan Neville and released in 2015. Artist website: http://aynurdogan.net/

“She is a reason to love live music for centuries.” – Javier Limón

BANGKIT/ARISE GOES TO LOS ANGELES

Nano, Bambang, Ucup, Wedhar, Vina, and Harind spent September 24 – 30 in Los Angeles. The Consulate General of Indonesia, Los Angeles’ office was extremely generous in providing housing, transportation, and meals for the artists while they were visiting – very reflective of Indonesian culture (and sadly, quite the opposite of the government/civic leaders response in San Francisco). In return the artists painted a mural, Bhumi Roh Garuda on the outside of the Consulate’s office. In addition, the artists were hosted by Sama-Sama/Together artist Carolyn Castaño, her husband Gary Dauphin, and their two kids, Tousant and Jean-Michael.

 

HANGIN’ WITH FRIENDS & FAMILY

Always some of the greatest highlights of these residency/exchange projects are the friendships/relationships that are developed and continue to build and expand through the years – touching individuals and organizations, as well as whole communities. We all feel very blessed for this opportunity and look forward to continuing to connect and reconnect over the years – as has been the case since the first exchange Sama-Sama/Together.   

Dinner with Elisabeth Beaird and Richard Marriott – Thank you for hosting a great evening!

Christopher’s parents Tim and Kathy Statton hosted a lovely dinner for us at Spiazzo – all 20 of us! Thank you Tim and Kathy!

Sunday Tea with Kyoko at 1250 Page Street – Kyoko made matcha lattes for everyone! CAMP Love!

Keyvan’s Birthday – we noted this briefly in the last post, but didn’t have many pics! Happy Birthday Keyvan!

Lunch at Deborah Clearwaters in Oakland – Thank you Deb!

Events and hanging out after

RUMAH dia 1250 PAGE STREET

1250 Page Street is Christopher and Megan’s home and served as the home for them, Nano, Ucup, Vina, and Harind during Bangkit/Arise, as well as a meeting/hangout/gathering space and crash pad for the whole project during the SF/Bay Area residency. The other home base was 15 Galilee Lane, home of Allison, Armon, Sami, and Hiero and where Bambang and Wedhar stayed – we also held our final dinner/gathering/celebration at 15 Galilee Lane (to be featured in the next blog)

 

AS PROMISED … THE OAKLAND ROSE GARDEN

SEMANGAT!