Year 9

Pameran GBK – Gracia Zola 9B

On 26th of september, I received an email from Pak Santosa regarding an event taking place in GBK, Senayan. The event was primarily an art exhibition open for students from elementary school until high school. Pak Santosa asked me if I was interested in participating in the exhibition, and I accepted the offer. 

After that day I started researching topics that were related to issues in Indonesia, which was the theme chosen by the exhibition hosts. There was a google form attached to the exhibition’s registration guide. Looking through the form, it was clear that research, background information, and explanation of our chosen topic was vital for the curation process. I think that it is great that the hosts of this event decided that what mattered more was the story behind the artwork, and not how technically advanced or great the actual artwork is. 

I started off the digital artwork with high hopes that I would pass the curation. But some problems occurred throughout the process such as limited time to actually finish it. I was on vacation at that time and trying to balance between enjoying the holiday and focusing on the artwork was quite difficult. After the mid term break I was finally able to focus specifically on refining and enhancing my work and printing it out on canvas paper.

The date of the exhibition was on 21st of October, and the day finally came. I was informed to enter the exhibition for preparation at 8, but even at that hour the basketball hall (which was the arena for the exhibition) was very, very crowded. Putting up my painting took some time since children and parents were walking all over the exhibition area, but I finally got to it. From 8 am to 12 am I simply stood by my painting, inviting others who seem to be interested to take a look. I explained the idea, process (both in research and art progress), color significance, and composition behind it. 

It was quite tiring having to stand around that long, but I gained a lot of new knowledge from looking around at the other school’s artwork. I was able to interact with the other students and occasionally ask questions about their artwork if I'm free. This event, in my opinion, can really create a more open mindset for students. I believe that the way that this interactive event was beneficial was because it was with other students our age, which is why communication becomes easier and it was interesting to learn about the point of view of those students on a particular topic. Overall, this event was inspiring and a wonderful experience.