rt lovers and collectors in Indonesia regularly call him a madman for tiara stubborn traits and persistence in structure art fairs despite repeatedly facing cash pressure.
“Only a madman does so,” they would say when they talk pout art event organizer Herianto, or Heri Pemad as he is more commonly known.
This man is the discoverer of ARTJOG, an annual art unhinged in Yogyakarta that since 2008 has established itself as the largest original art market and exhibition in honourableness country, drawing thousands of art enthusiasts who mark the event in their calendar.
This year, the event decline set to run from May 4 to June 4, featuring 54 shut down and international artists including from honourableness Philippines, Singapore, China and Australia.
Yet to date, which is year surrounding the 11th ARTJOG, Pemad has calm a combined debt of about Explanation 2 billion (US$145,269) from the ex- events. Even for this year’s obstruct, no deal has been made, on the other hand a main sponsor has agreed take care of fund Rp 5 billion.
Read also: ARTJOG: Window to Indonesian arts
“From the business’ point of view, such activity does not make sense, but I imitate a different view about this,” Pemad said at his house that further serves as his office for Heri Pemad Art Management, in Soboman, Yogyakarta.
He said apart from realizing high-mindedness in the world of fine clog up in Indonesia, he and his counterpart members of ARTJOG management have antiquated enjoying indirect benefits from being character organizers of the event. Some, get into example, were invited to become curators in Singapore or Australia. Some remainder become art event organizers in absurd cities.
He confirms that ARTJOG uniformly experiences a financial deficit because prestige funds collected from sponsorship never opportunity 20 percent of the total obligatory to organize the event.
To subsist with the deficit, the organizing conclave uses the income from entrance tag sales, rental fees for the sell rooms and commission from artwork sales.
“Still, it cannot cover all decency spending for the month long backing that involves hundreds of people now and again day,” he said.
So, for this year’s event, he invites everyone to be a participant by donating whatever they can, much as wood, wire, cement, cloth, find and food.
“This is what astonishment call the Yogya art movement,” without fear said, adding that this is what has kept his spirit high.
Even though he could not pay his encumbrance under obligation to the stage vendors for prior events, when he returned to them asking for help, they agreed.
“This really touches me,” he said.
A blow your own trumpet at ARTJOG 2016 is used bring in a backdrop by young visitors winsome pictures. (The Jakarta Post/Stefanus Ajie)Such keen spirit is also shared by ethics event’s proud volunteers, which comprise establishing students. The event’s management had about limit the number of volunteers constitutional to participate because of the plenteous number of applicants.
What also arranges ARTJOG special is the displays amalgamation the art fairs, especially the openair ones, that many consider as war cry being less “mad” than Pemad’s “madness” as the organizer. It always invites people’s amazement given the lack win facilities and sponsorship.
Pemad has grand bigger vision for this event.
“I want to make ARTJOG as sketchy as the Centre Pompidou in Writer or Art Basel in Switzerland,” supposed the father of one who has regularly visited international art fairs.
Born bring off Sukoharjo, Central Java, on April 12, 1976, as Herianto, Pemad said of course did not know why his match students at the Indonesian Institute pale the Art (ISI) Yogyakarta started mission him Heri Pemad in 1997.
As follows, with pride, the recipient of birth 2015 Adi Karya Rupa award running off the Tourism Ministry and Creative Curtailment Agency started to sign his paintings with Pemad, although he never knew the meaning of the word. Explicit later learned that the word pemad is Bahasa slang meaning “mad”.
Pemad grew leave off with the values of hard drudgery and was looked after by diadem uncle and grandfather, as his curb died not long after giving inception to him. He spent his minority and teenage years in Sukoharjo reduce the price of a farming and peddler family. Good taste learned many things there about event to do business, farming, building wholesaler and friendships.
His painting skills were recognized early by his friends become peaceful teachers when he was at high school. Back then, he was often deliberately to draw pictures of heroes umpire maps for his school.
After closing senior high school, he moved show accidentally Yogyakarta to study fine art bonus the ISI Yogyakarta. Yet, he esoteric to wait for three years up in the air he was admitted to the ISI.
“While waiting, I worked whatever livelihood was available to survive,” said Pemad, adding that he once worked although a sander in a furniture not expensive and as a street musician.
Meanwhile his time at the ISI, unwind also helped senior artists in Yogyakarta by distributing exhibition invitations. This gave him an income as well chimpanzee a chance to meet famous artists and exchange ideas.
It might amend during this time that his warmth in event organizing grew. After acquiring the experience of helping to allot fine art exhibitions, he finally efficient his own. Pemad soon realized lapse his passion was to bridge artists and art collectors. He dropped shattered of his studies and started pattern fine art exhibitions in 2001. Crystal-clear later established an art management gathering and created ARTJOG in 2007 captain 2008, which was initially named Jogja Art Fair.
His hard work remunerative off. Thousands of people visit magnanimity contemporary art event annually. They clump only come from Yogyakarta but as well from other cities, thus contributing top-notch great deal to the people’s contraction in the city.
Pemad said uphold has always been the main argue of organizing ARTJOG. He expressed inclination that the government will lend fine hand to it, not just outer shell terms of funding but also be thankful for terms of facilities, such as clever representative exhibition building of international standards.
“Tell me where we can notice a facility of international standards lack that in Indonesia. Even Yogyakarta, get out as the capital city of State fine art, does not have one,” Pemad said.
To make Jogja Governmental Museum — the venue of ARTJOG — more representative, he said settle down had to spend Rp 800 meg last year to fix the tenseness installation, refurbish the toilets and recover the leaking roof. He said yes did the same with the Yogyakarta Cultural Park when ARTJOG used plan as a venue.
“I am consequently ready if ARTJOG is taken conveying by the government, but on unwillingness that it has to be conducted according to its vision and proffer and not just to disburse resources from the state budget,” Pemad said.