Curatorial Collections - Butong X The Roberts Institute of Art
Let us introduce you to the first Curating Collections as part of Art et al. X Ketemu. We have commissioned Indonesian artist Butong, to collaborate with The Roberts Institute of Art in London.
BUTONG
Sukri Budi Dharma or Budi Tongkat (Budi with walking stick) or Butong got his associate degree in fine art from Jakarta Art Institute in 1994. He then continued his study in the psychology department of Gunadarma University. Throughout the 15 years of his art journey, he's been exploring couple of art disciplines, from photography, performances, murals, and paintings to curatorial work. With his background in psychology study, he shaped his interest in human and human behaviour-related topics. It has led him to his current focus of advocating for access for disabled people in art practices.
He began to work with disability issues in 2009 as a head of Difabel and Friends community in Yogyakarta. In 2020, to incorporate his activism and art practice, he initiated Jogja Disability Arts (JDA) and since then has served as head of the community. With JDA, Butong has been actively building a network of disabled artists in Indonesia. In 2021-2022, they completed mural collaborations with UK mural artists. In order to celebrate the work of disabled artists, they held the first Jogja International DIsability Arts Biennale in 2021 where Butong served as the curator and chairman of the exhibition. Other than art events, JDA has also been working on a book of guidelines about access for disabled people in an exhibition setting.
THE ROBERTS INSTITUTE OF ART
The Roberts Institute of Art (RIA) is a non-profit contemporary arts organisation. RIA commissions pioneering performance art, runs a residency programme in Scotland and collaborates with national partners on exhibitions to research and share the David and Indre Roberts Collection. David Roberts founded the organisation in 2007 and since then RIA has welcomed over 135,000 visitors, partnered with over 100 museums and organisations and collaborated with over 1,000 artists. Through their interdisciplinary approach, RIA seeks to respond and adapt to different contexts, aiming to open up new conversations about how we engage with culture.